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Cf. WCC Press Update PU-03-41 of11 November 2003

Cf. WCC Press Release PR-03-27 of 11 August 2003<br/><br/>Cf. WCC Press Release PR-03-29.02 of 27 August 2003

Consultation report and youth statement available (see below)

Meeting in Antelias, Lebanon from 17-20 November 2003, a consultation of church leaders, ecumenists, theologians and social scientists called for broad participation in more intensive discussions about the future configuration of the ecumenical movement.

Hosting the meeting, World Council of Churches (WCC) moderator His Holiness Aram I of the Armenian Apostolic Church (Cilicia) said in his opening address that "The ecumenical movement is not a fixed reality; it is and has throughout its history always been in constant re-evaluation." While the consultation participants recognized the on-going nature of organizational change, they asked the WCC to take the lead in providing more guidance to the process.

Invited by the WCC in their individual capacities, the 36 participants were drawn from different constituencies, traditions and regions. They were joined by young people who, earlier in the week, had met separately to discuss the same issue. The consultation was held in the Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia, where participants enjoyed the warm hospitality of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Analyzing changes in global realities over the past fifty years, the consultation considered the potential impact of these changes on ecumenical structures. A statement from the earlier youth consultation, for example, stressed that the desire of many young Christians to solve the current problems of the oikoumene "is finding more and more expression outside the churches and ecumenical organizations".

Participants queried whether the new global realities are leading us to more emphasis on a life-centred vision of the ecumenical movement. They agreed that the quest for unity and for common witness and service to the world must remain the movement's essential goals, and that these are not mutually exclusive, but rather are mutually enriching.

As WCC outgoing general secretary Rev. Dr Konrad Raiser suggested: "At its heart, the ecumenical movement is concerned with transforming and deepening the quality of relationships in and between the churches and in the human community, in response to God’s promise to create a new human community in Christ, to bring about the reign of God […] The values which are included in this relational understanding of the ecumenical movement should find expression in the ethos and culture of cooperation between the different partners."

A consultation report entitled "From Antelias with Love" offers reflections to guide the process. It includes the consultation's understanding of what is meant by a “reconfiguration of the ecumenical movement” and its relationship to ongoing efforts to deepen and broaden the ecumenical fellowship.

Serious and participatory discussions about the configuration of the ecumenical movement are needed if renewal and revitalization of the ecumenical movement - to make it more responsive to the concerns of the world - is to happen, participants affirmed.

Some expressed a need, for example, for more flexible, dynamic structures that can respond rapidly to changes in the world. Others highlighted the need for more coherence and collaboration between the diverse array of ecumenical actors. All agreed on the need to develop as inclusive a process as possible in future discussions.

"Questions of the reconfiguration of the ecumenical movement are too important to leave to a small group of people," the document affirms. Rather, the WCC is asked to invite a broad range of churches, partners, movements, and other ecumenical actors to enter the conversation on a future ecumenical reconfiguration. Based on their responses, the Council will convene a meeting next year of a representative group of churches and other actors to decide on concrete next steps.

The full text of the "From Antelias with Love" report is available on our website at:

www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/who/anteliasreport.html

The statement from the youth consultation is also available at:

www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/who/antelias-youth.html