Christ Present in Faith-and in the Church: The Parallels between Tuomo Mannermaa's and Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Interpretations of Luther's Theological Ontology

In recent decades Finnish Luther research has become part of the mainstream of Luther research. The central claim and result are that the idea of Christ present in faith is the core of Luther's theology and understanding of the doctrine of justification. Tuomo Mannermaa's study Christ Present in Faith: Luther's View of Justification (1979/2005) has played a significant role in this. Some scholars have referred to obvious similarities between Finnish research and Dietrich Bonhoeffer's thinking. This article's task is to analyze the confluence between Mannermaa's and Bonhoeffer's Luther interpretations. The focus is on questions of theological ontology. Both highlight the coexistence of relationality, and the ontic dimension. However, Bonhoeffer places more emphasis than Luther on ecclesiology. These approaches have promoted not only Lutheran-Orthodox but also Lutheran-Catholic dialogue.