Magdeburg Declaration

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As part of the Magdeburg Declaration , on April 29, 2007, a formal agreement was reached for the first time on the mutual recognition of baptisms carried out in eleven different churches in Germany .

background

For over 30 years there have been individual regional agreements between member churches of the EKD and Roman Catholic dioceses for the mutual recognition of baptism.

An agreement on the recognition of baptism in Switzerland was signed in 1973 by representatives of the Christian Catholic Church, the Roman Catholic Bishops' Conference and the Federation of Swiss Protestants . Also in 1973, the formal recognition of baptism as part of the Leuenberg Agreement was resolved within a part of European Protestantism .

There has not yet been an agreement at the level of the EKD and the German Bishops' Conference . In May 2002 the President of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity , Walter Cardinal Kasper , took the initiative to deal with the topic of baptism and the ecumenical meaning of the mutual recognition of baptism in the Bishops' Conferences, as well as agreements between the churches to sign. The German Bishops 'Conference took up this initiative from Rome and proposed that mutual recognition of baptism be aimed for in the entire area of ​​the German Bishops' Conference and the EKD. A working group, which also included representatives of the Commission of the Orthodox Church in Germany (KOKiD), the Evangelical Methodist Church (also for other Free Churches ) and the Old Catholics (also for the Anglican Church ), developed a text to which the signatory churches agreed. However, the signature of the representative of the KOKiD, Bishop Longin von Klin (Patriarchate of Moscow) was withdrawn by the Moscow Patriarchate.
On the part of the KoKiD, a comment on the practical implementation was added to the "Declaration on the recognition of baptism", which forms the framework for the recognition of baptism that has taken place in other churches.

Representatives of the churches that practice the baptism of believers such as the Mennonites , Baptists , Adventists and the Free Evangelical Congregations as well as the Coptic Orthodox and Syrian Orthodox Churches could not agree to the text of the Magdeburg Declaration for theological reasons. The Salvation Army and the Quakers who do not practice baptism have not followed suit either. The representative of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church in Germany signed the declaration unilaterally without consulting the Holy Synod of the Church. As a result, the representative's consent is ineffective because he does not have the consent of the highest governing body of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, which has the authority to make decisions and enter into agreements about the organization and belief of the church.

Text of the agreement

Christian baptism

Jesus Christ is our salvation. Through him God overcame the sinner's distance from God (Romans 5:10) in order to make us sons and daughters of God. As a participation in the mystery of Christ's death and resurrection, baptism means new birth in Jesus Christ. Whoever receives this sacrament and affirms God's love in faith will be united with Christ and at the same time with his people in all times and places. As a sign of the unity of all Christians, baptism connects with Jesus Christ, the foundation of this unity. Despite differences in understanding of the church, we have a basic understanding of baptism.

That is why we recognize every baptism performed according to the commission of Jesus in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit with the sign act of immersion in water or pouring water over them, and we rejoice in every person who is baptized. This mutual recognition of baptism is an expression of the bond of unity that is based in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 4: 4-6). The baptism carried out in this way is unique and unrepeatable.

With the Lima Document we confess : Our one baptism in Christ is “a call to the churches to overcome their divisions and to manifest their fellowship visibly” (Declaration of Convergence of the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches, Baptism, no. 6).

Signing churches

The text of the agreement agreed:

Celebratory setting

The agreement was signed during an ecumenical service in Magdeburg Cathedral .

References

  1. ↑ Position paper re-baptism of the Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches, p. 6 ( Memento from January 11, 2005 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ EKD press release
  3. ↑ Comments of the KOKiD Theological Working Group on the practical implementation of the declaration on baptism
  4. ↑ Mutual recognition of being baptized is possible. (PDF; 83 kB) Mennonite Yearbook, accessed on April 6, 2011 .
  5. ↑ Recognize the baptism of other churches. Lifenet.ch, accessed on April 6, 2011 .
  6. ↑ ከጀርመን የኢ / ኦ / ተ / ቤ / ክ የምእመናን ኅብረት የተላከ. dejeselam.org, accessed December 11, 2012 .