500th Anniversary of the Reformation: Ecumenism as Church and Public Phenomenon in Today’s Germany

Abstract

The 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017 was held in Germany for the first time as an ecumenical event. Within its framework, a number of important official church documents about rethinking the history of the Reformation were adopted, common worship services held, and a large number of projects implemented at the regional, national and international levels. However, the celebrations can also be viewed as an indicator of a number of important problems in the contemporary dialogue between the Catholics and the Protestants: the ecumenical expectations are too high, and the different ecclesiological models of unity lead to difficulties in the field of pastoral work (inter-confessional marriages) and contemporary social and ethical issues. At the same time, it is no longer just a dialogue between the two German “majority Churches” but also a quest for a future in rapidly secularizing society. For both confessions, ecumenism, to a certain extent, becomes a joint “anti-crisis strategy” of survival in the secular world.