We Are All Priests: The Ecclesiological Boundaries and Horizons of Martin Luther’s Common Priesthood

Roger Whittall's book explores the common priesthood's role in the Christian community, highlighting its equality with the public ministry and its biblical expression of Christian spiritual life, worship, and service. It also examines Luthers use of key biblical texts to link church and priesthood through unity, equality, and participation.

Format: Hardback
Length: 272 pages
Publication date: 15 December 2023
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Roger Whittall's book explores the significance of Luthers teaching on the common priesthood, which he argues was a persistent element of Luthers ecclesiology and closely related to his understanding of the church as the communion of saints. Whittalls focus is on the common priesthoods activity in the Christian community, moving beyond its contested relationship to the churchs ordained ministry or the views that limit its appearance to Luthers early polemical writings. Rather, the common priesthood stands alongside the public ministry as equal partners in the churches mandate to receive and speak Gods word, respond in prayer, praise, and joyful service of Gods world and all its people. This wide-ranging investigation features later material not often considered in relation to the common priesthood. For Luther, "priesthood" was a biblical expression of Christian spiritual life, worship, and service, forming both the personal faith of individual Christians and the corporate nature of the Christian community. Whittall also examines Luthers use of key biblical texts to link church and priesthood through the themes of unity and community, equality, and participation. Understood in this way, this priesthood still speaks powerfully to the identity and mission of the church today.

Weight: 558g
Dimension: 158 x 236 x 24 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781978715424