About This Journal
Call for Papers: Lutherans and the Nicene Creed.
The year 2025 marks the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, where a majority of the Nicene Creed was first articulated. Originally formulated to resolve the Arian controversy that caused confusion about Christ’s natures and the Trinity, the Nicene Creed began to appear in the Eucharistic liturgy in the sixth century and was made an official part of the Roman mass in 1014.
While the Apostles’ Creed, originating from early baptismal liturgies, has become more common among Lutherans through Luther’s Catechisms and worship, the Nicene Creed appears as one of the foundational texts at the beginning of the Book of Concord, affirming its role as a source and interpretation of global Lutheran theology.
Recently, the Lutheran World Federation and the Orthodox Church issued a joint statement on the Creed, specifically the later addition of the Filioque clause that describes the Holy Spirit’s procession from both the Father and Son. The Common Statement suggests that “the translation of the Greek original (without the Filioque) be used in the hope that this will contribute to the healing of age-old divisions between our communities and enable us to confess together the faith of the Ecumenical Councils of Nicæa (325) and Constantinople (381).” ELW in 2006 had already acknowledged this difference by providing a footnote to the Nicene Creed, noting that the phrase “and the Son” was a later addition.
Consensus is interested in exploring how Lutherans engage the Nicene Creed in the 21st-centutry. Some of the questions we hope to address include:
- What role does the Nicene Creed have in lifelong spiritual formation?
- How does the Nicene Creed serve as a foundation (both an opportunity and a challenge) in ecumenical and interfaith dialogue?
- What are the implications for contemporary pneumatology with the proposed removal of the Filioque?
- Why might a community continue to use the Nicene Creed when its language and style seem antiquated?
- How do modern creeds and professions of faith relate to the Nicene Creed? If modern texts are to be adopted by churches today, what might the process be?
While this call highlights Lutheran approaches to the Nicene Creed, Consensus invites all contributions that engage with the topic from all theological traditions. Manuscripts are welcome that connect with multiple practices and perspectives, including but not limited to:
- History and theology
- Lutheran identity
- Liturgy and music
- Religious education
- Spiritual formation
- Ecumenical relations
- Culture and context
The deadline for submission is April 15, 2025. Please send your submissions or your questions to the editor Kyle Schiefelbein-Guerrero, ksg@saskatoontheologicalunion.ca. Submissions should be between 3000 and 4000 words, as an MS Word attachment (see additional requirements), and formatted in either APA or Chicago style.
---Consensus (ISSN 2369-2685) is the theological journal published since 1985 by Martin Luther University College and Lutheran Theological Seminary, two institutions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC). Prior to that it was a forum of the Canadian Lutheran Merger Commission of the late 1970s which led to the formation of the ELCIC.
- ISSN: 2369-2685 (Online)
- ISSN: 0317-1493 (Print)
Indexed in Atla Religion Database (Atla RDB).