Lutherans, Catholics and Methodist gathered in Chicago on Thursday to mark the tenth anniversary of a milestone agreement reached between the groups on the doctrine of justification.

Being held at Old St. Patrick's Church in Chicago, the celebration will honor the signing of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ), a resolution agreed upon by members of the Vatican and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) on Oct. 31, 1999. In 2006, Methodists joined the agreement during a meeting of the World Methodist Council in Seoul, South Korea.

"The 10th anniversary of the signing of the Joint Declaration provides a joyful occasion for thanking God for our level of agreement on this central doctrine of our Christian faith," said the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, president of the LWF and presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and attendant at the gathering. "The JDDJ is a powerful testimony to what can be achieved when churches remain in dialogue addressing questions that have separated us for centuries."

According to the JDDJ, justification was at the center of doctrinal issues that led to the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century. And while the document does not cover all teachings from Catholics, Lutherans and Methodists on the subject, it does provide a consensus on basic truths common to each, including the idea that all believers are saved by grace, through faith in Jesus Christ, apart from works.

"By grace alone, in faith in Christ's saving work and not because of any merit on our part, we are accepted by God and receive the Holy Spirit, who renews our hearts while equipping and calling us to good works," the document states.

"By the action of the Holy Spirit in baptism, they are granted the gift of salvation, which lays the basis for the whole Christian life," it continues.

"For hundreds of years, the issue of justification by faith divided Catholics and Protestants," said Bishop Gregory Palmer, president of The United Methodist Church's Council of Bishops. "This agreement celebrates consensus on the basic truths of the doctrine of justification."

Representatives attending the event in Chicago alongside Hanson and Palmer include LWF General Secretary the Rev. Ishmael Noko and Cardinal Francis George of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, among others. A second gathering is scheduled to take place on JDDJ's actual anniversary date in Germany, where the document was originally signed.