As an American Lutheran frustrated with American Lutheranism, Melanchthon’s works have been helping me toward the Anglo-Catholic stream of the Anglican Church in North America, which in many ways seems to embody the vision of unity Melanchthon desired for Protestants. Though I’m not sure Genevans could have gotten onboard, one wonders what could have been if Northern Germany, Scandinavia, and Britain had forged a united episcopal evangelical catholic church (not the powers that be would have allowed it). I would love to see the Lutheran and Anglican bishops in Africa bring this to fruition some day…time will tell.
Whoaaa this is exactly my conflict right now! I really appreciate both traditions, but I struggle with the idea if a church should be confessional or big tent. Im particularly interested in the “Prayer Book Catholic” tradition as they were the more theological moderate of the Oxford Movement while maintaining the episcopate, beautiful liturgy, and the three fold order. It’s a shame American Lutheranism is the way it is with it’s polity and difficulty finding a parish that has actually “retained the Mass” as per the confessions. I wish the Nordic Lutherans could institute the episcopate for American Lutherans
