High church Lutheranism

High church Lutheranism is a movement that began in 20th-century Europe and emphasizes worship practices and doctrines that emphasize the sacraments and liturgy, along with a robust devotional life. In the more general usage of the term, it describes the general high church characteristics of Lutheranism in Nordic and Baltic countries such as Sweden, Finland, Estonia and Latvia. The mentioned countries have more markedly preserved pre-Reformation, Catholic traditions and eschewed Reformed theology. From the earliest part of its development, Lutheranism as a whole has employed elaborate liturgies and ornate sacred art. Lutheranism has viewed its faith and practice as "deeply and fundamentally catholic". It is closely related to the concept of Evangelical Catholicism, which emphasizes the catholicity of Lutheranism.

Background

The English terms high church and low church were historically applied to particular liturgical and theological groups within Anglicanism. The theological differences within Lutheranism have not been nearly so marked as those within the Anglican Communion; Lutherans have historically been unified in the doctrine expressed in the Book of Concord. However, quite early in Lutheranism, polarities began to develop owing to the influence of the Reformed tradition, leading to so-called "Crypto-Calvinism". The Pietistic Lutheran movement in the 17th century also moved parts of the Lutheran Church further in a direction that would be considered "low church". Pietism and rationalism led not only to the simplification or even elimination of certain ceremonial elements, such as the use of vestments, but also to less frequent celebration of the Eucharist, by the end of the era of Lutheran Orthodoxy. There has been very little iconoclasm in Lutheran churches and church buildings have often remained richly furnished. Some monasteries also continued as Lutheran after the Reformation. Loccum Abbey and Amelungsborn Abbey in Germany have the longest traditions as Lutheran monasteries.
In old church orders, however there was much variation which could now be described as "high church" or "low church". One example of the more Catholic ones is the Swedish Church Ordinance 1571. The Agenda of the church order of Margraviate of Brandenburg contained unusually rich provision for ceremonial usages. The legacy of Brandenburgian Lutheranism was later visible in Old Lutherans' resistance to compromise in the doctrine of Real Presence. Other church orders following closely to pre-Reformation rites and ceremonies were Palatinate-Neuburg and Austria.
William Augustus Mühlenberg, father of the Ritualist movement in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, was originally Lutheran and came from a Lutheran family.
In Europe, after long influence of Pietism, theological rationalism, and finally, 19th century German Neo-Protestantism, a ground for 20th-century High Church or Evangelical Catholic Movement developed. The terms "High Church" and "Low Church" began to be used to describe differences within the Lutheran tradition. However, this terminology is not necessarily as characteristic for a Lutheran's identity as it often is for an Anglican.
Sometimes there is a distinction made between Nordic style Lutheranism and German style Lutheranism, with the latter being more influenced by pietism and the former having both retained and later also revived more of its pre-Reformation liturgy and practices and therefore being more high church. Examples of this are well-preserved church interiors, apostolic succession, and a clear episcopal structure. Although the name Nordic is used, it is actually mostly applicable to Sweden and Finland, and to a lesser extent, to Estonia and Latvia because those countries were part of the Swedish empire and were therefore the jurisdiction of the Church of Sweden. The other Nordic countries of Denmark, Norway, and Iceland were under the influence of Danish rule in which the German form is dominant.

High church movements

The roots of 20th-century Lutheran High Church Movement are in 19th century neo-Lutheranism, confessional Lutheranism, Anglo-Catholicism, and the Liturgical Movement. High church Lutheranism has often been a theologically orthodox revival movement at least among clergy, with a strong ecclesiology, standing in opposition to State church and "Folk church" ideologies, which parallel Erastianism within Anglican Church. The historic, elaborate liturgy and practice within Lutheranism itself was an inspiration for Anglo-Catholicism in the Church of England. The range within High Church Movement varies across a spectrum from moderate to papalist. The Second Vatican Council led to a breakthrough for the High Church Movement, which is slowly gaining support.
In Northern Europe, the term High Church has been often used pejoratively, and was not necessarily ever used by pioneers of the movement, who identified themselves as Catholics of the Augsburg Confession. Nevertheless, the term "high church" has established itself at least in Sweden and Germany. Especially in North America, the term "high church" is avoided, because it is seen to not take seriously Lutheran confession and historical tradition as Evangelical Catholic. The term "high church" has also been criticized by theologians like Hermann Sasse as not to integrate itself into authentic Lutheran tradition.
The Evangelical Catholic movement has been preserved by many confraternities, religious orders, and monastic communities within Lutheranism. It is growing in countries such as Norway.
High Church movements have in some cases, especially in Northern Europe, fallen into crisis because of the issue of ordination of women. In Norway the issue has resulted in the establishment of the Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of Norway and the Nordic Catholic Church. In Germany, on the other hand, the primary issue has been the lack of historical episcopate and apostolic succession.
Nevertheless, the Evangelical Catholic movement has influenced whole church bodies, and in some cases has developed liberal expressions. The liturgical emphasis does not always indicate Catholic Lutheranism, because in the Lutheran Church, the Liturgical Movement apart from the Evangelical Catholic movement has been influential. Thus in Europe a certain amount of "high church" interest has been based on aesthetics, tastes in paraments, vestments, and ceremonies, without any theological argumentation or sense of historical continuity. Similarly, interest in mediaeval church buildings may have no concerns regarding the theology behind the form of worship taking place within these buildings.

