Consecrating Humanity

In The Life and Work of Rudolf Steiner, Guenther Wachsmuth writes,

Between September 7 and 22 there occurred the Third Course for Theologians. Out of the circle of persons who had shared in the course of the previous year, those had now come together who intended to devote their entire activity in the future to this task... approximately 45 persons (right). And to these Rudolph Steiner spoke in fourteen gatherings. What was essential did not consist only in the content of the lectures, but in the event that the spiritual teacher bestowed upon these persons the substance of a new cult, which they received during these festival days for their future life work. The inauguration of the cult liturgy took place and the consecration of the priests. The “Christian Community” had been founded... the birth of a new sacramentalism which came out of spiritual knowledge. (465-466)

The Christian Community is present worldwide, a century later, in about 35 countries. Here are its own descriptions of its ongoing work and the centenary conference.

About The Christian Community

In the midst of the many religious and ideological communities of our time, The Christian Community has its own community life. On the one hand, this is based on the renewal and further development of the Christian service, the Mass, into an act of consecration for human beings. On the other hand, there is a new Christian confession or Creed, which contains the truth of the Christian faith in a form appropriate to our time.

Worship and confession are brought to life through the shared and individual religious practice of the faithful. This also includes a new approach to the Gospel and to prayer. The Christian Community is therefore a community of sacraments. Baptism, confirmation, confession, marriage, ordination and last rites are connected with the central sacrament, the consecration of man.

“To João Torunsky, the new Erzoberlenker the following applies: ‘Human beings find access to truth within themselves... We have the task of forming a community of individualities.’ Therefore, there should be no dogmatism and no moral laws imposed from above. At the same time the search for Christ unites us and heightens our awareness to not only being a responsible member of humanity but also part of creation as a whole. The Christian Community considers this a global and spiritual task which cannot be fulfilled by their members alone. It... seeks ecumenism.”

The Logos Conference

“LOGOS – Consecrating Humanity” will mark the beginning of the second century of the Christian Community (October 7-11, 2022 www.logos-2022.org) and is to bear witness to this openness; it has been prepared by many communities in smaller meetings. LOGOS will unfold with nearly 120 three-day workshops, over sixty speakers, in Dortmund, in northwestern Germany near the Netherlands. It is planned to have as many as 2000 participants including a large youth gathering. Themes of the conference include:

LOGOS — Consecrating Humanity Original beginning and goal of all development

The Sacraments: Healing and consecration of humankind and the world by means of their transformation

Archangel Michael: Zeitgeist and silent helper of humankind

Setting forth into the second century: How do we develop the forces of inspiration in a renewed Christianity?

About the conference name: LOGOS, the creating power of the Word of God, created heaven and earth, all that lives upon the earth and all human beings. The creating Word incarnated and lives with us now and evermore into the future. The Word is the foundation of The Christian Community; as Christians, our substance is the Word; we want to serve it.

What is this Word that sounds toward us ever and again? We may call it a ‘Word of Love’ which embraces us as we are, with all our character traits, our strengths and weaknesses, achievements and failures. This Word of Love affirms us and guides us in the act of becoming; it supports and leads us, yet leaves us free. The Word meets the whole of mankind and each individual human being where they are, transforms them, and in doing so it consecrates them.

It is our hope that our commitment to this origin, goal and enduring power of metamorphosis may inspire and sustain us as we move into the second century of The Christian Community. In this way we seek to be true to our intention to be a movement for religious renewal for the benefit of the whole of Christianity.

Giving Thanks to Our Earth

Our objective is to compensate in a living way for the unavoidable environmental damage caused when our conference guests travel by air and/or automobile from far away countries. The solution—one already in practice in countless places—is to plant trees for the sake of making a living contribution to the ecological footprint. Often, however, such plantings are anonymous and unmanageable. So we sought out initiatives that have arisen in connection with anthroposophy and the Christian Community, which have an individual character and have been created by people with whom we can be in constant contact. ... In our search for personal initiatives, we were able to find three already existing projects: Fruit Garden in Argentina. In Missiones, a state in northeastern Argentina, ... creating a tangerine orchard, the fruit of which will be available to the children of the Guarani, an aboriginal tribe, for years to come. Green Labyrinth... near a biodynamic farm on the Philippine island of Palawan, to be created in a public park and as an invitation for people to walk the path to the center—a small, covered pavilion—and to experience a moment of pause, in prayer or meditation, so that they may then turn again to the outside world with renewed strength. Tree Cross. The Tree Cross is a tree planting initiative that was called to life by Joseph Beuys over 30 years ago... along the former border of East and West Germany... All three tree-planting projects live in the consciousness of priests and congregations of the Christian Community, and they are involved in these projects’ implementation.

The original members of the Christian Community: Movement for Religious Renewal