LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2010, Page 303

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THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS­­—COMMISSION ON THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS
the International Lutheran Council (ILC) on a regular basis,
or even allowing some form of associate membership in the
ILC (if not full membership), may reap many benefits down
the road as these church bodies continue to develop their
theological and confessional identity.
h. Prior to establishing some form of fellowship agreement
or formal declaration of altar and pulpit fellowship, the
LCMS could encourage and develop a number of avenues of
cooperation including:
i. Regular contacts at the church governing level
ii. Meetings and joint theological work among professors and
clergy
iii. Meetings and exchange of students of theology
iv. Support of and participation in mission projects
5. Dealing with confessional groups within another church body raises
a number of very different and very difficult questions that may or
may not be capable of solution. At the very least, study and discussion needs to take place regarding issues such as the following:
a. The relationship between public confession and public
membership in a church body. This is particularly acute in state
churches where there is no history of independently supported
congregations as in America. But this also is becoming an issue
in the United States where some national church bodies are
functioning (at least in practice) somewhat like European state
churches and within which groups may establish a distinctive
confessional identity that differs from the public position of
the national church body. Such groups often choose to remain
within their church body in difficult and even oppressive
conditions, seeking to be leaven and offering courageous
witness to biblical and confessional truth while protesting
what they believe to be false doctrine or practice. Although
they choose not to leave the structures of the national church
body, they still seek fellowship, encouragement and theological
dialogue and guidance from like-minded confessional
individuals, groups, and church bodies.
b. This situation creates the possibility of two avenues of
relationship. On the one hand, the LCMS has historically dealt
with the official church structures of a given church body
when assessing confessional agreement and establishing altar
and pulpit fellowship. On the other hand, it may have much
in common with the confessional groupings within a national
church body. Which avenue to pursue in such conflicted
circumstances and how to do so with theological and ethical
integrity and sound churchmanship will almost certainly be

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decided on a case-by-case rather than a policy basis, but we
should realize that such situations are likely only to increase in
the future.

Conclusion
Christians who share a common confession express that confession nowhere more clearly or visibly than when they kneel at the
same altar to receive the body and blood of Christ and when they
share a common pulpit. The process and protocols leading to a formal declaration of church fellowship by the Synod in convention
have served us well when declaring with established church bodies
with whom we have shared something of a common history. As we
move into more fluid situations in the 21st century, we need additional ways to identify and acknowledge agreement in confession
that are appropriate to the history and nature of ecclesial communities that are emerging in various parts of the world but which do not
share the same kind of institutional habits and identities. In these
ways we seek to manifest our agreement and so confess our unity
at the altar and pulpit in a manner that is faithful to our theology of
the church.
Adopted September 23, 2009 (unanimously)
Commission on Theology and Church Relations
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

Notes
1. The LCMS’s procedure in establishing formal altar and pulpit fellowship is described in the Commission on Theology and Church Relations’
document “Policy for The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod declaring
Altar and Pulpit Fellowship with Another Church Body” (April 30, 2003).
This document is available online at www.lcms.org/ctcr.
2. According to the present way of proceeding, the President’s Office
includes the Church Relations Cabinet.
3. The creeds of the church refer to this unity when they speak of “the
one holy Christian church,” the “communion of saints.” Theologians often
speak of it as the una sancta. In each case, these expressions refer to the
unity of the church that God alone sees.

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