(JTA) — The Church of Norway, the state’s Lutheran Church, acknowledged that some of church founder Martin Luther’s writing were used in anti-Semitic propaganda.

The Church on Friday condemned Luther’s anti-Jewish legacy, ahead of the 500-year anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, started by the 16^th century German theologian, the Associated Press reported.

The statement came from the Church of Norway’s General Synod, which acknowledged that Luther’s writings were used in Nazi propaganda, and was spread through Nazi-occupied Norway during World War II.  Luther had called for the persecution of Jews in his later writings.

“(I)n the Reformation anniversary year of 2017, we as a church must clearly distance ourselves from the anti-Judaism that Luther left behind,” read the statement, according to the AP.