Leiturgia, martyria, diakonia – Stichwörter zur Freiheit der Kirche in der (post-)säkularen Welt
Leiturgia, Martyria, Diakonia – the Keywords to the Ecclesial Freedom in the (Post-)Secular World

Summary/Abstract: The term secularization is defined differently in different places of the world. The idea that contemporary churches may achieve renewal in leitourgia, martyria and diakonia, as suggested in the vein of the 2nd Vatican Council, is historically rooted in secularization processes developing in the post World War I Germany. Against this background, leitourgia (in the sense of public worship) and martyria/diakonia (the latter understood as Christian values) represent different ways of expressing the freedom of the church in a secular world. Through public worship and intercessory prayer in particular, Christian churches contribute to brotherhood and readiness to forgive both being essential for any societal sense of togetherness. The freedom of prayer is rooted in the Christian conviction that God is at work in the secular world and is thus independent of any legal order enacted in a given society. The church is entitled to claim the freedom of prayer in any type of state, even if a democratic constitutional state fits best with this Christian conviction. The Christian freedom to disseminate the Christian values is not directly rooted in the God's work, but in the churches' ability to realize the background convictions behind their disseminated values. In an age where there is no common Christian or universal value system and where the churches are involved in political and societal debates on values, it is these background convictions that allow the churches freely discuss their internal dissents on values and thus provide the secular world with an example of maintaining communion even over severe disagreements.

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