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'Kirchentag' draws thousands of Christians to Berlin in sign of unity
2003-119-4
Wednesday, May 28, 2003
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[Episcopal News Service]
Tens of thousands of Christians from Germany and beyond are gathering in Berlin starting May 28 for what organizers believe may be the biggest ecumenical gathering to have taken place in Europe.
About 200,000 people are expected for the five-day event, called the Ecumenical Kirchentag, or church congress, sponsored by Germany's Protestant and Roman Catholic denominations, which claim the loyalty of roughly 26 million members each.
'We had never anticipated participation on such a huge scale,' the Kirchentag's Protestant co-president, Elisabeth Raiser, told journalists in Berlin. 'This is a sign of just how much Christians are looking for what unites them. People are obviously fascinated by the idea of helping to shape ecumenism and not simply leaving it to theologians and church leaders.'
The gathering culminates with an ecumenical service on Sunday in front of the Reichstag, the seat of Germany's parliament. In between, more than 3000 events are planned, including Bible study, debates on issues such as religion and violence, and cultural events.
Invited speakers include Germany's president, Johannes Rau; Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder; Nobel Peace Prize laureate Bishop Carlos Belo of East Timor; the Rev. Konrad Raiser, general secretary of the World Council of Churches; Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity; and leaders of other faiths.
A laser beam will link the city's Protestant and Catholic cathedrals. A huge halo-shaped helium-filled balloon--the symbol of the Kirchentag--is floating in front of the Brandenburg Gate, one of Berlin's most well-known monuments.
It is the first time that Germany's Protestants and Roman Catholics have jointly organized an event on this scale. Still, preparations for this demonstration of Christian unity have been dogged by continuing divisions on sharing the Eucharist, or Holy Communion, which organizers had hoped would be possible at the event. Roman Catholic doctrine states that Catholics should not share in the Eucharist in Protestant churches, and Catholic priests should not offer the Eucharist to non-Catholics.
One Protestant parish in the German capital has announced that Roman Catholics and Protestants will be sharing Holy Communion during the Kirchentag--against Vatican rules, with participating Roman Catholic priests running the risk of sanctions.
'Of course people are impatient and disappointed' about the strictures on shared Eucharist, Hans Joachim Meyer, the Roman Catholic co-president of the Kirchentag, told journalists. But 'conflict--still less hurtful provocation--does not bring about unity, but on the contrary endangers it.'
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