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Augustana Working Group

Meeting of the Augustana Working Group in Rome

by | Mar 27, 2025

Participants in the third meeting of the Concordia Lutheran-Catholic Augustana Working Group.

ROME – The third meeting of the Concordia Lutheran-Catholic Augustana Working Group (AWG) took place in Rome from February 23-25, 2025.

Under the chairmanship of Bishop Dr. Juhana Pohjola, Chairman of the International Lutheran Council (ILC), and Auxiliary Bishop Dr. Peter Birkhofer, the participants discussed the statements of the Augsburg Confession on ordination and episcopacy from a pre-confessional perspective and in the further confessional development. As a guest, Prof. em. Dr. Josef Freitag gave an online presentation on the understanding of episcopacy in the context of the Council of Trent.

The next meeting is scheduled to take place as a video conference in October 2025.

Meeting of the Augustana Working Group in Rome. (Photo: Rev. Dr. Thomas M. Winger)

The Augustana Working Group includes representatives of the International Lutheran Council (ILC) and the Catholic Church. Following the conclusion of the theological discussions between the ILC—an association of Concordia Lutheran churches—and the Catholic Church (2014-2019), both sides suggested the establishment of a working group as a specific ecumenical-theological format. The working group is not an official dialogue commission. Father Dr. Augustinus Sander OSB takes part in the meetings as a permanent guest of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity (DPCU).

Participants of the International Lutheran Council (ILC)

  • Bishop Dr. Juhana Pohjola, Helsinki, Finland, Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Missionary Diocese of Finland; Chairman of the International Lutheran Council (ILC)
  • Prof. Dr. Joel Elowsky, St. Louis, Mo., USA
  • Prof. em. Dr. Werner Klän, D.Litt., Lübeck, Germany
  • Associate Prof. Dr. Jonathan Mumme, Hillsdale, Mich., USA
  • Prof. Dr. Thomas M. Winger, St. Catharines, Ont., Canada
  • Rev. Sebastian Grünbaum, Helsinki / Vatican (minute writer)

Catholic participants

  • Auxiliary Bishop Dr. Peter Birkhofer, Freiburg / Breisgau, Germany
  • Prof. Dr. Markus Lersch, Siegen, Germany (online)
  • Dr. Tim Lindfeld, Aachen, Germany
  • Associate Professor Dr. James Prothro, St. Louis, Mo., USA (absent)
  • Father Dr. Augustinus Sander OSB, Vatican, permanent guest of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity

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For further information on the ILC’s ecumenical relations with Catholics, see here.

Meeting of the Augustana Working Group in Wittenberg

by | Dec 18, 2024

The Augustana Working Group held its second meeting at the International Lutheran Center at the Old Latin School in Wittenberg, Germany, in December 2024.

GERMANY – The second meeting of the Concordia Lutheran-Catholic Augustana Working Group took place in Wittenberg, Germany, from December 8-11, 2024. Under the chairmanship of Bishop Dr. Juhana Pohjola and Auxiliary Bishop Dr. Peter Birkhofer, the participants discussed the statements of the Augsburg Confession on justification and the office of the ministry from a pre-confessional perspective. This new methodological approach will be explored in greater depth at the next meeting in Rome in February 2025.

The Augustana Working Group includes representatives of the International Lutheran Council (ILC) and the Catholic Church. Following the conclusion of the theological discussions between the ILC, an association of Concordia Lutheran churches, and the Catholic Church (2014-2019), both sides suggested the establishment of a working group as a specific ecumenical-theological format. The working group is not an official dialogue commission. Father Dr. Augustinus Sander OSB takes part in the meetings as a permanent guest of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity (DPCU).

The next meeting is scheduled to take place in Rome from February 23-26, 2025.

Participants of the International Lutheran Council (ILC):

  • Bishop Dr. Juhana Pohjola, Helsinki, Finland, Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Missionary Diocese of Finland; Chairman of the International Lutheran Council (ILC)
  • Prof. Dr. Joel Elowsky, St. Louis, Mo., USA
  • Prof. em. Dr. Werner Klän, D.Litt., Lübeck, Germany
  • Assistant Prof. Dr. Jonathan Mumme, Hillsdale, Mich., USA
  • Prof. Dr. Tom Winger, St. Catharines, Ont., Canada
  • Prof. Dr. Klaus Detlev Schulz, Ft. Wayne, Ind., USA (ILC General Secretary) – temporary participation, but not a member

Catholic participants:

  • Auxiliary Bishop Dr. Peter Birkhofer, Freiburg / Breisgau, Germany
  • Prof. Dr. Markus Lersch, Siegen, Germany
  • Dr. Tim Lindfeld, Aachen, Germany
  • Assistant Professor Dr. James Prothro, St. Louis, Mo., USA
  • Father Dr. Augustinus Sander OSB, Vatican, permanent guest of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity

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For further information, see also this report on the Augustana Working Group’s inaugural March 2024 meeting.

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