Catholic Evangelical
Encyclopedia
The term Evangelical Catholic is used by Christians who consider themselves both "catholic
" and "evangelical" (meaning "gospel centered"). Evangelical Catholic (catholic is the noun with evangelical modifying) can refer to: evangelical Protestant
Christians who consider themselves catholic Christians that identify with the historic Christian Church
, who believe that the early ecumenical councils and the Protestant Reformation
were both part of the progressive illumination of the Holy Spirit
; Roman Catholics who, in continuity with the long tradition of the Church and empowered by the "The New Evangelization" stress the centrality and salvific universality of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the necessity of proclaiming it. Evangelical Catholics usually refers to Roman Catholics, but may also include Eastern Rite Catholic Churches or other churches that are not Roman Catholic, mainly Anglican, Lutheran
, and Methodist
.
Evangelical Roman Catholics see these evangelical emphases as part of the long tradition of Catholic Christianity. Evangelical preaching movements such as St. Dominic's, who was called the Vir Evangelicus (evangelical man), are a common point of reference. To Catholics, the term 'evangelical' refers to its etymological root - the Greek word euangelion - which means 'good news' or 'Gospel'. To Catholics, being evangelical is understood in the context of the tradition of the Catholic Church and in a Catholic interpretation of Scripture, and not in the doctrinal and ecclesiological upheavals of the Protestant Reformation
.
The Roman Catholic Church is experiencing an lay response to the evangelical witness of the recent popes and their encyclicals, especially Pope Paul VI's Evangelii Nuntiandi
(On Evangelization in the Modern World), John Paul II's Redemptoris Missio
(The Mission of the Redeemer), and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's Declaration Dominus Iesus
(The Lord Jesus), for which Benedict XVI was primarily responsible, when he was Prefect of the Congregation. Since the call to evangelization is so integral to the Catholic faith and solidly attested to in ecumenical councils, the writings of the Church Fathers, and papal teaching, Father Richard John Neuhaus
looked for the day when the term 'evangelical Catholic' was no longer necessary - when identifying as 'Catholic' implied active evangelization so strongly that the addition of 'evangelical' was unnecessary.
In Lutheranism
, the term evangelical catholic has a specific meaning. Lutheran Protestantism differs historically from most other kinds of Protestantism in that Lutheranism (along with Anglicanism) is the only historical Protestant denomination
that confesses belief in the efficacy of the sacraments: regeneration
in Holy Baptism
, Confession
as the sacrament of Absolution
, and the Real Presence
of Christ in Holy Eucharist. The Book of Concord
states, contrary to "Enthusiast
" belief, that salvation can be received only through means of grace
: God's Word and sacraments. The Augsburg Confession
stresses that "in doctrine and ceremonies nothing has been received on our part against Scripture or the Catholic Church." Article XXIV of the Augsburg Confession "Of the Mass" states: "Falsely are our churches accused of abolishing the Mass; for the Mass is retained among us, and celebrated with the highest reverence." Lutheran church bodies claim to also have retained the historical episcopate
and Apostolic Succession
.
In early Lutheranism, the Gnesio-Lutherans
compiled the first modern critical history of the world, the Magdeburg Centuries
, to show that the Lutheran Church was a continuation of the Christian Church throughout its history, though stripped of abuses originating from the pope. Gnesio-Lutherans like Joachim Westphal
and Andreas Musculus
had a 'high' understanding of the sacraments, and therefore were strongly opposed to any compromise with Calvinism
and Zwingliism
, as well as with Roman Catholic doctrine. In the era of Lutheran orthodoxy
, theologians Martin Chemnitz
and Johann Gerhard
(especially in his Confessio Catholica
) made extensive use of patristic sources. They saw the continuity of the pre-Reformation Church in Lutheranism, which they understood not as a re-formation of the Church, but rather a renewal movement within and for the Christian Church, from which the Roman Church did truly represent.
The evangelical feature of Lutheranism is justification by faith, as defined by Law and Gospel
and simul iustus et peccator. The term evangelical has a different origin and meaning in Lutheranism
than in "Evangelicalism
". (In German, there is a difference between evangelisch and evangelikal; in Swedish, there is a corresponding difference between "evangelisk" and "evangelikal"). In the Lutheran tradition, evangelical (evangelisch) refers to the gospel, with the specific meaning of "grace centered". The opposite of evangelical is not "catholic" or "liberal", but legalistic
.
