Eastern Lutheranism (also known as Byzantine Lutheranism or Byzantine Rite Lutheranism) refers to

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

churches, such as those of Ukraine and Slovenia, that use a form of the Byzantine Rite as their liturgy. It is unique in that it is based on the Eastern Christian rite used by the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...

, while incorporating theology from the Divine Service contained in the '' Formula Missae'', the base texts for Lutheran liturgics in the West. The Byzantine Lutheran Rite includes the '' filioque'' in the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, albeit placing it in brackets. Eastern Lutherans use the

Julian calendar The Julian calendar, proposed by Roman consul Julius Caesar in 46 BC, was a reform of the Roman calendar. It took effect on , by edict. It was designed with the aid of Greek mathematicians and astronomers such as Sosigenes of Alexandri ...

for the

calendar A calendar is a system of organizing days. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months and years. A date is the designation of a single and specific day within such a system. A calendar is also a phy ...

and thus observe feast days and liturgical seasons, such as

Great Lent Great Lent, or the Great Fast, ( Greek: Μεγάλη Τεσσαρακοστή or Μεγάλη Νηστεία, meaning "Great 40 Days," and "Great Fast," respectively) is the most important fasting season of the church year within many denomin ...

, in a fashion similar to Orthodox customs. As such, many Byzantine Lutheran holy days are shared with those of the

; in addition, Eastern Lutheran churches are constructed in accordance with

Byzantine architecture Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire, or Eastern Roman Empire. The Byzantine era is usually dated from 330 AD, when Constantine the Great moved the Roman capital to Byzantium, which became Constantinople, until t ...

. Posture during worship, such as

bowing Bowing (also called stooping) is the act of lowering the torso and head as a social gesture in direction to another person or symbol. It is most prominent in Asian cultures but it is also typical of nobility and aristocracy in many European cou ...

, is identical to that in other parts of Eastern Christianity. Within Byzantine Rite Lutheranism, the

calendar of saints The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context do ...

includes persons esteemed in Eastern Christianity, such as

John Chrysostom John Chrysostom (; gr, Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος; 14 September 407) was an important Early Church Father who served as archbishop of Constantinople. He is known for his preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of ...

and Nestor the Chronicler, as well as those specific to the Lutheran Church, such as

Lucas Cranach the Elder Lucas Cranach the Elder (german: Lucas Cranach der Ältere ; – 16 October 1553) was a German Renaissance painter and printmaker in woodcut and engraving. He was court painter to the Electors of Saxony for most of his career, and is kno ...

and

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...

. The Byzantine Rite was first used in the Ukrainian Lutheran Church. The first published Liturgy of the Eastern Rite was in 1933. The English text of the rite now in use is almost identical to that of the original printing. Some contemporary communities such as the Eastern Rite Community (Ostkirchlicher Konvent) in Germany and the Czech Republic, and the

Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Slovenia The Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Slovenia ( sl, Evangeličanska cerkev augsburške veroizpovedi v Sloveniji) is a Lutheran denomination in Slovenia. It is led by Bishop Leon Novak. It is a member of the Lutheran World Federat ...

also utilize the Byzantine Rite. In the region of

Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallaecia, a Roman province ** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia ** The medieval King ...

, Eastern Lutherans were persecuted by the communist régime, which instituted a policy of state atheism. From 1939–1945, many Eastern Lutheran clergy were martyred for their faith. Theodor Yarchuk, a priest who was a major leader in the Ukrainian Lutheran Church of the Augsburg Confession was tortured and killed in

Stanislaviv Ivano-Frankivsk ( uk, Іва́но-Франкі́вськ, translit=Iváno-Frankívśk ), formerly Stanyslaviv ( pl, Stanisławów ; german: Stanislau), is a city located in Western Ukraine. It is the administrative centre of Ivano-Frankivsk Ob ...

by communist authorities. Many Ukrainian Lutheran laypersons were also sent to the

Gulag The Gulag, an acronym for , , "chief administration of the camps". The original name given to the system of camps controlled by the State Political Directorate, GPU was the Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps (, )., name=, group= ...

, where they died. During this time of the persecution of Christians in the Soviet Union, property of the Lutheran Church was expropriated. After the collapse of USSR, the Ukrainian Lutheran Church experienced a revival.

References

External links

Liturgy in EnglishByzantine Lutheranism by Rev. David Jay Webber
{{Byzantine Rite, state=expanded Eastern Christianity Lutheranism in Ukraine

Lutheranism Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

Lutheran liturgy and worship Lutheran denominations established in the 20th century

See also

References

External links