“The Theology and Poetry of Dietrich Bonhoeffer”

Moscow

On April 15th Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Moscow hosted a conference dedicated to the legacy of the the 20th century martyr, Lutheran pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

“The life of Bonhoeffer is one of testimony and martyrdom;” with these words the Archbishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, Dietrich Brauer, opened the conference. Bonhoeffer ”looked straight into the eye of the very difficult question what it means to be a Christian, what it means to follow Christ, in an inhumane environment, in a totalitarian state. He clearly and without fear point out to his Church the threats that faced her.” As a pastor he called Christians to “wake up, come a live, grow up, and the Church to stop sleeping and keeping silence, to stop being self-interested.” Bonhoeffer needed to remind his congregation members that the Church “cannot be the church of Luther or the Church of the German people. It belongs to Christ;” Bonhoeffer himself became a “living sermon,” the Archbishop said.

He also touched on the theme of “religionless Christianity” that is found in Bonhoeffer. “The Christian faith is not the same as the Christian religion or worldview. A sermon is not a pious template. It should be ‘religionless,’ accessible, understandable.... A person becomes a Christian not through a religious ritual but by taking part in the sufferings of God in everyday life. That is what metanoia is, not to think first of all about your own troubles, problems, sins, and fears but to allow yourself to be drawn to the path of Jesus Christ...” the Archbishop said referencing the memorable words of the martyred pastor.

«Religionless Christianity” was the central theme of the conference, with two author theologians, Professor Svetlana Konacheva from the Russian State Humanitarian University and President of the Novosartavoka Theological Seminary, Dr. Anton Tikhomirov also speaking on the theme. Tikhomirov spoke about Bonhoeffer's poetry as a place where he sought a new language for “religionless” Christianity.

based on the article by Yulia Zaitseva, www.blagovest-info.ru.