In the 19th century, "Evangelical Catholicism" was seen as a vision for the Church of the future. The term was used by Lutherans such as Ernst Ludwig von Gerlach
and Heinrich Leo
within the post-Prussian Union
church in Germany who were inspired by the church of the Middle Ages, and by neo-Lutheran Friedrich Julius Stahl
.
The term Evangelical Catholic is often used today instead of the term "High Church Lutheranism
" because it is a theological term. It is comparable to the term "Anglo-Catholic
" within Anglicanism. Evangelical Catholic Lutheranism is not strictly defined, and can mean, for example, the theologically, biblically, and socially conservative ultra-high church Lutheranism of the strongly Roman Catholic-oriented Anglo-Lutheran Catholic Church
and the more Eastern Orthodox-oriented Evangelical Catholic Church
, those within the Confessional Lutheran
movement who follow the late Arthur Carl Piepkorn, the Evangelical Catholic Orthodoxy of Gunnar Rosendal
, the more theologically liberal high ecclesiology
of Carl Braaten
, the very liberal Evangelical Catholicity of Nathan Söderblom
, or even the more liberal Catholicism of Friedrich Heiler
, and the ecumenical vision of Hans Asmussen and Max Lackmann
.
In 1976 Joseph Ratzinger
, later Pope Benedict XVI, suggested that the Augsburg Confession
might be possible to recognise as a Catholic statement of faith. This did not happen due to differences in understanding of the theology on justification.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada
defines its doctrinal basis as such: "We derive our teachings from the Holy Scriptures and confess the three ecumenical creeds of the Christian church. We hold to orthodox catholic theology as enunciated in the ecumenical councils of the first five centuries of Christianity." Some small "Evangelical Catholic" church bodies include the Evangelical Catholic Church
, Anglo-Lutheran Catholic Church
, International Lutheran Fellowship
and the Lutheran Episcopal Communion
. The Nordic Catholic Church
in Norway has roots in High Church Lutheranism.
and Philip Schaff
, during their efforts (from roughly 1841 forward) to repristinate the theology of the German Reformed Church in the United States. In 1849 the Mercersburg Review was founded as the organ of their "Mercersburg Theology
".
Beginning in 1851, William Augustus Mühlenberg, the Protestant Episcopal clergyman of Lutheran background, and father of the Ritualist movement
in the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, also
published a periodical called "The Evangelical Catholic."
Already earlier, there was an evangelical revival in the Roman Catholic Church
in Germany
, involving Boos
, Gossner
and Feneberg
. This evangelical revivalist movement also spread to German Lutheranism.
The Lusitanian Catholic Apostolic Evangelical Church
in Portugal
has its origins in the Old Catholic movement of the 19th century. Today it belongs to the Anglican Communion
.
In England, Ulric Vernon Herford (1866–1938), Mar Jacobus, Bishop of Mercia & Middelesex, founded The Evangelical Catholic Communion. His succession line was brought to the United States in the 1960s and continues in Evangelical Apostolic Church of North America.
Some members of various Christian denominations may use the term Evangelical Catholic to indicate the fact that they are evangelical and maintain their catholicity. For example, Methodists and Presbyterians believe their denominations owe their origins to the Apostles and the early church, but do not claim descent from ancient church structures such as the episcopate. However, both of these churches hold that they are a part of the catholic (universal) church. According to Harper's New Monthly Magazine: As such, according to one viewpoint, for those who "belong to the Church," the term Methodist Catholic, or Presbyterian Catholic, or Baptist Catholic, is as proper as the term Roman Catholic. It simply means that body of Christian believers over the world who agree in their religious views, and accept the same ecclesiastical forms.
has formed some new church bodies, like the Charismatic Episcopal Church
. One of the new Catholic Evangelical churches is the King's Family of Churches
. It governs by an episcopal polity, embraces the Charismatic renewal, use different liturgical versions in worship, both Anglican and Lutheran, and has a strong focus in missions and church planting according to its mission statement.
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
" and "evangelical" (meaning "gospel centered"). Evangelical Catholic (catholic is the noun with evangelical modifying) can refer to: evangelical Protestant
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
Christians who consider themselves catholic Christians that identify with the historic Christian Church
Christian Church
The Christian Church is the assembly or association of followers of Jesus Christ. The Greek term ἐκκλησία that in its appearances in the New Testament is usually translated as "church" basically means "assembly"...
, who believe that the early ecumenical councils and the Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
were both part of the progressive illumination of the Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of the Hebrew Bible, but understood differently in the main Abrahamic religions.While the general concept of a "Spirit" that permeates the cosmos has been used in various religions Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of...
