High Church Lutheranism - Theology and Spirituality

Theology and Spirituality

The aim of the Evangelical Catholics is to recover the liturgical and confessional heritage of Lutheranism in continuity with the broad tradition that includes Anglicans, Roman Catholics, and the Eastern Orthodox. The Movement stresses certain elements of the Church: Dogma, sacraments, hierarchy and ordained ministry, liturgy and continuity of the Church, all of which are traditional Lutheran theology, but were thought to have been neglected because of Pietism and the Age of Enlightenment. There is also emphasis on Catholic concept of priesthood and Apostolic Succession, ecumenism and Mariology. The Catholic concept of priesthood and continuity of the Church sets the movement apart from mainline Lutheranism and the ecumenical openness for some extent distincts the movement from Confessional Lutheranism. The approach to worship may also significantly vary within Confessional Lutheranism.

By theological emphasis the High Church Movement may vary from one country to another. The classical manifesto of the Scandinavian high church revival program is "Kyrklig förnyelse" by Gunnar Rosendal (1935). In its beginning the German high church movement was inspired by the 95 theses "Stimuli et Clavi" by pastor Heinrich Hansen (1917).

In the same way as Anglo-Catholics have esteemed Caroline Divines, the Catholic Lutherans, owing to the nature of the Lutheran Reformation, have been able to appreciate many, largely forgotten, Catholic teachings of Reformers like Martin Luther, Laurentius Petri, Mikael Agricola, George of Anhalt, Martin Chemnitz, Gnesio-Lutherans, Gerhard's Confessio Catholica etc. According to formerly Roman Catholic Friedrich Heiler, the Lutheran Church is the proper via media between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism because of its emphasis upon doctrine and because it has preserved the Catholic doctrine of the Sacrament and its liturgical traditions in purer form than the Anglican Church in the Book of Common Prayer.

Evangelical Catholic spirituality is characteristically more theocentric and christocentric than that of Pietist, rationalistic, and Liberal Protestant Lutheranism. In addition to the Theology of the Cross there is usually emphasis on Christus Victor, which makes it clear that Easter is more important than Good Friday. Theocentricism makes salvation history and the cycle of the church year important, from point of view of the incarnation.

These stresses have created the need to give an evangelical interpretation to the sacrifice of the Mass in order to provide a more theocentric view to Real presence. E.g. in Sweden there has been discovering of Laurentius Petri´s theology on the sacrifice of the Mass. According to Wilhelm Loehe, "the whole of Lutheranism is contained in the Sacrament of the Altar. Here all of the chief doctrines of Christianity, especially those highlighted by the Reformation, have their focal point." In evangelical catholic spirituality the Mass is thus considered the heart of Christianity as it encapsulates the one, but eternally efficacious, sacrifice of Christ on Calvary.

One divide within high church Lutheranism is in the matter of the direction of the liturgy. Some follow the understanding of liturgy as "work of the people" whereas others follow the understanding of the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Article XXIV which states that the liturgy is not a sacrifice but squares with the public ministry. A common hallmark of this divergence is the preference of the term "Divine Service" for the liturgy of Holy Communion (from Gottesdienst, Gudstjaenst, Jumalanpalvelus) among those who see the liturgy as chiefly the service of Christ for the Church. This divergence in liturgical theology is also manifested in debates on the eucharistic prayers, the epiclesis, and the role of the laity in the liturgy.

The praying of the Divine office is also characteristic to high church Lutheran spirituality. Confession as a sacrament is part of Lutheran tradition and is not considered unique to "high church". A small number of evangelical catholic congregations reaffirm Melanchthon's wider use of the word "sacrament" (in the Apology and in Loci Communes) by considering Holy Matrimony, Unction, Confirmation, and Holy Orders to be Sacraments.