Greeting of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches

This is the text of the greetings of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches, meeting in Karlsruhe, Germany, from 31 August to 8 September 2022.     

Reclaiming Communication

This article focuses on the history of the ecumenical discussion on communication, as reflected in the assemblies of the World Council of Churches (WCC). It examines, in particular, the communication statements that emerged from the WCC assemblies in Uppsala in 1968 and in Vancouver in 1983, as well as the more tentative moves at the Harare assembly of 1998 to develop an understanding of communication as an integral part of an “ecumenical space.” The article goes on to argue that the changing perspectives manifested at these assemblies, each 15 years apart, were linked to changing paradigms of social and theological reflection that were themselves the product of economic and political transformation. Finally, the article considers how the insights gained can be brought to bear on the challenges presented by digital transformation.     

Message of Pope Francis to the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches

This is the text of the message of greetings of His Holiness Pope Francis to the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches, meeting in Karlsruhe, Germany, from 21 August to 8 September 2022.     

Ecclesiology and Missiology: Reflections on Two Recent Documents from the World Council of Churches

In 2013 the World Council of Churches published two important documents, one on the church and one on mission. Beginning with the conviction that ecclesiology has to be missiological and missiology ecclesiological, this article reads each document from the basic perspective of the other. This reading is followed by a constructive critique from the author's perspective as a Roman Catholic missionary ecclesiologist.     

Homily at the Opening Prayer of the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches

This is the text of the homily at the opening prayer of the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches on 31 August 2022. The homily was based on Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well, a narrative in the fourth chapter of the Gospel of John. Despite wide gaps of religious belief, gender, culture, and lifestyle, Jesus took the woman seriously and spoke to her on a personal level.     

Youth Testimony at the Opening Prayer of the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches

This is the text of the youth testimony at the opening prayer of the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches on 31 August 2022.     

Ecumenism in Scotland

This article examines the history of Scottish ecumenism through the institutional ecumenism of the Scottish Churches Council, the Scottish Ecumenical Committee, the second Scottish Churches Council and Action of Churches Together in Scotland (ACTS), looking at the significant contribution of Scottish Churches House and the ‘Tell Scotland’ Movement. It also looks at the history of ‘participative ecumenism’ and how it has related to ‘representative ecumenism’. It gives a brief reflection on local ecumenism and notes the history of discussion for organic union.     

Ecumenism and Global Governance

On 21 June 2018, on his 23rd international journey, Pope Francis travelled to Geneva to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the World Council of Churches. The Swiss city also hosts a large number of representative international institutions dealing with global governance and the issues of peace, human rights, and migration. After reviewing the main highlights of the journey, this article discusses its significance: to appeal to the common commitment of Christians to proclaim the gospel and its power of salvation in a divided and wounded world. In this way, Pope Francis underlined that in the pluralistic society of today, harmony is not possible if we just ignore faith and focus on what it means to be human while excluding the transcendent. Indeed, it is the gospel that promotes harmony and commitment to a better world.     

Women’s Ministry in Ecumenical Perspective

Although discussion about the ministry of women seems to have come to a standstill as a result of arguments that don’t seem to change, the actual practices of the churches have evolved beyond doctrinal positions. In the Roman Catholic Church, many women have been appointed to positions in pastoral care and education, and even to decision‐making bodies. In the Orthodox Church, prerogatives previously reserved for nuns are beginning to be applied to lay women. But if we can entrust women with pastoral responsibilities, why is it not possible to move to include them in priestly ministry? To answer this question, we need to analyze the implicit levels of refusing the priesthood to women.     

Christ's Love Moves the World to Reconciliation and Unity

This is the text of a Unity Statement approved on 8 September 2022 by the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches, which met in Karlsruhe, Germany, from 31 August to 8 September 2022. Successive WCC assemblies have offered a statement to inspire the churches to reflect on why they have chosen to journey together and the significance of the call to unity.     

Message from the Ecumenical Youth Gathering

This is the message of the Ecumenical Youth Gathering held in advance of the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches, which met in Karlsruhe, Germany, in August–September 2022. In their message, the youth voiced a series of laments, and recognized and prayed for justice, forgiveness, and reconciliation of the wounds the church has inflicted and continues to inflict in the world, and they called on the WCC to provide a meaningful space for an equal representation of young people in all its processes.     

Address of the Federal President to the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Karlsruhe, 2022

This is the text of the address of Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at the opening of the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches on 31 August 2022, in Karlsruhe.     

