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The world's most representative theological forum for Christian unity - the World Council of Churches' (WCC) commission on Faith and Order - will meet in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from 28 July to 6 August, 2004. As the commission's first meeting in the 21st century, this will also be the first time it will gather in a Muslim-majority country.
With 120 members representing the WCC member churches and several non-member churches, notably the Roman Catholic Church, the commission's work aims to promote the goal of the visible unity of the Christian church.
The commission pursues its mandate by undertaking studies on both doctrinal and non-doctrinal questions that have given rise to church division.
The Kuala Lumpur meeting agenda includes examination and appraisal of the commission's work over the last eight years. Commissioners will also propose guidelines for further work, and are responsible for communicating the results of current studies to the churches.
The meeting will be addressed by the WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, as well as by the general secretaries of the Christian Conference of Asia, Rev. Dr Ahn Jae-woong, and of the Council of Churches of Malaysia, Rev. Dr Hermen Shastri. An address by the prime minister of Malaysia, H.E. Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, is also scheduled.
Issues to be considered
Among the main issues to be considered by the commissioners at this meeting will be:
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the churches' mutual recognition of Christian initiation (baptism);
Commissioners will also discuss the Faith and Order process of theological reflection on peace, justice and reconciliation in the context of the WCC's Decade to Overcome Violence (2001-2010), and the challenges of interreligious dialogue.
The full plenary commission on Faith and Order normally meets only once between WCC assemblies. Its previous meeting took place in 1996 in Moshi, Tanzania. The Kuala Lumpur gathering will be the commission's last meeting before the ninth WCC Assembly, to be held in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in February 2006.
The theme of the meeting, to be hosted by the Council of Churches of Malaysia, is "Receive one another, as Christ has received you, for the glory of God" (Romans 15:7).
"This theme opens perspectives on reception, hospitality, spirituality, recognition and reconciliation," the moderator of the commission, Rev. Dr David Yemba, points out. "But above all, it constitutes a call to live in communion beyond the boundaries within the household of God."
According to Yemba, the theme and the role of the plenary commission as a forum for theological debate "will help Faith and Order to make its call to visible unity more audible to the churches".
Website, agenda, media accreditation
Additional information on Faith and Order and the Kuala Lumpur meeting, including a detailed agenda and a form for media accreditation, is available on the meeting website at
www.wcc-coe.org/kualalumpur2004.html
Media coverage
An ecumenical media team will provide daily feature and news stories in English, German, Spanish and French, as well as photos. All material can be viewed and downloaded free of charge from the meeting website.
Daily e-mail digest
To subscribe to a daily e-mail digest of news and features, fill in the form on the meeting website.
