Berlin Declaration (1909)

The Berlin Declaration is a written in Berlin at the Hospice of St. Michael on September 15, 1909 resolution in which the pietistic community movement distanced themselves from the emerging Pentecostal movement.

History

Walter Michaelis, who Präses of Gnadauer Community Association, thus the head of the community movement, had been encouraged by Georg von Viehbahn to convene a preparatory committee for a resolution against the Pentecostal movement. From Viehbahn his concern had brought about the fact that more and more brothers were drawn into the movement of the tongue. A preparatory committee came together and met on two days in the Hospital of St. Michael in Berlin. The Committee invited to a further meeting to Berlin and then presented with over 50 invited this resolution in a 19 -hour mammoth session.

In the declaration, the country church community movement distances sharply from the nascent Pentecostal movement and its perceived as offensive excesses. The resolution is a unique explanation, as it is accommodated in any other nation to such a separation between the two movements as in Germany. Is stated in it that it is the Pentecostal movement is not a movement from above ( ie from God ) is at issue but you keep a from below, ie from Satan forth that have in common many elements with the spiritualism and from which should.

In response to the Berlin Declaration Pentecostalism wrote on September 15, 1909, Mülheim Policy.

Through the Berlin Declaration, there was a deep and prolonged distancing between Pentecostal Free Churches and the other evangelical free churches, and community organizations. Since using the Berlin Declaration not only individual theological views or events have been criticized, but rather the Pentecostal movement had been collectively referred to as proceeding from Satan, the community movement had poisoned the atmosphere between the affected Christian denominations in Germany for decades sustainable. The defamatory statements, that Pentecostalism have taken their origin from Satan and you should stay away from her, were still not explicitly revoked. Only in recent years, increased efforts have been made to overcome this gap with success, including through the Kassel Declaration of 1996 or joint projects such as ProChrist.

In January 2009, that is 100 years after the signing of the Berlin Declaration, the Gnadauer Community Association and the Mülheim Association of Evangelical Free church - communities have published a joint statement on the Berlin Declaration. These two organizations are doing in the traditions of these two camps that faced each other in 1909, the Association Gnadauer in the tradition of the Berlin Declaration, and the Mülheim Association in the tradition of Pentecostalism and the Mülheim Policy. In the Declaration of 2009 states inter alia:

"We recognize, Berlin Declaration ' as well as in the Mülheim reply a serious spiritual rings prevent damage to the church of Jesus in a critical time. These historical documents are not relevant to the current coexistence of Gnadauer and Mülheim Association. We know that in the other movement of the Spirit of Jesus Christ acts "

The declaration can already welcomed existing forms of cooperation between the two organizations, and supported the intention to continue to deepen this cooperation. Also in the Declaration of 2009, the community movement has, however, can not bring themselves to distance themselves from their historic general verdict; one has only referred to the current situation.

The Berlin declaration in the wording

Signatory

The resolution was adopted by 56 brothers; their names listed were under the Policy. Four brothers had refused to agree:

Bähren, Hanover; Bartsch, Charlottenburg; Blecher; A. Dallmeyer; Broda, Gelsenkirchen; Dolmann; Engel, neurodegeneration; Evers, Rixdorf; Frank, Hamburg; Grote, Oberfischbach; Hermann, Berlin; Heydorn; Chicken, Walde; Ihloff; Jorn, Berlin; Kmitta; knippel; Koehler, Berlin; Count Korff; Kühn, Gr. Lichterfelde; Lammert, Berlin; Lohe; K. Mascher; Fri Mascher, Lehe; Master, Waldenburg; Merten, Elberfeld; Michaelis; v. Patow; Rohrbach; v. Rotkirch; Rowing village, Dusseldorf; Ruprecht, Herischdorf; Sartorius; Scharwächter; Slate, Neukirchen; Schopf, Witten; Schrenk; Schütz, Berlin; Schütz, Ravich; Seitz; Simoleit, Berlin; Stockmayer; Thiele v. Winckler; Thiemann; v. Tresckow; v. Thümmler; M. Urban; Urbschat, Hela; Vasel; v. Viehbahn; Guardian, Frankfurt; Wallraff, Berlin; Warns, Berlin; Wittekindt; Deserts, Görlitz; v. Zastrow, Gr. Breesen. Consents were requested to Wittekindt in Wernigerode.

The Berlin Declaration was thus not a handwritten signature by the individual brothers. Unfortunately, there is today of the former meeting, neither a protocol nor the original certificate.

117799
de