The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and its ecumenical relations

Juha Pihkala, PhD, in 1997–2008 bishop of Tampere (Tampere, Finland), juha.pihkala@jp ihkal.pp.fi

Pihkala J. The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and its ecumenical relations, Religiya. Tserkov’. Obshchestvo. Issledovaniya i publikatsii po teologii i religii [Religion. Church. Society: Research and publications in the field of theology and religious studies], Saint-Petersburg, 2014, vol. 3, pp. 322–333.

doi: 10.24411/2308-0698-2014-00022

Language: Russian

In this paper the author shares his observations about the specifics of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, in particular, in terms of its role in interconfessional dialogue and ecumenical relations. The author notes the major stages in the development of the Church, starting from first Christian preaching to the Reformation time and then reform of the State and Church in the 19–20th centuries. The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland occupies a unique position, being a legal person and having legislative functions, while State has no right to change Church law. Brief amount of Church structure that reflect in organizational principles democratic ideas is also given, and as it is noted by the author the Church of Finland isn’t an ideological monolith, including a variety of ecclesial movements and groups of believers. Largely due to these features the Church of Finland occupies leading role in ecumenical dialogue in recent decades. Especially, the author notes the relationship with the Anglican Church, regular conversations with the Russian Orthodox Church and the Catholic and other Lutheran churches in Scandinavian region. Of great interest are author’s observations on correlation in Church position and State international policy, that have different bases. However, Church being a universal phenomenon faces national and political background and reflects it in a variety of ways.
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Key words: Lutherans, confession, ecumenism, Reformation, Finland, Ingria

URL: http://rcs-almanac.ru/pihkala-2014-en/

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People of God: historical and theological perspectives

Juha Pihkala Doctor in theology, docent of dogmatics, University of Helsinki (Universitetsgatan, 4, Helsingfors, Finland, 00100), juha.pihkala@jpihkal.pp.fi

Pihkala J. People of God: historical and theological perspectives, Religiya. Tserkov’. Obshchestvo. Issledovaniya i publikatsii po teologii i religii [Religion. Church. Society: Research and publications in the field of theology and religious studies], Saint-Petersburg, 2016, vol. 5, pp. 18–33.

doi: 10.24411/2308-0698-2016-00002

Language: English

The article discusses the term «People of God» and its theological interpretations. The question is important for theology of religion in the Jewish-Christian context, because this picture is both joining and separating these religions. «People of God» is one of the central terms portraying the Jewish faith-community, but also the Christianity has espoused it, believing to be its successor.
The early Christianity felt, that Christ fulfilled the messianic promises of the Old Testament: in him the People of God got its new King from stock of David. The Jewish community didn’t accept this interpretation. Therefore, the raising Christianity had to detach from them, but not from the Old Testament and the idea of the continuity of the People of God. Paul, for instance, emphasizes, that all the promises given to Jewish people in the Old Testament are still valid. Nonetheless, some other interpretations occurred, which contended quite the opposite: when the Church was born, the Jewish people became derivative. Many conflicts in history had been undoubtly promoted by these interpretations.
The author stresses, that it is not possible to give reasons for such kind of «replacement theology». Even though Christians and Jews now are separated, the one has not substituted the other. There is only one People of God, but it went on two distinct roads. In this context this article also discusses the status of so called Messianic Jews.
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Key words: Сhurch, ecclesiology, images of Church, replacement theology, theology, holocaust, continuity

URL: http://rcs-almanac.ru/pihkala-j-2016-en/

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Truth and tolerance: what are the borders of the acceptable plurality in Christian faith?

Juha Pihkala Doctor in theology, docent of dogmatics, University of Helsinki (Universitetsgatan, 4, Helsingfors, Finland, 00100), juha.pihkala@jpihkal.pp.fi

Pihkala J. Truth and tolerance: what are the borders of the acceptable plurality in Christian faith?, Religiya. Tserkov’. Obshchestvo. Issledovaniya i publikatsii po teologii i religii [Religion. Church. Society: Research and publications in the field of theology and religious studies], Saint-Petersburg, 2017, vol. 6, pp. 44–67.

doi: 10.24411/2308-0698-2017-00003

Language: English

This article, based on the lecture read in St. Petersburg (24.10.2017), at first discusses the Christian concept of truth. It differs from the philosophical concept of truth, which relies on the commonly accepted knowledge-based arguments. The Christian concept of truth relies on events experienced in history whose existential meaning, it’s most important identity, is recorded in the rule of the faith – regula fidei. Within the core domains of the rule of faith, the Christian concept of truth does not know the tolerance liked by modern thinking. It is, however, also necessary for the Church mission to interpret the rule of the faith in different cultures in their own language and to apply practices that differ from the original. This means: tolerance also is needed. Religious freedom is necessary concerning the assumption of the faith. In the history, however, this freedom has been damaged, causing great harm. When Constantine used the Christian faith as an ideological creator of the unity of the state, he still did not change the old Roman law of religion: the religion of the ruler was also during the Christian era necessarily the religion of the empire. This principle has been followed until the new era (cuius regio, eius religio).
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Key words: Confessio Augustana, Luther, Church, creed, confession, Reformation, ecumenism

URL: http://rcs-almanac.ru/pihkala-2017-en/

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