> Dear Father Estes: Thank you for posting this. By and large I think you
score high for generally getting the stream of development right. Permit
me to share a bit of background vs a vs the Anglican Continuum and the
LCMS:
About 20 years ago there was aneffort to gather
traditionalists from the Lutheran and Anglican perspective into a kind
of journalistic co-operative. The main leadesr were the
ChristianChallenge of the late and lamented Dorothy Faber and the
Lutheran (now Christian News) headed by Hermann Otten STM. Hermann is an
irascible Lutheran whose heroseems to be CFW Walther who started the
LCMS in Saxony before they even came to Missouri in the middle of the
19th c.
I have written many things for Herman's
paper which is not what it was 20 years ago (he is nearing 80) but his
anti Popery (understandably for the LCMS) and his long battle with the
Synod to get official approbation(he has never been on the official
roster for his rebellion in seminary in the 1950's) have ossified some
of his views though muchof what he says and prints is worthy of more
than passingnote.
The LCMS knows little about Anglicans and
what they do know has themof the idea that we are all crypto Calvinists.
I have tried (as have others) to explain this to Hermann but...
The LCMS is engaged in its own battle for its path to the
future and while it is true that they do have a certain view of the Real
Presence (tho sub Catholic) they have neither Holy Orders or any desire
to get them and thats the main obstacle.
LCMS used to
be in 'altar and pulpit fellowship' with several other synods but no
longer. They seem to have a very mixed reaction to ELCA.
Luther could have gotten apostolic succession from Sweden or even
Denmark had he really wanted it but again...
ECUSA
had an arrangement with the Augustana Synod in the 19th c (mainly in the
Midwest) that providfed for episcopal confirmation (Firmung vs
Konfirmation)and ordination. This disappeared about 1910. Blessings.
GDVW+
> As a former Lutheran who took solace in Phillip Melancthon's "Apology
> to
> the Augsburg Confession, let me say that in Article 16 of the Apology of
> the
> Augsburg Confession, Melancthon (Luther's associate) wrote that it is our
> desire to maintain the ranks of the historic episcopacy. He writes that
> it is
> the raging opposition of the Roman bishops that prevent us from
> maintaining
> that which we desire. He writes that it is our desire now and in the
> future
> that the historic episcopacy be maintained. What happened is that after
> Luther's death and that of Melancthon the Lutheran Church misinterpreted
> Luther's
> doctrine of the "priesthood of all beleivers" and became very
> congregational
> in it's doctrinal stands. Luther never intended that the "priesthood of
> all
> believers" be construed as every man a priest as the Baptist and other
> fundamentalists contend. Luther contended that the priesthood of all
> believers con
> stituted the whole Church and that it's position on doctrinal matters
> would
> constitute consensus on historic doctrines. His position is quite
> different
> from the "priesthood of each believer" believed by the Baptist and other
> evangelicals. Luther once said in a letter to Pope Leo X that he would
> be
> willing to kiss the the pope's feet if the pope were to only allow the
> free
> proclamation of the gospel and the right administration of the
> sacramentrs. Even
> today, though they are in heresy on other doctrinal matters, the
> Evangelical
> Lutheran Church in American has adopted the historic apostolic succession
> in
> the elevation of their bishops and pastors since they accepted full
> communion
> with
> ECUSA. Dr. Luther on his death bed even ackowledged the failure of his
> reformation when he said, " I started out to remove one pope and I have
> created
> a thousand, God help us."
> I write this to all of you so that you may see Luther's plight in the
> light of his times. He would have remained a devout Catholic, had he
> been
> given any slack. Today the ELCA has gone away from Luther and gone to
> bed with
> ECUSA, the Presbyterians, the Reformed and the UCC It is by no means
> orthodox
> or even able to authenically claim the name Lutheran. However, I wish
> there
> would be some contact with the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. Though
> they
> presently abhor any episcopacy or apostolic sucession, they do maintain
> the
> Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist and accept the historic creeds
> and
> liturgy. It would be an uphill battle with them, yet some contact with
> them
> spelling out our position would be good, since the majority of
> protestantism
> has adopted heresy including the ELCA. If they can come to see us as not
> enemies of the gospel but rather proponents of the gospel then we would
> have a
> considerable ally in the fight against modernism and biblical
> revisionism. What
> would you all say if some contact were made for a meeting and some
> conversation ? Don't get me wrong I am happily Anglican and do not wish
> some sort of
> merger with the LCMS, but I am simply suggesting a possible ally in the
> fight
> against the likes of ECUSA, the ELCA, the PCUSA, and the UCC. I hope you
> will give me some feedback.
>
> Fr. David Eastes
> St. Luke's Anglican Church, Port Orange Fl.
>
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