Altar and pulpit fellowship describes an

ecumenical Ecumenism ( ; alternatively spelled oecumenism)also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalismis the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships ...

collaboration between two Christian organizations, and is a

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

term for

full communion Full communion is a communion or relationship of full agreement among different Christian denominations or Christian individuals that share certain essential principles of Christian theology. Views vary among denominations on exactly what constit ...

, or ''communio in sacris.'' ''Altar'' refers to the

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

in Christian churches, which holds the

sacrament A sacrament is a Christian rite which is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence, number and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible symbol ...

Holy Communion The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an ordinance in others. Christians believe that the rite was instituted by J ...

. ''Pulpit'' refers to the

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...

, from which a

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

preaches. ''Altar and pulpit fellowship'' is therefore a specific understanding of "doctrinal agreement and confessional unity" that "allows the pastors of one church to preach and celebrate Holy Communion in the church of another". Most European churches that arose during the Reformation are in altar and pulpit communion (full communion) through the Concord of Leuenberg, forming the

Communion of Protestant Churches in Europe The Communion of Protestant Churches in Europe (CPCE; German: ''Gemeinschaft Evangelischer Kirchen in Europa'', GEKE) is a fellowship of over 100 Protestant churches which have signed the Leuenberg Agreement. Together they strive for realizing ...

. The churches who signed the agreement are

Reformed Reform is beneficial change. Reform, reformed or reforming may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine Places * Reform, Al ...

(including

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

, and United churches, and also the pre-reformation Waldensian, Czech Brethren, and

Hussite file:Hussitenkriege.tif, upright=1.2, Battle between Hussites (left) and Crusades#Campaigns against heretics and schismatics, Catholic crusaders in the 15th century file:The Bohemian Realm during the Hussite Wars.png, upright=1.2, The Lands of the ...

church. All members also recognize the valid ordination of other churches within the Communion.

Anglican churches The Anglican Communion is a Christian communion consisting of the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion. The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, recognised as ' ...

have full communion with Scandinavian Lutheran churches through the

Porvoo Communion The Porvoo Communion is a Communion (Christian), communion of 15 predominantly northern European Anglican and Lutheran, Evangelical Lutheran churches, with a couple of far-southwestern European (in the Iberian Peninsula) church bodies of the sa ...

, and with several other churches such as

Old Catholic The terms Old Catholic Church, Old Catholics, Old-Catholic churches, or Old Catholic movement, designate "any of the groups of Western Christians who believe themselves to maintain in complete loyalty the doctrine and traditions of the Great C ...

, Mar Thoma Syrian, the

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. As of December 31, 2023, it ...

, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Canada, and the

Philippine Independent Church The Philippine Independent Church (; ), officially referred to by its Philippine Spanish name (IFI) and colloquially called the Aglipayan Church, is an independent catholic Christian denomination, in the form of a nationalist church, in the ...

. The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod has altar and pulpit fellowship with 38 other churches: seven in Africa, eight in Asia, 12 in Europe, eight in Latin America, and three in North America. The LCMS also calls these organizations "partner churches". The American Association of Lutheran Churches says their altar and pulpit fellowship with the Missouri Synod means the two church bodies are "separate but interdependent", and that pastors of each organization may be called to permanent pastoral positions in the other.

References

{{reflist Lutheranism Protestant ecumenism Christian terminology

See also

References