WCC Faith and Order Commission to host webinar on “Global Vision of the Church”

As a part of the reception process of the convergence document “The Church: Towards a Common Vision,” the ecclesiology study group of the WCC Commission on Faith and Order broadened the ecclesiological table by opening a wide range of conversations on global Christianity and ecclesiology.

This broadening included perspectives from various regions (especially Asia, Africa, and Latin America), denominational families (such as evangelical, Pentecostal, Charismatic, and independent churches), and forms of being church (such as ecclesial movements, new forms of monasticism, and online churches) which have not always been clearly or strongly represented.

The study group took the opportunity to explore the understandings of ecclesiology held by such churches, and engaged in fruitful theological reflection with them.

This series of two volumes offers a taste of the insights, contributions, lively dialogue, diverse perspectives, and mutual exchange of ecumenical gifts between the members of the commission and theologians from all around the world, which took place through a series of international consultations between 2015-2022.

Although various aspects of ecclesiology from these regions and denominational families may initially seem distant from, or even incompatible with more “traditional” ecclesiologies, dialogue unearthed much common ground, which ultimately led to a significant growth in convergence.

This first volume offers a taste of this growth in convergence through the consultations of the commission with theologians from the global South. The fruit of this work will be offered with the hope that it will contribute towards a clearer, global vision of the church in the 21st century.

Moderator: Dr Ani Ghazaryan Drissi, WCC programme executive for the Faith and Order Commission

Speakers:

Rev. Dr Cecil M. Robeck, Jr, senior professor of church history and ecumenics, Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, USA, WCC Faith and Order commissioner
Rev. Dr Sotirios Boukis, ordained minister of the Evangelical Church of Greece, WCC Faith and Order commissioner
Prof Dr Julie C. Ma, professor of missiology and intercultural studies, Oral Roberts University, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
Rev. Dr Christian Tsekpoe, director of Postgraduate Studies and Research at Pentecost University, Accra-Ghana
Dr Elizabeth Salazar-Sanzana, professor of the Theological Evangelical Community of Chile (CTE)