Prayers for the departed: A white elephant in the hymnal of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania

Kim S Groop,Nehemia Moshi

doi:10.4102/hts.v75i1.5162

Abstract

The aim of this article is to study the general and contextual issues related to prayers for the departed with a focus on the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT). In 2012, the ELCT published a new hymnal, which included a number of prayers for those mourning their deceased friends and relatives, as well as prayers for the deceased individuals themselves. As a result of considerable criticism, this hymnal was replaced by a new edition in 2017, in which the prayers for the departed were omitted. The article further scrutinises the historical and theological aspects of praying for the departed in Lutheranism. It studies examples of prayers for the dead in Lutheran churches in two other countries, Finland and Sweden, and relates these to the situation in the ELCT.

Highlights

Prayer in relation to death and the departed has constituted a central element in the religious practice of Christianity since the early church
Earlier, ordinary Christians who had passed on were included in the prayers
The boundary between saint and ordinary Christian was at times unclear (Brown 2000:43–45; Dal Santo 2011:129–130, 140–141; Heidemann 2011:188)

Summary

Original Research

Prayers for the departed: A white elephant in the hymnal of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania. Dr Nelus Niemandt, Department of Science of Religion and Missiology, Faculty of Theology, University of Pretoria. How to cite this article: Groop, K.S., & Moshi, N., 2019, ‘Prayers for the departed: A white elephant in the hymnal of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania’, HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 75(1), a5162. The aim of this article is to study the general and contextual issues related to prayers for the departed with a focus on the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT). The article further scrutinises the historical and theological aspects of praying for the departed in Lutheranism It studies examples of prayers for the dead in Lutheran churches in two other countries, Finland and Sweden, and relates these to the situation in the ELCT

Introduction

Open Access

The Lutheran reformers and praying for the departed