Lutheran Head Preaches in Europe's Historic 'Black Church'
The presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in American (ELCA) preached at the historic “Black Church” in Romania on Reformation Day.
The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, who is also the president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), preached to the congregation of the Black Church on Tuesday as part of his first official visit to European churches since becoming the LWF head. More than 600 people attended the Reformation Day service.
The Black Church was named so after a fire in the city about 300 years ago left the exterior stone structured darkened. The church is one of the largest in Europe and took 100 years to build.
On Tuesday, Hanson preached that in Jesus Christ, Christians are free but that does not mean they can do whatever they desire.
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“We are free to serve our neighbor,” the Lutheran head stated, according to an ELCA report on Nov. 2. “We are free to be involved in civil society. We are free to live our faith in our daily lives in our homes, in our workplaces, in our friendships, in our struggles for justice and peace. The freedom we have in Christ is for the sake of the other person, not for our own sake.”
Hanson added that that freedom is God’s gift given through Jesus Christ.
Reformation Day is an important liturgical festival celebrated by Lutherans and Christians from many Protestant denominations which commemorates Dr. Martin Luther’s posting of his “95 Theses” on the door of the Castle Church in Germany on Oct. 31, 1517. This act sparked the religious movement known as the Reformation.
Hanson was scheduled to return to the United States on Nov. 2.
