Accepted by God - Transformed by Christ

Abstract

Following the confirmation of the Joint Declaration by the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran World Federation in 1999, it was recommended that this historical document be further studied in seminaries and parishes. Furthermore, it was requested that common and deepening ecumenical reflection be continued on the biblical message of justification and its meaning for the churches, for the lives of individual persons, and for society at large.The study by the German Ecumenical Study Commission (DÖSTA), involving representatives of the Protestant and Roman Catholic churches, as well as delegates from the Orthodox, Old Catholic, Baptist, Mennonite and Methodist churches, represents one undertaking to respond to this invitation. The commission’s state ment shared here is a helpful example of a regional attempt to facilitate the reception process within the wider communion. Included in this volume are also the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, the Official Common Statement and its Annex, and the 2006 Statement of the World Methodist Council.