German Catholics urged to join in celebrating Luther’s 500th jubilee

Chancellor Angela Merkel has urged Germany’s Protestant and Roman Catholic churches to stress their common beliefs at ceremonies marking the 500th anniversary of the start of the Protestant Reformation.

Although still five years away, the date has already prompted debate between Protestants preparing celebrations and Catholics who rue the rebellion of the German monk Martin Luther in 1517 as the start of a painful split in western Christianity.

The Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), the country’s largest association of Protestant churches, wants the Catholics to attend its planned “Luther Jubilee”, and its annual synod in a Baltic resort near Luebeck is debating how to make it possible for them to do so.

Ms Merkel, daughter of a Protestant pastor, made a rare visit to the synod on Monday night and said that, in a secularised world, Christian churches should stress what united them, rather than their enduring theological differences.

“I’ve learned that even the word ‘jubilee’ used in connection with the Reformation can give rise to discussions,” Ms Merkel said. Catholics attach a special meaning to “jubilee years” and would prefer to call the event a commemoration.

“Especially in a very secular world, we should always stress what is common in the Christian religion,” she said.

The Reformation began in 1517, when Luther nailed his 95 Theses to a church door in Wittenberg to denounce corruption in the Catholic Church, especially the sale of indulgences to help build the lavish St Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

Excommunicated by Rome, he won support from German princes, who were soon fighting others who remained Catholic. The ensuing wars of religion killed about a third of Germany’s population over the following century and spread to neighbouring countries as well.

The two churches are roughly equal in size in Germany and, despite falling attendances, both run many schools and social services. Intermarriage is common.

EKD’s president, Nikolaus Schneider, told the synod the two churches had already agreed to write a joint book on Christianity next year and to hold a major conference on the Bible in 2015 in preparation for the Luther anniversary.

Ms Merkel also emphasised that Germany needed to protect Christian minorities as part of its foreign policy, claiming that Christianity is “the most persecuted religion worldwide”.

Jerzy Montag of the opposition Green party yesterday described Ms Merkel’s comments on persecution as “mistaken”.

Human Rights Watch noted that Muslims in Burma and Jews in many countries worldwide also face persecution.

Christians have faced particular persecution in the Middle East since the 9/11 attacks.