Sharing in the Eucharist as a visible expression of the path travelled
The El Salvador cross, which was made in Lund in 2016 for the joint Catholic and Lutheran annual commemoration of the Reformation, was placed in the chapel of the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland, during a worship service dedicated to it on 18 January 2018. The cross, which is a symbol of a turning point in ecumenical relations (of the search for ecumenical unity), will be accessible to visitors and pilgrims in a place that is significant to the ecumenical movement.
The cross is rich in symbols and depicts the baptismal font, the branches of the true vine and Jesus, who invites people from all nations to share bread and wine.
Reconciliation with one another as a biblical calling
“The cross visually shows that from the moment of baptism we are moving along a path that is common to us both, towards the Eucharist, which we long to celebrate together and towards which we must take further steps,” said Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. He preached together with Rev. Dr. Kaisamari Hintikka, assistant to the General Secretary of the Lutheran World Federation for ecumenical relations, on 2 Cor 5:14–20.
In both of their sermons, the emphasis was placed on reconciliation as a biblical calling. “When we receive from God this gift of reconciliation, we are at the same time called, and it is our duty, to proclaim God’s reconciliation and to continue working towards reconciliation with the authority given by Jesus Christ,” Cardinal Koch said.
“The further we travel, waiting together for the anniversary and celebrating the anniversary in prayer and with concrete planning, the more we begin to realize that ‘all this is from God’,” Rev. Hintikka said, describing the 50 years of Lutheran-Catholic dialogue as a “deep spiritual journey” that reached its high point in the joint commemoration of the anniversary in Lund, Sweden.
“We have strengthened (deepened) our mutual commitment to persevere in common prayer and in united witness. Today we can look back on the path travelled with gratitude. The Holy Spirit has brought us closer to one another; Christ continues to call us to move further forward together,” said Rev. Dr. Kaisamari Hintikka, assistant to the General Secretary for ecumenical relations.
“We have deepened our mutual commitment to be together in prayer and in common witness. Today we can look back on this path travelled with gratitude. The Holy Spirit has brought us closer together; Christ continues to call us to move forward together,” she added.
A sign of hope from a country that is in suffering
On 31 October 2016, the President of the LWF, Bishop Dr. Munib A. Younan, and the General Secretary of the LWF, Dr. Martin Junge, together with Pope Francis, led a worship service held to mark the 500th anniversary of the Reformation at Lund Cathedral in Sweden. It was a turning point in the history of Lutheran-Catholic relations and in the ecumenical movement.
The design of the Lund cross was created by the Lutheran artist Christian Chavarría Ayala from El Salvador. It uses the typical stylistic colouring of this country. “People make crosses each according to their own experience,” said the artist, who in his childhood lived through the Salvadoran civil war and grew up in a refugee camp in Honduras.
“This cross comes from a very poor country where suffering, gang massacres and death reign, but where there is still hope in God and inspiration. With colours we show that God loves the world.”
“In El Salvador the cross has always been a sign of hope in our struggles, a sign of faith in our despair, a sign of love in our suffering and a sign of life in the midst of death,” Chavarría adds. This wooden cross is two metres tall, the largest the artist has made to date.
A gift of communion
“May this [cross] be a sign of hope that we share, as we leave conflict behind us and turn towards our common future,” Rev. Dr. Martin Junge, General Secretary of the LWF, said in his prayer.
“On behalf of the World Council of Churches, the cross was received by Rev. Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit, General Secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC). “We receive this cross as a gift of communion,” he said. “May this historic step that the cross symbolizes remind us that the cross of Christ transforms our conflict into a united communion.””
Geneva, Switzerland
18.01.2018.
Source: Lutheran World Federation