Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification: 20th anniversary edition

4 Nov 2020


The Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification  is the historic agreement signed by the Lutheran World Federation and the Catholic Church in 1999, effectively resolving one of the key theological conflicts of the Reformation, the understanding of salvation. The Joint Declaration was later affirmed by the World Methodist Council (2006), the Anglican Consultative Council (2016) and the World Communion of Reformed Churches (2017), making it a multilateral agreement.

In March 2019, all five partners gathered at a consultation at Notre Dame University (Indiana, USA), issuing a  statement  recommitting themselves to communicating the biblical message of salvation in new ways to contemporary society.

On the 20th anniversary of the historic agreement, a new edition of the Joint Declaration and related documents, including the Notre Dame Consultation Statement, has been published in English and German by the Lutheran World Federation, the Catholic Church, the World Methodist Council, the Anglican Communion, and the World Communion of Reformed Churches.

The new edition comprises:

• The Joint Declaration on the Doctrine Justification, the Official Common Statement and the Annex

• The World Methodist Council Statement of Association

• The Anglican Consultative Council Resolution 16.17

• The Association of the World Communion of Reformed Churches with the Joint Declaration

• The Notre Dame Consultation Statement

French and Spanish translations of all the documents have also been completed and will be published later.