PRESS RELEASE
Meeting of the Augustana Working Group in Wittenberg
The fourth meeting of the Concordia Lutheran-Catholic Augustana Working Group (AWG) took place in Wittenberg from 24 to 26 March 2026. Under the chairmanship of Bishop Dr Juhana Pohjola, Chairman of the International Lutheran Council (ILC), and Auxiliary Bishop Dr Peter Birkhofer, the participants discussed the statements of the Augsburg Confession and further relevant documents from the 16th century on ordination and episcopacy from a pre-confessional perspective and in the further confessional development and findings from the ecumenical discussions. In the meantime, the working group had exchanged progress reports via Zoom.
The Augustana Working Group includes representatives of the International Lutheran Council (ILC) and the Catholic Church. Following the conclusion of the theological discussions between the ILC, an association of Concordia Lutheran churches, and the Catholic Church (2014-2019), both sides suggested the establishment of a working group as a specific ecumenical-theological format. The working group is not an official dialog commission. Father Dr. Augustinus Sander OSB takes part in the meetings as a permanent guest of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity (DPCU). Rev. Dr. Sebastian Grünbaum was appointed as a minute writer for the group.
The next meeting is scheduled to take place in spring 2027.
Participants of the International Lutheran Council (ILC)
Bishop Dr. Juhana Pohjola, Helsinki, Finland, Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Missionary Diocese of Finland; Chairman of the International Lutheran Council (ILC)
Prof. Dr. Joel Elowsky, St. Louis, Mo., USA
Prof. em. Dr. Werner Klän, D.Litt., Lübeck, Germany
Associate Prof. Dr. Jonathan Mumme, Hillsdale, Mich., USA
Prof. Dr. Tom Winger, St. Catharines, Ont., Canada
Rev. Dr. Sebastian Grünbaum, Helsinki / Vatican (minute writer)
Catholic participants
Auxiliary Bishop Dr. Peter Birkhofer, Freiburg / Breisgau, Germany
Prof. Dr. Markus Lersch, Siegen, Germany
Dr. Tim Lindfeld, Aachen, Germany
Associate Professor Dr. James Prothro, St. Louis, Mo., USA
Father Dr. Augustinus Sander OSB, Vatican, permanent guest of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity