World Council of Churches

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The World Council of Churches (WCC) is an international Christian ecumenical organization. Based in Geneva, Switzerland 46°13′47″N 06°07′42″E / 46.22972°N 6.12833°E / 46.22972; 6.12833Coordinates: 46°13′47″N 06°07′42″E / 46.22972°N 6.12833°E / 46.22972; 6.12833, it is a fellowship of about 340 churches of which 157 are members.[1] The fellowship includes denominations collectively representing about 550 million Christians throughout more than 120 countries.[2]

Contents

[edit] History

After the initial successes of the Ecumenical Movement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including the Edinburgh Missionary Conference of 1910 (chaired by future WCC Honorary President John R. Mott), church leaders (in 1937) agreed to establish a World Council of Churches, based on a merger of the Faith and Order Movement and Life and Work Movement organisations. Its official establishment was deferred with the outbreak of World War II until August 23, 1948. Delegates of 147 churches assembled in Amsterdam to merge the Faith and Order Movement and Life and Work Movement. Subsequent mergers were with the International Missionary Council in 1961 and the World Council of Christian Education, with its roots in the 18th century Sunday School movement, in 1971.

WCC member churches include most of the Orthodox Churches; numerous Protestant churches, including the Anglican Communion, some Baptists, many Lutheran, Methodist, and Reformed, a broad sampling of united and independent churches, and some Pentecostal churches; and some Old Catholic churches.

The largest Christian body, the Roman Catholic Church, is not a member of the WCC, but has worked closely with the Council for more than three decades and sends observers to all major WCC conferences as well as to its Central Committee meetings and the Assemblies. The Vatican's Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity also nominates 12 members to the WCC's Faith and Order Commission as full members. While not a member of the WCC, the Roman Catholic Church is a member of some other ecumenical bodies at regional and national levels, for example, the National Council of Churches in Australia and the National Council of Christian Churches in Brazil (CONIC).

Delegates sent from the member churches meet every seven or eight years in an Assembly, which elects a Central Committee that governs between Assemblies. A variety of other committees and commissions answer to the Central Committee and its staff.

These Assemblies have been held since 1948, and last met in Porto Alegre, Brazil in February 2006, under the theme "God, in your grace, transform the world". [3]

[edit] Previous Assemblies

Archbishop Anastasios of Tirana and All Albania was unanimously elected as one of the Presidents of the World Council of Churches at the 9th general assembly meeting held at the University of Porto Alegre in Brazil in February 2006. A former president of the WCC was Rev. Martin Niemöller, the famous Lutheran anti-Nazi theologian.

[edit] General Secretaries

Years Name Churches Nationality
1948 - 1966 W. A. Visser 't Hooft Reformed Churches in the Netherlands/Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches, Geneva Netherlands
1966 - 1972 Eugene Carson Blake United Presbyterian Church (USA) U.S.
1972 - 1984 Philip A. Potter Methodist Church Dominica
1985 - 1992 Emilio Castro Evangelical Methodist Church of Uruguay Uruguay
1993 - 2003 Konrad Raiser Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) Germany
2004 - 2008 Samuel Kobia Methodist Church in Kenya Kenya

[edit] Commissions and Teams

There are two complementary approaches to ecumenism: dialogue and action. The Faith and Order Movement and Life and Work Movement represent these approaches [4]. These approaches are reflected in the work of the WCC in its commissions, these being:

  • Echos- Commission on Youth (ages 18–30)
  • Commission of the Churches on Diakonia and Development
  • Commission on Education and Ecumenical Formation
  • Commission of the Churches on International Affairs
  • Commission on Justice, Peace and Creation
  • Commission on World Mission and Evangelism
  • Faith and Order Plenary Commission and the Faith and Order Standing Commission
  • Joint Consultative Group with Pentecostals
  • Joint Working Group WCC – Roman Catholic Church (Vatican)
  • Reference Group on the Decade to Overcome Violence
  • Reference Group on Inter-Religious Relations
  • Special Commission on Orthodox Participation in the WCC

[edit] Diakonia and Development & International Relations Commissions

The WCC acts through both its member churches and other religious and social organizations to coordinate ecumenical, evangelical, and social action.

Current WCC programmes include a Decade to Overcome Violence, an international campaign to combat AIDS/HIV in Africa and the Justice, Peace and Creation initiative.

[edit] Faith and Order Commission

WCC's Faith and Order Commission has been successful in working toward consensus on Baptism, Eucharist, and Ministry, on the date of Easter, on the nature and purpose of the church (ecclesiology), and on ecumenical hermeneutics.

[edit] Important texts

[edit] Justice, Peace and Creation Commission

Justice, Peace and Creation has drawn many elements together with an environmental focus. Its mandate is:

To analyze and reflect on justice, peace and creation in their interrelatedness, to promote values and practices that make for a culture of peace, and to work towards a culture of solidarity with young people, women, Indigenous Peoples and racially and ethnically oppressed people. [9]

Focal issues have been globalization and the emergence of new social movements (in terms of people bonding together in the struggle for justice, peace and the protection of creation).

Attention has been given to issues around:

[edit] Special Commission on Orthodox Participation in the WCC

A Special Commission was set up by the eighth Harare Assembly in December 1998 to address Orthodox concerns about WCC membership and the Council's decision-making style, public statements, worship practices and other issues.

The Special Commission on Orthodox Participation in the WCC represents the potential for fresh and creative high-level discussion about the structure and life of the Council, a discussion explicitly seen as continuing the foundations laid by the process and the policy document "Towards and Common Understanding and Vision of the WCC".

[edit] Controversy

 This article contains weasel words, vague phrasing that often accompanies biased or unverifiable information. Such statements should be clarified or removed. (February 2009)

There has been controversy within the WCC about its programs and actions. Orthodox and Evangelical member churches have sought to make clear the nature of their involvement and limits on the authority of the WCC to speak on their behalf. A Southern Baptist Theological Seminary professor pointed beyond liberal homosexual advocacy to the recognition of non-Christian religions as a reason for the diminishing relevance of WCC.[18]

Additionally, several conservative Eastern Orthodox Christians, among them being the monastic community of Mount Athos[19] consider the Council (as well as any union with non-Orthodox Christians) as heretical, and demand officials from the Eastern Orthodox Church to abdicate their membership.[20][21]

[edit] Programme to Combat Racism during the 1970s

There was controversy over the WCC's Programme to Combat Racism (PCR) during the 1970s. It funded a number of humanitarian programs of liberation movements while those groups were involved in violent struggle.

[edit] Other programmes

ACT Development (Action by Churches Together for Development) is currently a programme under the auspices of the WCC.

[edit] Successes

Some of the notable successes of the World Council of Churches are in the area of increased understanding and acceptance between Christian groups and denominations. Mutual understanding has developed through the Faith and Order related activities; the Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry process has been positive.

The WCC has not sought the organic union of different Christian denominations — it has however facilitated dialogue and supported local, national, and regional dialogue and cooperation.

[edit] Regional/national councils

It should be noted that membership in a regional or national council does not mean that the particular group is also a member of the WCC.

[edit] Members

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[edit] See also

 v • d • e  Christian Denominations
in English-speaking countries

[edit] References

  1. ^ World Council of Churches (WCOC claims 349 in the fellowship, lists 344 unique churches, 157 marked as being a member)
  2. ^ "Who are we?". World Council of Churches. 2003. http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/who/index-e.html. Retrieved on 2007-04-10. 
  3. ^ Strong impact, lasting memories
  4. ^ What is Faith and Order?
  5. ^ Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry (Faith and Order Paper No. 111, the “Lima Text”
  6. ^ [1]
  7. ^ [2]
  8. ^ [3]
  9. ^ world council of churches justice, peace and creation
  10. ^ JPC Concerns - economy
  11. ^ Climate change and water
  12. ^ JPC Concerns - indigenous
  13. ^ JPC Concerns - Peace
  14. ^ [4]
  15. ^ JPC: Racism (E)
  16. ^ JPC Concerns - Women
  17. ^ Youth in the ecumenical movement
  18. ^ David Roach (2006-02-28). "WCC assembly demonstrates spirit of antichrist, prof says". Baptise Press bpnews.net. http://bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=22744. Retrieved on 2009-02-11. 
  19. ^ The Theological Committee of the Sacred Community of Mount Athos (2007-02-18). "Memorandum on the Participation of the Orthodox Church in the World Council of Churches". orthodoxinfo.com. http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/memorandum-on-the-participation-of-the-orthodox-church-in-the-world-council-of-churches.aspx. Retrieved on 2008-11-01. 
  20. ^ "Τὸ Παγκόσμιο Συμβούλιο τῶν «ἐκκλησιῶν» καὶ ἡ ἀντι-Κανονικὴ συμμετοχὴ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας τῆς Ἑλλάδος". http://www.analogion.net/Ekklhsia_kai_Kanonikothta/002_WCC_EkklhsiaEllados.htm.  Analogion.gr. Retrieved on February 2, 2008 (Greek)
  21. ^ "[http://tovima.dolnet.gr/print_article.php?e=B&f=14773&m=A47&aa=1 Μετέωρο βήμα προς το Συμβούλιο Εκκλησιών Το χρονικό της συμμετοχής των Ορθοδόξων, οι «δυτικίζοντες» αιρετικοί και το μέλλον του θεσμού]". http://tovima.dolnet.gr/print_article.php?e=B&f=14773&m=A47&aa=1.  Lambrakis Press. Retrieved on February 2, 2008 (Greek)
  22. ^ All Africa Conference of Churches - Welcome
  23. ^ Index
  24. ^ CEC-KEK.org
  25. ^ Consejo Latinoamericano de Iglesias
  26. ^ The Middle East Council of Churches
  27. ^ Pacificforum.com - Stay Tuned!
  • World Council of Churches. Churches (lists all churches, members marked with asterisk) Retrieved 2008-07-13

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Council_of_Churches"
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