An Evangelical Bishop For Papal Primacy

Already in the year 2001 the National Primate Friederich encouraged the protestants, to consider a limited recognition of the Pope as "ecumenically accepted speaker for world Christianity in the service of unity".

Wittenberg (kath.net/KNA/red) An unusual proposal for an Evangelical Churchman: The Bishop of the Evangelical National Church in Baden, Ulrich Fischer, has pronounced on the Primacy of Honor of the Pope even above Evangelical Bishops. In a Celebration of the 450th Anniversary of the Reformer Philipp Melanchthon, he reminded those assembled that even Melanchthon had declared that "the papal Primacy above the Bishops would be recognized by human law." This brought much anger upon the Reformer for his part.

"The recognition of the Primacy of the Pope is, by the way, till today, the most urgent, for the further progress of ecumenical thought," said the advisory member of the Council of the Lutheran Church in Germany (EKD). 15 years before, Pope John Paul II. brought the proposal of the Primacy of the Papacy anew into the ecumenical debate. "Doing an injustice", said Fischer, as the proposal had hardly a positive reaction on the Evangelical side.

Baden's Bishops, Ulrich Fischer is also the head of the Union of Evangelical Churches (UEK), the governing body of the United and Reformed National Churches in the EKD. The Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) is a coalition of 22 further independent Lutheran, Reformed and United National Churches in Germany. In the UEK, whose head is Fischer, represents 13 of the 22 National Churches.

In 2001 the Bavarian National Bishop Johannes Friedrich had presided over critical discussions, which had encouraged the Protestants, to consider making a limited recognition of the Papal Office as "ecumenically accepted speaker of world Christianity in the service of unity". This speaker, as Friedrich said then, may, however have neither doctrinal nor juridical competence for a Non-Catholic. Friederich is also the leading Bishop of the United Evangelical Church of Germany (VELKD) within the EKD. Eight National Churches belong to VELKD.

"Primacy" designates the particular legal position, which the Pope as a Bishop of Rome has in the Roman Catholic Church. The highest legislative authority over the entire Church and every believer belongs to it.

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