Today 31st October 2018 marks 501 years anniversary of one of the greatest event in the world history, the REFORMATION. Most of us by now should know very well most of the stories of the Reformation.
501 years ago in a small rural town of Germany called Wittenberg it all began with Rev. Dr. Martin Luther (31-October-1517).
What came after changed the world view of that era in Medieval Europe. The impact of Reformation was not only limited to the theologies and church structures, it affected political systems, cultures, languages, economic systems and even form the basis of the inspiration towards the industrial revolution era. The whole known human civilization back then felt it’s impact.
Then, 369 years ago the flame reached the humble shores of our Simbang village. Senior Johannes Flierl reached us (12-July-1886)
And what came after played a major role in shaping the destiny of this nation, PNG.
Today, the evidence of it’s impact, within Morobe:
Almost every Morobean is/was a Lutheran or has a link to a Lutheran heritage.
Almost every Morobean village is a Lutheran congregation.
Reminds me, one time in Geneva, i met a friend from Finland, as we chat I asked him, “how many Lutherans does Finland have?”, his response “Almost every Finnish you meet is a Lutheran, and almost every Church in every village is a Lutheran Church”
This is because 81% of Finland’s population are members of the Ev. Lutheran Church of Finland.
Similarly in Sweden, Norway, Denmark & Iceland, the official state Church is the Lutheran Church. It was only recently a decade ago most separated the Church and the state. But still the Lutheran Church is a very integral part of their society since the 16th century.
In a similar religious context as Morobe, almost every Swedish, Norwegian, Danish and Icelandic is/was a Lutheran or has a link to the Lutheran heritage
The impact of Reformation is not only within the context of theology and church, it has impacted cultures, politics, economies etc…
You would also realise that:
In Morobe,
almost every village was established as a Lutheran Congregation before WW1, WW2 and the Australian Colonial government,
and it is still today.
The political and administrative system of Census Unit, Ward, LLG, District, Province came later.
What we had and is still strong today is,
Congregation (village),
Parish (clan, group of villages)
Circuit (group of people speaking same language and have similar culture, group of parishes)
District (group of circuit for admin purpose)
The boundaries and region were set according cultural/language similarities. Not by population size as per the current government system Ward/LLG/District
Sharing the #Reformation_Inspiration
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Photo: Senior Johannes Flierl at his retirement home in Germany few years before he died.
He was 28 years old when he came to Finschhafen and retired at the age of 72.
Flierl retired in 1930 with his wife to her hometown, Tanunda, South Australia. Four years later, after his wife’s death, he returned to Neuendettelsau (Germany) with his daughter, who died before him; he died there on 30 September 1947. Of his four children, Wilhelm and Johannes became ordained mission pastors, Dora was a mission teacher and nurse and Elise married the missionary Georg Pilhofer.
By Warime Guti / 2018 See Less