Luther’s Reformation in Germany: “reconciled differences” after 500 years

An event such as the Reformation, a historical event with a global bearing, which left a deep mark on the Christian world, involves us all, not only Protestants. It involves all European populations, and certainly all German people. In addition to the one involving Catholic and Orthodox Christians, there is a new route, encompassing manifold trails and paths, and thus a different understanding of the Church and of Christian life. The latter had a remarkable impact on historical developments, notably on German and European history. For German Catholics, the division brought about by the Reformation is naturally linked to a deep regret, alleviated by the grounded optimism in the ecumenical dialogue process under way. These hopes are further nourished by the tone of the commemorations marking the 500^th anniversary of the Reformation in Germany.

The German people’s approach to the Reformation is of a special kind, given the fact that it was primarily a German event.

The division that ensued had peculiar repercussions in terms of ecclesial policy, as well as on the socio-cultural domain. However, as mentioned, the seeds of hope reposed in ecumenical understanding are not to be overlooked. The Katholikentag and the Kirchentag are celebrated regularly since the beginning of the 21^st century and especially over the past decades, while every three-four years an ecumenical Kirchentag is jointly promoted by the competent bodies of the two Churches. These meetings are attended by thousands of believers who come together to pray, hold joint celebrations, and discuss issues of fundamental topical relevance or pertaining to the social, political and cultural realms with representatives of the Church, of the scientific and political world, and of civil society. As has been the case for the past years, the present jubilee year will see the celebrations of several commemorations for the anniversary of the Reformation in those Bundeslands with a Protestant majority population. In the framework of the ecumenical journey in Germany it should also be remembered that the Christian faithful of both Churches fought together in the dark years of Nazism against the intolerant regime, and that owing to that experience, after the war it became possible to bridge the political divide separating Catholics and Protestants, which was still venomous at the time of the Weimar Republic. The Christian-Democratic Union (the Christian-Social Union in Bavaria), was born as the political home of committed Christians, whereby the term “union” explicitly referred to the commonalities shared by politicians, citizens and voters belonging to different Christian denominations.
Rather than theological differences between Catholics and Protestants, in Germany we perceive differences of a cultural nature, that continue exerting a more-or-less strong influence on public life. This is also due to the fact that across the years a social-cultural Protestant environment developed alongside with a Catholic one. The reciprocal separation was further exacerbated by the principle “cuius regio eius religio” that caused Germany to become an extremely fragmented reality at territorial and political level on the aftermath of the Reformation and up to the 19^th century, leading to separate regions, whose inhabitants were either Catholic or Protestant. However, with the outbreak of the Second World War also these differences subsided. West Germany benefitted from the mingling of the population in the post-war years, due to the arrival of refugees from East Germany, from Oder and Neisse, and from Central Germany. In the regions of the former German Democratic Republic, equalitarian and anti-clerical policies enacted by the Communist regime contributed to the dissolution of environments characterized by specific religious traditions.
This led to

a dualism at various levels, separating the Protestant from the Catholic realm.

although the latter is loosing its power of influence owing to changes at social, cultural and political level. It emerges in their different understandings of the Church and of the world, which in turn reveal models, languages and behaviours that are different from those of their players, in some cases contradictory. Thus opposition and cooperation are both determined not only by inter- or intra- ecclesial discourse, but also by political discourse as a whole. In some cases the tension between the two opposite poles of this dualism is discouraging, other times it’s enriching, and even stimulating. We learn from one another, and the debate leads to deepen self-awareness, thereby enabling a stronger understanding of one’s weaknesses and strengths.
 Changing social circumstances and the historical legacy pose challenges to the Churches and to Christians of both denominations, which call for the overcoming of dualism and for dialogue. The motto that marks the encounter of the Evangelical and Catholic Churches in Germany today is “reconciled differences,” to emphasize the possibility for each to preserve and develop its own identity in mutual recognition and appreciation.