Emilio Castro: A Passion for the Gospel

This article reviews the role of Emilio Castro as general secretary of the World Council of Churches (1985–1992), highlighting his involvement in the Conciliar Process for Justice, Peace, and the Integrity of Creation; his appreciation for Orthodox spirituality and theology; and his commitment to strengthening relationships with Pentecostals and evangelicals.     

Message from the Indigenous Peoples Pre-Assembly Meeting

This is the message from the meeting of Indigenous Peoples held before the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches, which met in Karlsruhe, Germany, in August–September 2022. The Indigenous Peoples Pre-Assembly Meeting gathered participants from 40 different Indigenous nations who called on the WCC and its member churches to support them in their journeys to recover their God-given identities, stating in the message that “the road to reconciliation leads through restoration of justice, because without justice, we cannot stand as equals.”     

Celebrating Women,Addressing the Wounds

A consultation commemorating the 20th anniversary of the culmination of the Ecumenical Decade of the Churches in Solidarity with Women took place in Kingston, Jamaica, in October 2018 to reflect on the achievements and challenges in building a just community of all people in church and society, and to strengthen ecumenical collaboration in reading the signs of the times. The Decade was launched in 1988, following a decision of the central committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC). It was “addressed to churches and to women at the local level to empower women to challenge structures and to respond to the issues in the society around them” and focused on “the situation of women in the churches as well as the churches’ participation in improving the conditions for women in society.” It concluded in December 1998 with a festival held in Harare, Zimbabwe, immediately before the WCC’s 8th Assembly. The global consultation in October 2018, hosted by the Jamaica Council of Churches, gathered intergenerational women and men from WCC member churches and their theological institutions and ecumenical partners. Below we document several of the contributions at the Jamaica consultation as well as the report of the event.     

The Future of Multilateral Ecumenical Dialogue

This article offers an overview of work undertaken in multilateral ecumenical dialogue, as it has been conducted at the international level by the commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches (WCC), to clarify the issues discussed in this dialogue and the methods used. In particular, the article analyzes the statements on unity made at various WCC assemblies. While they demonstrate a certain continuity regarding the key points of church unity they identify, they clearly mark a shift in the overall understanding of how unity is conceived. The second part of the article examines the current ecumenical situation and its importance for this dialogue, to show how Faith and Order has responded and what further progress in multilateral dialogue might look like.     

Message from the Just Community of Women and Men Pre-Assembly Meeting

This is the message of the meeting on the Just Community of Women and Men held prior to the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches, which met in Karlsruhe, Germany, in August–September 2022. The pre-assembly noted the continuing and even exacerbated tragedy of gender-based violence and abuse in multiple forms, in all regions, and within and outside churches. The report acknowledges that sociocultural realities that impose themselves on religious lives distort God's vision of life in fullness, abundance, and love. In this context, patriarchy hurts and exploits women, men, and people of all genders.     

Report of the Acting General Secretary to the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches,Karlsruhe, 2022

This is the text of the report on 31 August 2022 of the acting general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) to the WCC's 11th Assembly, which took place in Karlsruhe, Germany, from 31 August to 8 September 2022.     

Freedom,Love, and Justice

This article starts from love as being a fundamental value, guiding modes of behaviour that establish a reliable framework and basis for the recognition of the rights and dignity of everyone in the community. The affirmation of justice and freedom based on love leads to corrective and transformative action in cases where life is threatened and rights are being violated. Drawing on the experience and witness of Martin Luther King Jr, the article underlines that love empowers the oppressed to stand up and becomes a moral imperative for change, against the background of the many forces promoting conflict and violence, division, and polarization. The power of love is a message to the world, to the powerful, and to the powerless – to all who long for a different reality from what we see in today’s world. This needs to be expressed in the quest for the unity of the church and the unity of humankind, serving the sustainability and unity of God’s creation.     

“Behold,I Make All Things New”

The theme of the 4th Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Uppsala in 1968 was “Behold, I make all things new.” God's great promise in Revelation precisely reflected the fears and hopes of the turbulent 1960s. This promise is realized in the experience of faith, and in this certainty, Christianity goes out to meet the great future of God in the world. The connection between this promised future and the advent of the new creation experienced by Christians was captured in Uppsala by the concept of “anticipation.” This article traces the impetus of the impulse of the Uppsala assembly through the World Student Conference in Finland in 1968 and the Conference on World Mission and Evangelism in Bangkok in 1973–73.