; Roman Catholics who, in continuity with the long tradition of the Church and empowered by the "The New Evangelization" stress the centrality and salvific universality of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the necessity of proclaiming it. Evangelical Catholics usually refers to Roman Catholics, but may also include Eastern Rite Catholic Churches or other churches that are not Roman Catholic, mainly Anglican, Lutheran
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
, and Methodist
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
.
Evangelical Roman Catholicism
In Roman Catholicism, the term Evangelical Catholic refers to Catholics in complete communion with the Catholic Church who exhibit, according to Alister McGrath, the four characteristics of evangelicalism. The first is a strong theological and devotional emphasis on the Bible. Secondly, Evangelical Catholics stress the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as the cause of salvation for all mankind. A personal need for interior conversion is the third defining mark, and, consequently, the fourth is a deep commitment to evangelization.Evangelical Roman Catholics see these evangelical emphases as part of the long tradition of Catholic Christianity. Evangelical preaching movements such as St. Dominic's, who was called the Vir Evangelicus (evangelical man), are a common point of reference. To Catholics, the term 'evangelical' refers to its etymological root - the Greek word euangelion - which means 'good news' or 'Gospel'. To Catholics, being evangelical is understood in the context of the tradition of the Catholic Church and in a Catholic interpretation of Scripture, and not in the doctrinal and ecclesiological upheavals of the Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
.
The Roman Catholic Church is experiencing an lay response to the evangelical witness of the recent popes and their encyclicals, especially Pope Paul VI's Evangelii Nuntiandi
Evangelii Nuntiandi
Evangelii Nuntiandi is an apostolic exhortation issued on 8 December 1975 by Pope Paul VI following the work of the synod on the theme...
(On Evangelization in the Modern World), John Paul II's Redemptoris Missio
Redemptoris Missio
Redemptoris Missio , subtitled On the permanent validity of the Church's missionary mandate, is a Papal encyclical by Pope John Paul II published on December 7, 1990 devoted to the subject of "the urgency of missionary activity" and in which he wished "to invite the Church to renew her missionary...
(The Mission of the Redeemer), and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's Declaration Dominus Iesus
Dominus Iesus
Dominus Iesus is a declaration by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. It was approved in a Plenary meeting of the Congregation, and bears the signature of its then Prefect, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, and of its then Secretary, Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone, now...
(The Lord Jesus), for which Benedict XVI was primarily responsible, when he was Prefect of the Congregation. Since the call to evangelization is so integral to the Catholic faith and solidly attested to in ecumenical councils, the writings of the Church Fathers, and papal teaching, Father Richard John Neuhaus
Richard John Neuhaus
Richard John Neuhaus was a prominent Christian cleric and writer. Born in Canada, Neuhaus moved to the United States where he became a naturalized United States citizen...
looked for the day when the term 'evangelical Catholic' was no longer necessary - when identifying as 'Catholic' implied active evangelization so strongly that the addition of 'evangelical' was unnecessary.
Lutheran Evangelical Catholicity
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
, the term evangelical catholic has a specific meaning. Lutheran Protestantism differs historically from most other kinds of Protestantism in that Lutheranism (along with Anglicanism) is the only historical Protestant denomination
Christian denomination
A Christian denomination is an identifiable religious body under a common name, structure, and doctrine within Christianity. In the Orthodox tradition, Churches are divided often along ethnic and linguistic lines, into separate churches and traditions. Technically, divisions between one group and...
that confesses belief in the efficacy of the sacraments: regeneration
Regeneration (theology)
Regeneration, while sometimes perceived to be a step in the Ordo salutis , is generally understood in Christian theology to be the objective work of God in a believer's life. Spiritually, it means that God brings Christians to new life from a previous state of subjection to the decay of death...
in Holy Baptism
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
, Confession
Confession
This article is for the religious practice of confessing one's sins.Confession is the acknowledgment of sin or wrongs...
as the sacrament of Absolution
Absolution
Absolution is a traditional theological term for the forgiveness experienced in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This concept is found in the Roman Catholic Church, as well as the Eastern Orthodox churches, the Anglican churches, and most Lutheran churches....
