WCC NEWS: WCC central committee opens in Geneva with prayer recalling 75th anniversary

The World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee opened on 21 June with common prayer that recalled the 75th anniversary of the founding of the WCC in 1948 and remembered those active in the ecumenical movement who have died over the past year. 21 June 2023, Geneva, Switzerland: His All Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew of the Ecumenical Patriarchate preaches as opening prayer is observed at the Ecumenical Centre Chapel, as the World Council of Churches central committee gathers in Geneva on 21-27 June 2023, for its first full meeting following the WCC 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe in 2022. Photo: Albin Hillert/WCC 21 June 2023 “Once again, we gather as the World Council of Churches to pursue and actively seek our unity in Christ – in mind, in heart, in spirit, and in practical reality. In this reality, where division is sown daily in the human family, our task is all the more urgent,” His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew said in his sermon. “The Church of Constantinople shares also the joy of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the World Council of Churches, as one of its founding members,” he continued. Patriarch Bartholomew recalled how in 1920 the Ecumenical Patriarchate issued an encyclical addressed “Unto the Churches of Christ everywhere.” This served as what the patriarch described as a “constitutional charter” for the process that led to the WCC’s foundation in 1948. The chapel of the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, where the WCC has its offices, was filled for the opening prayer, which had hymns, readings, and prayers in Armenian, English, French, German, Spanish, and Swahili. The WCC central committee usually meets every two years and serves as the chief governing body of the WCC between assemblies. This year’s meeting is the first since the central committee was elected at the WCC’s 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe, Germany, in 2022. Central committee members remembered in prayer the wisdom, knowledge, gifts, and commitment to unity of those active in the ecumenical movement who had died since the previous central committee meeting in 2022. 21 June 2023, Geneva, Switzerland: Opening prayer is observed at the Ecumenical Centre Chapel, as the World Council of Churches central committee gathers in Geneva on 21-27 June 2023, for its first full meeting following the WCC 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe in 2022. Photo: Albin Hillert/WCC Special tributes were offered to Canon Dr Agnes Abuom, of the Anglican Church of Kenya, who died of acute heart failure on 31 May, having served as moderator of the WCC central committee from 2013 to 2022. In his sermon, Patriarch Bartholomew described how Christians are called to be disciples and followers of Christ, and members of his body, the Church. “We all may have different perceptions about what, where, and how the Church is constituted, but there can be no doubt about the sign of a true disciple,” he continued. “Only love for each other, and our love for an unloved world manifests our worthiness to bear the name ‘Christian.’” Patriarch Bartholomew referred during his sermon to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 which had created a “deep wound” in world Orthodoxy and had profoundly injured the “Orthodox Christian dedication to our own essential oneness.” He thanked the WCC for standing “in the court of the Prince of Peace,” and for the support it had given to Ukraine and its people. He said all should pray for a “swift and righteous” conclusion to the war. 21 June 2023, Geneva, Switzerland: An image of late former WCC Central Committee moderator Dr Agnes Abuom sits in the Ecumenical Centre chapel, as the World Council of Churches central committee gathers in Geneva on 21-27 June 2023, for its first full meeting following the WCC 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe in 2022. Photo: Albin Hillert/WCC He also called for recommitment to unselfish and empathetic love for one another and for eight billion fellow human beings in the world. “It is the ultimate ecumenical expression, because without such love, our inter-Christian witness will never be taken seriously by the world, or, perhaps, even by our own communities,” said Patriarch Bartholomew. “Let this love be the ‘work’ . . . the chief and principal labour of all our cooperative efforts. After two thousand long, complex, and complicated years, the churches cannot hide from the world. And after seventy five brief years, neither can the World Council of Churches.” Hymns and prayers during the service were drawn from the spiritual life resources of the WCC 6th Assembly, held 40 years ago in 1983 in Vancouver, Canada. The prayer concluded with the hymn “Jesus, where can we find you, in our world today?” with words and music composed by Doreen Potter (1925-1980), who was married to Philip Potter, WCC general secretary from 1972 to 1984. Homily of His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew In Memoriam (WCC Central Committee, June 2023) WCC video interview with His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew WCC important “to proclaim healing to a broken world,” moderator urges (WCC news release, 21 June 2023) WCC general secretary provides insights into Strategic Plan, offers vision for future (WCC news release, 21 June 2023) Video of the Opening Prayer of the WCC central committee Photo gallery of the Opening prayer of the WCC Central committee meeting Photo gallery of the WCC Central committee meeting WCC Central committee meeting, June 2023 See more #WCC CC interviews - His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew

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 352 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa.  Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches 150 route de Ferney Geneve 2 1211 Switzerland