Bishops to offer Common Prayer to mark 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation

Friday, Sep. 29, 2017

SALT LAKE CITY — Bishop Oscar A. Solis of the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City and Bishop Jim Gonia of the Rocky Mountain Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America will join in Common Prayer on Oct. 8 as a sign of Christian unity to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation.

The German monk Martin Luther is credited with starting the Protestant Reformation on Oct. 31, 1517, when he made public a list of what he believed were abusive practices concerning the Church’s selling of plenary indulgences. Tradition has it that he nailed this list to the door of All Saints’ Church in Wittenberg, Germany. Eventually Luther was excommunicated by Pope Leo X; Luther went on to found what is now known as the Lutheran Church.

In the 500 years since the schism, various efforts have been made to heal the rift. In particular, the Catholic Church’s Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Lutheran World Federation created the 1999 Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, which deals with the nature of justification, one of the issues at the heart of the disagreement between the two churches.

Bishop Solis said he is looking forward to participating in the Common Prayer on Oct. 8 because it will “continue the dialog between the Protestant and Catholic churches. It’s building unity among Christian believers. It’s a wonderful way to bridge the divide and build unity, and we hope that eventually we can achieve Christian unity that we have been praying for for 500 years.” 

Christian unity “has been our dream and our prayer,” and the Common Prayer “is one of the ways to make that a reality,” Bishop Solis said. 

Every Lutheran conference (similar to a Catholic diocese) in the Rocky Mountain Synod is holding Common Prayer to mark the anniversary of the Reformation, said Steven Klemz, pastor of Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, where the local event will be held.

“This is the result of some 50 years of dialog between the Lutheran and the Roman Catholic churches,” Pastor Klemz said.

The event is intended to celebrate the common ground the two religions share, he said, adding that in Utah members of the two churches frequently work together on social justice issues and those concerning mercy and peace.

“I think Salt Lake City is ahead of the dialog” on finding common ground, Pastor Klemz said.

The Common Prayer celebration will include homilies by both bishops and a music ministry by a choir formed from members of both churches. Material will be provided in Spanish for a bilingual celebration. The liturgy will be followed by fellowship.

WHAT: Common Prayer

WHEN: Sunday, Oct. 8, 3 p.m.

WHERE: Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1070 Foothill Drive, SLC. 

All are invited.