Building on years of separate bilateral dialogues between Mennonites and their Catholic and Lutheran counterparts, the three denominations began trilateral talks on the issue of baptism in Rome late last year.
According to a joint release issued after the Rome meeting, “This innovative trilateral forum will allow the dialogue to take up questions surrounding the theology and practice of baptism in the respective communions.”
Mennonite World Conference (MWC) and the Catholic Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity held conversations from 1998-2003. This resulted in a report entitled “Called together to be peacemakers.” Understandings and practices of baptism were among the divergences identified for further study. Mennonites practise adult baptism and Catholics infant baptism, as do Lutherans.
MWC and the Lutheran World Federation participated in a joint study commission from 2005-08, which resulted in a final report entitled “Healing of memories: Reconciling in Christ.” During these talks, Mennonites and Lutherans agreed that two areas of difference that existed in the 16th century still exist today, namely the relation of Christians to the socio-political order and baptism.
The trilateral meeting in Rome, with five representatives from each communion, included summary presentations on past dialogues on baptism. Alfred Neufeld of Paraguay chaired the MWC team that also included Fernando Enns of Germany, John Rempel of Canada, Rebecca Osiro of Kenya and Larry Miller of France.
Neufeld reflected that “almost 500 years have passed since that memorable day in Zurich, January 1525, when a group of young radical Bible readers and potential reformers broke with the common baptismal tradition of their time and initiated believers or adult rebaptism. They also stopped applying the baptism ritual to their infants.
“Split and conflict became inevitable and caused much hurt on all sides,” he said, noting, “At that time, both actions—rebaptism and avoiding infant baptism—were serious offences to European imperial law. Changing the mode of baptism had far-reaching consequences not only in the political sense, but also with new approaches to salvation, the nature of the church, Christian ethics and missions.
“Today, much has changed,” he continued. “In most countries, state churches don’t exist anymore. The importance and possibility of personal choices, as well as religious liberty, is generally assumed. And all three church communions face the question today: How to re-evangelize society, and be a prophetic and pastoral presence in the world?”
Enns added his own comments. “It has been very encouraging to see the diversity within each denominational team,” he said. “We usually assume that there is one single interpretation of baptism in the other traditions. That does not seem to be the case. If we are able to create a mood of trust, we will also be able to share the questions and challenges within our own communities on this key difference of baptism. That is my hope.”
The group plans to convene for its second round of conversations in January 2014, to study “Baptism: God’s grace in Christ and human sin.” Future topics in following years will include “Baptism: Communicating grace and faith,” and “Living out baptism.”
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