Lutheran Church of Australia - Ecumenical Dialogues

Ecumenical Dialogues

"Dialogue, as the Lutheran Church of Australia understands the term, is official and authorised conversations with churches which are not in altar and pulpit fellowship with the LCA. The conversations concern matters of faith, doctrine, and practice. The purpose of dialogues may vary from time to time. The basic aim is that the truth, as confessed and practised by the LCA, is brought to bear on matters of faith and life in the context of dialogue.... All genuine dialogue will be conducted ‘in view of eternity’ and with the firm belief that in such conversations the truth will prevail for the welfare of the church and the glory of the Lord of the one holy catholic church."

"Traditionally, the LCA has taken as its starting point for fellowship with other churches agreement in the doctrine of the gospel and the sacraments. Doctrine has come first. Increasingly, Lutherans and others are starting from the ancient church’s understanding of communio, which grounds communion among Christians as well as among churches in the mutual communion between the Father, his Son, and their Spirit. The church as the icon of the Trinity finds the source and goal of its own life in its participation in the life of the divine Trinity. The mutual love between the persons of the Trinity also permeates and forms the communion (koinonia) of the church on earth, which is both proclaimed and enacted in the eucharist... The unity that we share through our common life in the triune God is grounded in baptism and confirmed and strengthened in the Lord’s supper. All who are united with Christ by baptism and faith are made one body with him as they eat.. the Lord’s supper... The unity of all believers is a gift of the triune God. God draws us into communion with himself through the gospel and the holy sacraments."

From the 1970s onwards, there has been much more dialogue with other mainstream Christian denominations. The Church states that "Our commitment to dialogue with the Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Uniting churches reflects a growing conviction that our ecumenical engagement is not an optional extra but is central to what it means to be a church in the world."

In 2001, the Anglican and Lutheran churches jointly produced a document entitled Covenanting for Mutual Recognition and Reconciliation between the Anglican Church of Australia and the Lutheran Church in Australia in order to further this aim.

However, despite these movements towards greater openness to others, the Church is still only an affiliate member of the Lutheran World Federation because of concerns that "Our Lutheran confessional identity may be eroded because many LWF member churches are not as strongly confessional as the LCA some LWF member churches (like the ELCA in America) have entered into communion with non-Lutheran churches whose doctrinal position is not in agreement with the Lutheran confessions LWF could pressure us into practices that are not in keeping with our confessional position."

Although the Church advocates multi-culturalism it does not endorse religious pluralism.