October 15: Justification Today – An Evening of Ecumenical Dialogue

Location: Bartlett Center - Mount St. Mary's Seminary & School of Theology

Join Mount St. Mary’s Seminary & School of Theology (MTSM), Glenmary Home Missioners and United Theological Seminary for ‘Justification Today – An Evening of Ecumenical Dialogue’ on Thursday, October 15, at 7 p.m. in the Bartlett Center at MTSM.

This event is free but we do ask that participants register so we can prepare in advance here.

After the signing of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification are Christians more united?

Justification, one of the central topics of the Protestant Reformation, continues to be a dividing question between Protestant and Catholic Christians. How is one saved? Are Protestants people of grace and Catholics those of works? Can one earn their salvation, and can one lose it? What do the sacraments have to do with this conversation? These and other questions continue to swirl within the imagination and dialogues that have separated Western Christians for half of a millennium.

Taking up these concerns Lutheran and Catholic scholars published the “Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification” (JDDJ) in 1999, which received official endorsement from many Christian communions, including the Catholic Church and the Lutheran World Federation. Still, for many this document and its potential for bridging church divides on this topic are largely unknown.

To get a sense of the current conversation on the topic of justification in light of the JDDJ, Glenmary Home Missioners, Mount St. Mary’s Seminary and School of Theology, and United Theological Seminary are pleased to host Dr. Mike Root (Catholic University of America) and Joel Chopp (Asbury Theological Seminary) to discuss the document and its importance for today. Dr. Root served on the drafting team for the JDDJ and will be providing a plenary lecture on its development and role in today’s conversation. Dr. Chopp will provide a Protestant response to the JDDJ as well as adding his own insights into its role in the topic of Christian unity.

Following the lecture and response we will host a Q&A from those gathered, followed by refreshments.