The Mandate of the Ecumenical Movement

This is the text of the address given by Willem A. Visser 't Hooft to the Uppsala Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in 1968 after being named honorary president of the WCC, following his retirement as general secretary two years earlier. In this address, Visser 't Hooft reviews the 20th‐century history of the ecumenical movement and the contemporary mandate of the WCC, in which the central issue is the relationship between the church and the world, where the vertical dimension to God of the church's unity determines the horizontal dimension of its service to the world. The address concludes with four challenges: no horizontal advance without vertical orientation; the ecumenical movement and the churches need each other; church unity is important; and youth expects answers.     

The Ecumenical Movement and 1968

The year 1968 is remembered as a turning point in ecumenical history: the 4th Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Uppsala appeared to mark the end of the era of early ecumenism and the beginning of a new era. This article questions this understanding of “Uppsala” and examines the reasons for such a mythologization of the assembly through analyzing its themes and conflicts in a twofold way. First, the analysis shows the connection between the students' revolts of 1968 and the assembly. Second, the article draws on the assembly's main theme, “Behold, I make all things new,” and the key aspects of ecumenical renewal discussed at the assembly: the new relationship between the WCC and the Roman Catholic Church, the WCC's commitment to development issues, liberation from racism, and the churches' role in political conflicts. While these themes became a symbol for identifying the assembly with a groundbreaking ecumenical change, the article argues that this change had already begun in the early 1960s, and that the assembly at Uppsala was more the medial and visible expression of this continuing ecumenical turbulence than its source.     

The South Asian Presence in the Ecumenical Movement

This article surveys the distinct role South Asian Christianity played in the modern ecumenical movement. It explores how the longevity, vitality, and diversity of Christianity in South Asia, coupled with the pluralistic ethos and inter‐religious context of the region, provided a conducive atmosphere for the ecumenical movement to take root in the early decades of the 20th century. The article argues that while there were outstanding ecumenical thinkers and path‐breaking church unity efforts in the region, what was most important was the emergence of new theological trends that reverberated across the ecumenical world, such as Dalit theology, tribal theology, and Urban and Rural Mission. While discussing these developments from a historical perspective, this article also tries to identify contemporary issues and challenges in these areas. Today, as the forces of religious nationalism, sectarianism, and fundamentalism are gaining ground in South Asia, the task before us is to realize anew the meaning of ecumenism.