, and the Real Presence
Real Presence
Real Presence is a term used in various Christian traditions to express belief that in the Eucharist, Jesus Christ is really present in what was previously just bread and wine, and not merely present in symbol, a figure of speech , or by his power .Not all Christian traditions accept this dogma...
of Christ in Holy Eucharist. The Book of Concord
Book of Concord
The Book of Concord or Concordia is the historic doctrinal standard of the Lutheran Church, consisting of ten credal documents recognized as authoritative in Lutheranism since the 16th century...
states, contrary to "Enthusiast
Radical Reformation
The Radical Reformation was a 16th century response to what was believed to be both the corruption in the Roman Catholic Church and the expanding Magisterial Protestant movement led by Martin Luther and many others. Beginning in Germany and Switzerland, the Radical Reformation birthed many radical...
" belief, that salvation can be received only through means of grace
Means of Grace
The Means of Grace in Christian theology are those things through which God gives grace. Just what this grace entails is interpreted in various ways: generally speaking, some see it as God blessing humankind so as to sustain and empower the Christian life; others see it as forgiveness, life, and...
: God's Word and sacraments. The Augsburg Confession
Augsburg Confession
The Augsburg Confession, also known as the "Augustana" from its Latin name, Confessio Augustana, is the primary confession of faith of the Lutheran Church and one of the most important documents of the Lutheran reformation...
stresses that "in doctrine and ceremonies nothing has been received on our part against Scripture or the Catholic Church." Article XXIV of the Augsburg Confession "Of the Mass" states: "Falsely are our churches accused of abolishing the Mass; for the Mass is retained among us, and celebrated with the highest reverence." Lutheran church bodies claim to also have retained the historical episcopate
Historical episcopate
The episcopate is the collective body of all bishops of a church. In the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, Eastern Rite Catholic, Oriental Orthodox, Old-Catholic, Moravian Church, and Independent Catholic churches as well as in the Assyrian Church of the East, it is held that only a...
and Apostolic Succession
Apostolic Succession
Apostolic succession is a doctrine, held by some Christian denominations, which asserts that the chosen successors of the Twelve Apostles, from the first century to the present day, have inherited the spiritual, ecclesiastical and sacramental authority, power, and responsibility that were...
.
In early Lutheranism, the Gnesio-Lutherans
Gnesio-Lutherans
"Gnesio-Lutherans" is a modern name for a theological party in the Lutheran Church, in opposition to the Philippists after the death of Martin Luther and before the Formula of Concord. In their own day they were called Flacians by their opponents and simply Lutherans by themselves...
compiled the first modern critical history of the world, the Magdeburg Centuries
Magdeburg Centuries
The Magdeburg Centuries is an ecclesiastical history, divided into thirteen centuries, covering thirteen hundred years, ending in 1298; it was first published from 1559 to 1574. It was compiled by several Lutheran scholars in Magdeburg, known as the Centuriators of Magdeburg. The chief of the...
, to show that the Lutheran Church was a continuation of the Christian Church throughout its history, though stripped of abuses originating from the pope. Gnesio-Lutherans like Joachim Westphal
Joachim Westphal (of Hamburg)
Joachim Westphal was a German "Gnesio-Lutheran" theologian....
and Andreas Musculus
Andreas Musculus
Andreas Musculus was a German Lutheran theologian. The name Musculus is a Latinized form of Meusel.Musculus was born in Schneeberg, Saxony, "generally called only Musculus" and educated in Leipzig and Wittenberg. He became professor in university of Frankfurt an der Oder...
had a 'high' understanding of the sacraments, and therefore were strongly opposed to any compromise with Calvinism
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
and Zwingliism
Theology of Huldrych Zwingli
The basis of the theology of Huldrych Zwingli was the Bible. He took scripture as the inspired word of God and placed its authority higher than human sources such as the Ecumenical councils and the church fathers...
, as well as with Roman Catholic doctrine. In the era of Lutheran orthodoxy
Lutheran Orthodoxy
Lutheran orthodoxy was an era in the history of Lutheranism, which began in 1580 from the writing of the Book of Concord and ended at the Age of Enlightenment. Lutheran orthodoxy was paralleled by similar eras in Calvinism and tridentine Roman Catholicism after the...
, theologians Martin Chemnitz
Martin Chemnitz
Martin Chemnitz was an eminent second-generation Lutheran theologian, reformer, churchman, and confessor...
and Johann Gerhard
Johann Gerhard
Johann Gerhard was a Lutheran church leader and Lutheran Scholastic theologian during the period of Orthodoxy.-Biography:He was born in the German city of Quedlinburg...
(especially in his Confessio Catholica
Confessio Catholica
Confessio catholica is one of the main works of German Orthodox Lutheran theologian Johann Gerhard . It seeks to prove the evangelical and catholic character of the doctrine of the Augsburg Confession from the writings of approved Roman Catholic authors.Confessio catholica, in qua doctrina...
