The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) is preparing a statement that asks forgiveness from Anabaptists — Mennonites, Amish and similar believers — for 16th-century persecution, which included torture and killings. The decision to prepare the statement was made by the LWF council, the world body’s main governing agency, which met in Arusha, Tanzania, June 24-30.
Anabaptists, which means “rebaptizers,” were the radical wing of the Protestant Reformation and were persecuted by both Lutherans and Catholics. They stressed believer’s baptism, even for those baptized as infants, as well as the strict separation of church and state. Many also adopted pacifism as a core belief.
Much of the Lutheran persecution of Anabaptists was based on writings by key figures in the Lutheran movement such as Martin Luther and Philipp Melanchthon, as well as condemnations in Lutheran confessional writings such as the Formula of Concord and the Augsburg Confession, which are still considered authoritative for Lutherans today.
The statement seeking forgiveness is expected to be ready for the LWF’s 11th Assembly in July 2010. The LWF represents 68 million Lutherans in 141 member churches in 17 countries, including the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
In 2006, the ELCA formally apologized for Lutheran persecution and repudiated the use of government authority “to punish individuals or groups with whom it disagrees theologically.” Lutheran churches in France and Germany have adopted similar statements. (RNS)
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