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WCC general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay, as well as WCC staff, received an overview about the Communion of Protestant Churches in Europe—its history, structure, projects, and activities.
Discussions also focused on the history of the Leuenberg agreement and its present status. The Communion of Protestant Churches informed the WCC of how the process developed from the agreement on the unity of doctrine, which further developed into unity in worship, while in recent years, more emphasis has been put on the unity in witness.
Since 2019, the Communion of Protestant Churches—which has established its permanent office in Vienna—has represented a model of unity in which churches with different confessional backgrounds have come together in one full fellowship in doctrine, worship, and witness.
The Communion of Protestant Churches has been developing three main study programs related to Christians speaking about God, the practice of Lord’s Supper, and sexuality and gender. The WCC also introduced the Communion of Protestant Churches to the study groups of the WCC Commission on Faith and Order.
Pillay and the WCC staff explained the importance of WCC as a fellowship of churches and a common witness that churches offer to the world through WCC, as a form of testimony to the visible unity.
Pillay also emphasized the importance of engaging with the European region, especially in this historical moment, and the impact of the WCC 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe. He stressed the importance of lifting the profile of the WCC in the world, not least in the European context.
Discussions also centered around the preparations for the Nicaea2025 celebration, which will commemorate the 1700th anniversary of the first Ecumenical Council at Nicaea.