From November 8 to 20, 2021, the LWF Center Wittenberg conducted an online seminar "Studying Luther in Wittenberg". Participants were 17 Lutheran pastors from Jordan, India, Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia, Senegal, Ghana, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Colombia, USA, Latvia. The seminar was carefully prepared by LWF Center Director Rev. Inken Wöhlbrand and the Center's study secretary, Dr. Sámuel Nánási, in collaboration with speakers Dr. Sarah Hinlicky Wilson and Dr. Theodor Dieter. Both speakers were research professors at the Institute and continue to work at the Institute as visiting adjunct professor and senior research professor. They have taught the two-week seminars annually in November since 2009. Last year, as this year, the seminar could only be held online because of the pandemic. The participants had previously attended a seminar in Wittenberg; the current seminar was a refresher course for them. Five days per week were seminar days (1.5 hours each). On the first weekend, the participants were able to present their country, church or congregation; on the second Saturday, there was a closing service in which Director Wöhlbrand was responsible for the liturgy, Pastor Nánási for the sermon, and intern Hannah Koby for the musical arrangement.
The 17 participants were divided into two groups (East and West). In preparation, they were given the Luther texts that would be studied in each session, as well as a video of about an hour for each session, in which the professors introduced the texts and topics in dialogue. Topics, after an introduction to the Middle Ages and the biography of the young Luther, included texts on the Reformation turn, Luther's writings "Two Kinds of Righteousness," "A Brief Instruction on what to Look for and Expect in the Gospels," "The Freedom of a Christian," the Large Catechism on Baptism and the Sacrament of the Altar, and Luther's "Letter to Two Pastors on Rebaptism."
The participants were open-minded and engaged with their questions and comments until the end. Over the days, an amazing fellowship developed, even though most of them did not know each other before. Of course, it was good that all of them had already participated in a seminar in Wittenberg. Without exception, the feedback was positive and enthusiastic. The two speakers have already agreed to participate in another seminar in November 2022.