[1] Having just celebrated the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, this issue of Journal of Lutheran Ethics contains a reflection from the World Council of Churches’ Nicaea 2025 Ecumenical Council and reflections on the possibilities for and challenge of Christian unity today.
[2]The Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches (WCC) was held in October in Wadi El Natrun, which was located between Cairo and Alexandria. Dr. Man-Hei Pip was in attendance from the ELCA. Pip reports that His Holiness Pope Tawadros II of the Coptic Orthodox Church opened the conference by emphasizing “that engaging in theological dialogue is not about erasing or ignoring differences, but about discovering the deep faith that binds the church together.” Pip’s reflection speaks about the importance of silence as a tool for opening ourselves to the Spirit of God and to the quiet voices of those who are marginalized and oppressed in our society. True unity means hearing each other fully; waiting in the silence and listening helps us do just that.
[3] In January, as this issue was being prepared, Christians celebrated the week of prayer for Christian unity. The Nicene Creed helps us see what core beliefs Christians hold in common, and helps us focus on our union in Christ rather than our secular differences. Pastor Michael Burns’ essay asks readers to reflect on how Christian faith calls us to humility in Christ rather than boasting in our secular virtues. He names the way churches divide and disassociate based on social and political values rather than remaining in unity committed to dialogue and conversation about ethics while understanding one baptism for the forgiveness of sins means that “we are united in the gift of God that is grace, independent of specific understandings of the law.”
[4] Burns is clear in his essay that Christians must consider what brings us to unity even as they also discuss and debate ethical questions. He writes, “Ethical questions are not unimportant. How best to love our neighbor is an important issue worth debating—for the sake of our neighbor.” The final essay in this issue takes this call to consider ethical questions. This substantial piece written by Giorgi Tserodze, a Georgian Orthodox priest, argues for an ethical response to tyranny in light of Romans 13: 1-7.
[5] Tserodze asks readers to consider the ways Christians failed to address genocidal dictatorship in the 20th century, and to consider faithfully and philosophically how they are called to respond to tyranny in the 21st century. His essay does not tell us how to be Christians, of course, but it does explain how Christianity might call us to act.
[6] In this season of Epiphany, the season of light, these essays help us consider what unifies Christians that we may be secure in our salvation and that we may freely act in love to listen better to our neighbors who suffer and act on their behalf.