) made extensive use of patristic sources. They saw the continuity of the pre-Reformation Church in Lutheranism, which they understood not as a re-formation of the Church, but rather a renewal movement within and for the Christian Church, from which the Roman Church did truly represent.
The evangelical feature of Lutheranism is justification by faith, as defined by Law and Gospel
Law and Gospel
In Christianity the relationship between God's Law and the Gospel is a major topic in Lutheran and Reformed theology. In these traditions, the distinction between the doctrines of Law, which demands obedience to God's ethical will, and Gospel, which promises the forgiveness of sins in light of the...
and simul iustus et peccator. The term evangelical has a different origin and meaning in Lutheranism
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
than in "Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
". (In German, there is a difference between evangelisch and evangelikal; in Swedish, there is a corresponding difference between "evangelisk" and "evangelikal"). In the Lutheran tradition, evangelical (evangelisch) refers to the gospel, with the specific meaning of "grace centered". The opposite of evangelical is not "catholic" or "liberal", but legalistic
Legalism (theology)
Legalism, in Christian theology, is a sometimes-pejorative term referring to an over-emphasis on discipline of conduct, or legal ideas, usually implying an allegation of misguided rigour, pride, superficiality, the neglect of mercy, and ignorance of the grace of God or emphasizing the letter of...
.
In the 19th century, "Evangelical Catholicism" was seen as a vision for the Church of the future. The term was used by Lutherans such as Ernst Ludwig von Gerlach
Ernst Ludwig von Gerlach
Ernst Ludwig von Gerlach was a conservative Prussian judge, politician, and editor. He was the son of Carl Friedrich Leopold von Gerlach and the brother of Ludwig Friedrich Leopold von Gerlach....
and Heinrich Leo
Heinrich Leo
Heinrich Leo was a Prussian historian born in Rudolstadt, his father being chaplain to the garrison there....
within the post-Prussian Union
Prussian Union (Evangelical Christian Church)
The Prussian Union was the merger of the Lutheran Church and the Reformed Church in Prussia, by a series of decrees – among them the Unionsurkunde – by King Frederick William III...
church in Germany who were inspired by the church of the Middle Ages, and by neo-Lutheran Friedrich Julius Stahl
Friedrich Julius Stahl
Friedrich Julius Stahl , German ecclesiastical lawyer and politician, was born at Würzburg, of Jewish parentage....
.
The term Evangelical Catholic is often used today instead of the term "High Church Lutheranism
High Church Lutheranism
"High Church Lutheranism" is the name given in Europe for the 20th century Lutheran movement that emphasizes worship practices and doctrines that are similar to those found within both Roman Catholicism and the Anglo-Catholic wing of Anglicanism...
" because it is a theological term. It is comparable to the term "Anglo-Catholic
Anglo-Catholicism
The terms Anglo-Catholic and Anglo-Catholicism describe people, beliefs and practices within Anglicanism that affirm the Catholic, rather than Protestant, heritage and identity of the Anglican churches....
" within Anglicanism. Evangelical Catholic Lutheranism is not strictly defined, and can mean, for example, the theologically, biblically, and socially conservative ultra-high church Lutheranism of the strongly Roman Catholic-oriented Anglo-Lutheran Catholic Church
Anglo-Lutheran Catholic Church
The Anglo-Lutheran Catholic Church , formerly the Evangelical Community Church-Lutheran , is a church in the Lutheran Evangelical Catholic tradition. The ALCC claims to be unique among Lutheran churches in that it is of both Lutheran and Anglo-Catholic heritage and has also been significantly...
and the more Eastern Orthodox-oriented Evangelical Catholic Church
Evangelical Catholic Church
The Evangelical Catholic Church is an Independent Catholic Church which is theologically Lutheran, embracing the Augsburg Confession . Its membership numbers under 500. It was incorporated in Arizona in 1976. It practices infant communion....
, those within the Confessional Lutheran
Confessional Lutheran
Confessional Lutheran is a name used by certain Lutheran Christians to designate themselves as those who accept the doctrines taught in the Book of Concord of 1580 in their entirety, because they believe them to be completely faithful to the teachings of the Bible...
movement who follow the late Arthur Carl Piepkorn, the Evangelical Catholic Orthodoxy of Gunnar Rosendal
Gunnar Rosendal
Gunnar Rosendal was a Swedish Lutheran priest, Doctor of Theology, and parish priest of Osby...
