World Council of ChurchesNews Release
For immediate release
28/09/2009
BARTHOLOMEW I TO OPEN THE FAITH AND ORDER PLENARY COMMISSION MEETING
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I will open the meeting of the
World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission on Faith and Order,
which will take place in Kolympari, Crete, Greece, from 7 to 14
October 2009. At this plenary meeting, the 120 members of the
commission, which is seen as Christianity's most representative
theological forum, will address the question of Christian unity
from new perspectives.
Participants at the Crete gathering will not only address issues
that have traditionally divided Christian denominations, but also
matters that have become divisive in more recent times even
within churches, such as questions of moral discernment.
This new approach will be rooted in a reflection on how churches
relate to their sources of theological authority, and developed
through case studies illustrating how churches use these
references to make moral decisions.
WCC president from Europe Dr Mary Tanner will encourage
participants to engage in what she affirms could be the beginning
of a new phase in Faith and Order's history.
The main theme of the meeting "Called to be the One Church" will
be addressed by:
· Metropolitan Prof. Dr Gennadios of Sassima, Ecumenical
Patriarchate of Constantinople;
· Rev. Dr Maake Masango, Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern
Africa, South Africa;
· Rev. Dr Marianela de la Paz Cot, Episcopal Church in Cuba;
· Dr Minna Hietamäki, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland;
· Sister Ha Fong Maria Ko, Roman Catholic Church, China/Italy.
The discussion on the future of the study "The Nature and
Mission of the Church" will be stimulated by contributions from:
· Rev. Dr Paul Collins, Church of England;
· Rev. Dr Hermen Shastri, Methodist Church in Malaysia
· Rev. Dr Viorel Ionita, Romanian Orthodox Church.
>More information on the meeting:
>www.oikoumene.org/crete2009
>Biographical information on speakers:
>www.oikoumene.org/?id=7174
Documents available online for accredited media:
www.oikoumene.org/?id=6797
>WCC member churches in Greece
>www.oikoumene.org/?id=4710
Additional information: Juan Michel +41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507
6363 media@wcc-coe.org
The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith,
witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical
fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings
together 349 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches
representing more than 560 million Christians in over 110
countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic
Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, from
the Methodist Church in Kenya. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.
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