Sweden

Historically Sweden, including the former Swedish province of Finland, has had a more elaborate form of liturgy, which preserved more links to the medieval Catholic tradition than other Nordic countries. Hence the most remarkable Lutheran high-church movement by its influence on the whole church body has been in the Church of Sweden, influenced at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries by the Anglo-Catholic part of the Church of England. The first religious order within the high church movement was the Societas Sanctae Birgittae, which still exists. The movement spread intensively through the activity of Gunnar Rosendal, the hymnwriter Olov Hartman, and the retreat director Jan Redin. The more subtle high church influence of Bishop Bo Giertz has been remarkable especially among Pietists. The early high church movement caused the emergence of retreat centres, more frequent celebration of the Mass, and lively historical-critical study of the Bible.
The high church movement in Lutheranism in Sweden sees the Eucharist as "the centre of Lutheran church-focused Christianity, because that is where the divine and the human realities interact."
The ordination of women as clergy began in 1958, and caused a split within the Swedish high church party. One branch with liberal leanings accepted this step while the other did not. Later, one of the leading figures of the high church movement was Bishop emeritus Bertil Gärtner who was against the ordination of women. He was successor to Bo Giertz as bishop of Gothenburg. He died in 2009. His role in the High Church movement fell on Bishop emeritus, the former bishop of Visby.
The Svensk Pastoraltidskrift is the traditionalist journal of the High Church Movement in Sweden. The nucleus of the movement is arbetsgemenskapen Kyrklig Förnyelse together with numerous religious societies and some Lutheran monastic communities like Östanbäck monastery, Alsike Convent, and Sisterhood of Saint Francis. Other organisations include the St. Laurence Foundation, the St. Ansgar Foundation, and Förbundet För Kristen Enhet, which works for the reunion of the Church of Sweden and the Roman Catholic Church. Additionally the Anglican Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament is active within the Church of Sweden, with a national cell dependent upon the English jurisdiction of the confraternity.

Germany

In Germany, the high church movement is much smaller than in Sweden. Because of several unions between Lutheran and Reformed churches since the Prussian Union, resulting in the simple spread of Calvinist concepts from the Reformed Churches by "osmosis", Lutheranism has often taken on a Reformed context. The high church movement within the Evangelical Church in Germany has been much less influential than in Sweden and perhaps less integrated to the state Lutheran tradition. Still the movement is strongly involved in ecumenism and the Liturgical Movement.
The case is much different in the Independent Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Germany. This church is a confessional Lutheran church in full "pulpit and altar fellowship" with the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod. Because of the confessional Lutheran direction, there is a high church movement in that Church.
The German high church movement began in Reformation Jubilee 1917, inspired by publication of Stimuli et Clavi, 95 theses by Heinrich Hansen. This resulted in the founding of Hochkirchliche Vereinigung Augsburgischen Bekenntnisses the following year. Subsequently, other high church associations and societies also arose, distinguished from other Lutheran bodies by restored apostolic succession, Arbeitsgemeinschaft Kirchliche Erneuerung in der Evang.-Luth. Kirche in Bayern, Humiliatenorden, St. Athanasius-Bruderschaft, Hochkirchlicher Apostolat St. Ansgar, Bekenntnisbruderschaft St. Peter und Paul, Kommunität St. Michael in Cottbus, Congregatio Canonicorum Sancti Augustini, and some religious communities like Priory of St. Wigbert.
Other organisations, such as Berneuchen Movement and Kirchliche Arbeit Alpirsbach are regarded as part of the Liturgical Movement, although the former is theologically high church and in co-operation with High Church associations and religious fraternities.