, the more theologically liberal high ecclesiology
Ecclesiology
Today, ecclesiology usually refers to the theological study of the Christian church. However when the word was coined in the late 1830s, it was defined as the science of the building and decoration of churches and it is still, though rarely, used in this sense.In its theological sense, ecclesiology...
of Carl Braaten
Carl Braaten
Carl E. Braaten is an American Lutheran theologian.-Biography:Carl Braaten has been one of the leading theologians and teachers in the Lutheran church for the past 50 years...
, the very liberal Evangelical Catholicity of Nathan Söderblom
Nathan Söderblom
Lars Olof Jonathan Söderblom was a Swedish clergyman, Archbishop of Uppsala in the Church of Sweden, and recipient of the 1930 Nobel Peace Prize...
, or even the more liberal Catholicism of Friedrich Heiler
Friedrich Heiler
Friedrich Heiler was a German theologian and historian of religion.Heiler came from a Roman Catholic family...
, and the ecumenical vision of Hans Asmussen and Max Lackmann
Max Lackmann
Max Lackmann was a German Lutheran ecumenist.Lackmann studied theology at Bonn and Basel as a pupil of Karl Barth. He wrote against Nazi ideology, and he had to move from Germany to Basel. When he returned to Germany, he was ordained in 1940 and became pastor in Confessing Church...
.
In 1976 Joseph Ratzinger
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
, later Pope Benedict XVI, suggested that the Augsburg Confession
Augsburg Confession
The Augsburg Confession, also known as the "Augustana" from its Latin name, Confessio Augustana, is the primary confession of faith of the Lutheran Church and one of the most important documents of the Lutheran reformation...
might be possible to recognise as a Catholic statement of faith. This did not happen due to differences in understanding of the theology on justification.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada is Canada's largest Lutheran denomination, with 152,788 baptized members in 624 congregations, with the second largest, the Lutheran Church–Canada, having 72,116 baptized members...
defines its doctrinal basis as such: "We derive our teachings from the Holy Scriptures and confess the three ecumenical creeds of the Christian church. We hold to orthodox catholic theology as enunciated in the ecumenical councils of the first five centuries of Christianity." Some small "Evangelical Catholic" church bodies include the Evangelical Catholic Church
Evangelical Catholic Church
The Evangelical Catholic Church is an Independent Catholic Church which is theologically Lutheran, embracing the Augsburg Confession . Its membership numbers under 500. It was incorporated in Arizona in 1976. It practices infant communion....
, Anglo-Lutheran Catholic Church
Anglo-Lutheran Catholic Church
The Anglo-Lutheran Catholic Church , formerly the Evangelical Community Church-Lutheran , is a church in the Lutheran Evangelical Catholic tradition. The ALCC claims to be unique among Lutheran churches in that it is of both Lutheran and Anglo-Catholic heritage and has also been significantly...
, International Lutheran Fellowship
International Lutheran Fellowship
The Lutheran Church-International is an American religious denomination. Its president from 1966 to 1998 was Pastor E. Edward Tornow of North Dakota. It is was formerly known as the International Lutheran Fellowship. Its president is Archbishop Robert W. Hotes....
and the Lutheran Episcopal Communion
Lutheran Episcopal Communion
Now the pivotal point in history for the Lutheran Episcopal Communion in the history of Christianity was when Dr.Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences to the door of the Castle Church, in Wittenberg, Germany. With these theses Dr...
. The Nordic Catholic Church
Nordic Catholic Church
The Nordic Catholic Church is a church body in Norway of High Church Lutheran origin, under the auspices of the Polish National Catholic Church and Scranton Union....
in Norway has roots in High Church Lutheranism.
Among other church bodies
In recent years, the term Evangelical Catholic, has been adopted by high church elements of the Methodist and Reformed Churches. This is especially apt among the Reformed, given that one of the older documented uses of the term is by John Williamson NevinJohn Williamson Nevin
John Williamson Nevin , American theologian and educationalist, was born on Herron's Branch, near Shippensburg, Franklin county, Pennsylvania.-Biography:...
and Philip Schaff
Philip Schaff
Philip Schaff , was a Swiss-born, German-educated Protestant theologian and a historian of the Christian church, who, after his education, lived and taught in the United States.-Biography:...
, during their efforts (from roughly 1841 forward) to repristinate the theology of the German Reformed Church in the United States. In 1849 the Mercersburg Review was founded as the organ of their "Mercersburg Theology
Mercersburg Theology
Mercersburg Theology was a German-American theological movement that began in the mid-19th century. It draws its name from Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, home of Marshall College from 1836 until its merger with Franklin College in 1853, and also home to the seminary of the Reformed Church in the...
