Justification in the Theological Conversations between Representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Protestant Churches in Germany

Abstract

The doctrine of justification can be described as “the centre and boundary of Protestant theology” in so far as it delineated and brought into focus the new recognition of Christ (Christuserkenntnis) by the Reformers.1 Given that this issue of justification triggered such a controversy between Protestants and the Roman Catholic Church that resulted in mutual condemnations, the theme of justification has thus come to occupy a central place in ecumenical dialogues in the last century. The Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification signed in 1999 between the Lutheran World Federation and the Roman Catholic Church was certainly a significant milestone on the way toward ecumenical rapprochement. This declaration summarizes a consensus on justification determined in the dialogues that require us to see the divisive questions and condemnations of the sixteenth century in a new light.2 But what about the Orthodox churches that were not involved in this doctrinal conflict? A forensic understanding of justification is an approach that is typical of Western theology, whereas in Orthodox theology salvation is seen rather as a process of theosis3 (divinization/deification). This chapter assesses the extent to which the doctrine of justification was adequately understood and successfully communicated in the theological conversations between representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and the Protestant churches in Germany. On that account, the Protestant doctrine of justification and the Orthodox concept of theosis are summarized in terms of how they were formulated in the bilateral dialogue.