Twenty years ago tomorrow, Christians in the former East Germany gathered in Wittenberg to celebrate Reformation Day at the church where on 31 October 1517 Martin Luther is said to have nailed his list of demands for reform of the Roman Catholic Church. Ten days later, the Berlin wall fell and a new era of reform began in modern-day Europe with repercussions felt around the world.
This year, celebrations in Wittenberg will feature a ceremony on Sunday at which representatives of different branches of Christianity will each plant a tree in the Lutergarten (Luther’s Garden). The event signals the beginning of a decade of activities which will culminate in 2017 with celebration of the 500th anniversary of Luther’s historic act.
Reformation Day is celebrated each year on 31 October in remembrance of the Protestant Reformation. In the states of the former East Germany it is a civic holiday and in Chile it has been a national holiday since 2008.
The General Secretary of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC), Setri Nyomi, will be at the ceremony with other church leaders to plant a tree in the garden.
The idea of the garden was inspired by words attributed to Martin Luther. “Even if I knew that the world would end tomorrow, I would still plant an apple tree today.”
Commenting on the significance of planting trees, Nyomi says that the 16th century Reformers Martin Luther and John Calvin were “bold agents of change such as a tree planted by water. The periods of heat and drought have come and gone, but the ‘trees’ they planted continue to bear fruit.”
Nyomi adds, “It is fitting that churches should plant trees as a symbol of commitment to God’s creation at this time when world attention turns towards the Climate Conference in Copenhagen in December with its focus on the impact of environmental destruction.”
Churches throughout the world have been invited to sponsor the planting of one of 500 trees in the garden on the Elbe River and to plant a tree in their home communities. The gesture is meant as a symbol of the influence of the Protestant Reformation throughout the world and as a sign of reconciliation and interconnectedness among the many branches of Christianity.
Other church leaders invited to plant trees include representatives of the Anglican World Communion, Methodist Council, Lutheran World Federation, the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.
The year 2009 has been widely celebrated in the Reformed church world as the Calvin Jubilee Year in honour of the 500th anniversary of the birth of the French Reformer, John Calvin, whose approach to church reform took root in 16th century Geneva and spread from there worldwide. Churches which follow the tradition of the Calvin include the Presbyterian, Congregational, Reformed, Uniting and United, and Waldensian denominations. The teachings of another of the great Reformers, Martin Luther, inspired the creation of the Lutheran church.
On Saturday, Nyomi will be in Augsburg to join in celebration of the tenth anniversary of the signing of a joint declaration between the Roman Catholic Church and Lutheran churches which resolves a long-standing dispute over the theology of justification. Justification marks the point at which a believer is made righteous in the eyes of God. Debate over when and how this occurs has long marked a dividing point between the two church traditions.
In Augsburg, Nyomi will present a letter to Walter Cardinal Kasper, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and Ishmael Noko, General Secretary of the Lutheran World Federation, bringing greetings from the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and noting the significance of marking this anniversary in conjunction with Reformation Day. In his letter, Nyomi acknowledges the day marks both movement for renewal and the pain of division.
Pointing to Reformed-Roman Catholic bilateral dialogues, Nyomi writes: “It is our prayer that our bilateral dialogues will continue to help us overcome division and lead towards greater Christian unity.”
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