".
Beginning in 1851, William Augustus Mühlenberg, the Protestant Episcopal clergyman of Lutheran background, and father of the Ritualist movement
Ritualist movement
Ritualism, in the history of Christianity, refers to an emphasis on the rituals and liturgical ceremony of the church, in particular of Holy Communion....
in the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, also
published a periodical called "The Evangelical Catholic."
Already earlier, there was an evangelical revival in the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, involving Boos
Martin Boos
Martin Boos was a German Roman Catholic theologian.He was born at Huttenried in Bavaria. Orphaned at the age of four, he was reared by an uncle at Augsburg, who finally sent him to the University of Dillingen, where he studied under Sailer, Zimmer, and Weber. There he laid the foundation of the...
, Gossner
Johannes Gossner
Johannes Evangelista Gossner , German divine and philanthropist, was born at Hausen near Augsburg.He was educated at the University of Dillingen...
and Feneberg
Johann Michael Nathanael Feneberg
Johann Michael Nathanael Feneberg, born in Oberdorf, Allgau, Bavaria, February 9, 1751; died October 12, 1812. He studied at Kaufbeuren and in the Jesuit gymnasium at Augsburg, and in 1770 entered the Society of Jesus, at Landsberg, Bavaria...
. This evangelical revivalist movement also spread to German Lutheranism.
The Lusitanian Catholic Apostolic Evangelical Church
Lusitanian Catholic Apostolic Evangelical Church
The Lusitanian Catholic Apostolic Evangelical Church is the Anglican church in Portugal. Like all Anglican Communion churches, it recognises the primacy of the Archbishop of Canterbury...
in Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
has its origins in the Old Catholic movement of the 19th century. Today it belongs to the Anglican Communion
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
.
In England, Ulric Vernon Herford (1866–1938), Mar Jacobus, Bishop of Mercia & Middelesex, founded The Evangelical Catholic Communion. His succession line was brought to the United States in the 1960s and continues in Evangelical Apostolic Church of North America.
Some members of various Christian denominations may use the term Evangelical Catholic to indicate the fact that they are evangelical and maintain their catholicity. For example, Methodists and Presbyterians believe their denominations owe their origins to the Apostles and the early church, but do not claim descent from ancient church structures such as the episcopate. However, both of these churches hold that they are a part of the catholic (universal) church. According to Harper's New Monthly Magazine: As such, according to one viewpoint, for those who "belong to the Church," the term Methodist Catholic, or Presbyterian Catholic, or Baptist Catholic, is as proper as the term Roman Catholic. It simply means that body of Christian believers over the world who agree in their religious views, and accept the same ecclesiastical forms.
New church bodies
At the end of 20th century the Convergence MovementConvergence Movement
The Convergence Movement refers to a move among evangelical and charismatic churches in the United States to blend charismatic worship with liturgies from the Book of Common Prayer and other liturgical sources. The Movement was inspired by the spiritual pilgrimages of modern Evangelical writers...
has formed some new church bodies, like the Charismatic Episcopal Church
Charismatic Episcopal Church
The Charismatic Episcopal Church, more officially known as the International Communion of the Charismatic Episcopal Church , is an international Christian denomination established as an autocephalous communion in 1992...
. One of the new Catholic Evangelical churches is the King's Family of Churches
King's Family of Churches
The King's Family of Churches is an apostolic family of churches with its origins in the Evangelical missions in Spain, particularly in Friends of God mission society, that came to embrace the Convergence Movement of Christianity...
. It governs by an episcopal polity, embraces the Charismatic renewal, use different liturgical versions in worship, both Anglican and Lutheran, and has a strong focus in missions and church planting according to its mission statement.
See also
- CatholicismCatholicismCatholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
- Christian ecumenism
- EvangelicalismEvangelicalismEvangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
- ProtestantismProtestantismProtestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
- Branch theoryBranch theoryThe Branch Theory is a theological concept within Anglicanism, holding that the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Anglican Communion are the three principal branches of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.-Theory:...
- Primitive CatholicPrimitive CatholicThe term Primitive Catholic is used by a small but growing number of Christians, both in established Church bodies as well as in independent Christian congregations...
- Porvoo CommunionPorvoo CommunionThe Porvoo Communion is a communion of 12 mainly northern European Anglican and Lutheran churches. It was established in 1992 by an agreement entitled the Porvoo Common Statement which establishes full communion between and among the churches...
- Robert W. JensonRobert JensonRobert W. Jenson is a leading American Lutheran and ecumenical theologian.-Student years:Jenson studied classics and philosophy at Luther College in the late 1940s, before beginning theological studies at Luther Seminary in 1951. Due to a car accident he missed most of his first-year seminary...
- High churchHigh churchThe term "High Church" refers to beliefs and practices of ecclesiology, liturgy and theology, generally with an emphasis on formality, and resistance to "modernization." Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term has traditionally been principally associated with the...
- Liturgical MovementLiturgical MovementThe Liturgical Movement began as a movement of scholarship for the reform of worship within the Roman Catholic Church. It has grown over the last century and a half and has affected many other Christian Churches, including the Church of England and other Churches of the Anglican Communion, and some...
- Lutheran Episocopal Communion
- Anglo-CatholicismAnglo-CatholicismThe terms Anglo-Catholic and Anglo-Catholicism describe people, beliefs and practices within Anglicanism that affirm the Catholic, rather than Protestant, heritage and identity of the Anglican churches....
- Independent Catholic
- Anglo-Lutheran Catholic ChurchAnglo-Lutheran Catholic ChurchThe Anglo-Lutheran Catholic Church , formerly the Evangelical Community Church-Lutheran , is a church in the Lutheran Evangelical Catholic tradition. The ALCC claims to be unique among Lutheran churches in that it is of both Lutheran and Anglo-Catholic heritage and has also been significantly...
- Old Catholic ChurchOld Catholic ChurchThe term Old Catholic Church is commonly used to describe a number of Ultrajectine Christian churches that originated with groups that split from the Roman Catholic Church over certain doctrines, most importantly that of Papal Infallibility...
- Reformed Catholic Church
- Reformed CatholicsReformed CatholicsReformed Catholics are a small religious body originating in New York City about 1879. Some priests who left the Catholic Church formed a few congregations, chiefly in New York, and began evangelistic work on a Protestant basis of belief. The leader of the movement was Rev. James A...
- Scottish Church SocietyScottish Church SocietyThe Scottish Church Society is a Church of Scotland society founded in 1892.Although always a minority within the Church of Scotland, the Society has at times proved influential. It grew out of the Church Service Society , but the Scottish Church Society does not confine itself to interest in...
- Evangelical Council of VenezuelaEvangelical Council of VenezuelaThe Evangelical Council of Venezuela is an organization of evangelical mission agencies in Venezuela. Samuel Olson is president. , the council has been active in the announced expulsion of New Tribes Mission from the country.-See also:...
Further reading
- Brodd, Sven-Erik: Evangelisk katolicitet. Ett studium av innehall och funktion under 1800- och 1900-talet. GWK Gleerup, Uppsala 1982.
- Pryzywara, Erich: Evangelische Katholizität - Katholische Evangelizität. Katholische Krise. Düsseldorf 1967
- Aulén, GustafGustaf AulénGustaf Emanuel Hildebrand Aulén was the Bishop of Strängnäs in the Church of Sweden, a theologian, and the author of Christus Victor, a work which still exerts considerable influence on contemporary theological thinking on the Atonement.-Life:Aulén was born in 1879 in Ljungby parish, Kalmar...
: The Catholicity of Lutheranism. A Contribution to the Ecumenical Discussion (World Lutheranism Today. A Tribute to Anders Nygren 15 November 1950. Lund 1950) - Carl E. Braaten and Robert W. Jenson, editors, The Catholicity of the Reformation (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1996).
- Max Lackman, Katholische Einheit und Augsburger Konfession (Graz, 1960).
- George A. Lindbeck, “Ecumenical Directions and Confessional Construals,” dialog 30 (1991), 118–23.
- Jaroslav Pelikan, Obedient Rebels. Catholic Substance and Protestant Principle in Luther’s Reformation (New York and Evanston: Harper and Row, 1964).
- Francis Beckwith, Return to Rome: Confessions of An Evangelical Catholic (Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2009)
Roman Catholic links
- The Evangelical Catholic
- Centre for Contemporary Christianity in Ireland
- Catholic - Evangelical Cooperation
- Center for Catholic and Evangelical Dialogue
Lutheran links
- Center for Catholic and Evangelical Theology
- Arthur Carl Piepkorn Center for Evangelical Catholicity
- Lutherans are not Protestants by Darel E. Paul, 2001
- Is Your Church Catholic Enough? by J.P. Winsor, March 7, 2002
- Lutheran Episcopal Communion
- Association of Independent Evangelical Lutheran Churches