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“As acting general secretary of the World Council of Churches, I wish to convey the hopes and prayers of the full fellowship of churches for your deliberations,” said Sauca. “As a priest of the Orthodox Church of Romania, I feel a special spiritual bond to your mission and ministry and so look forward to the fruits of your labours.”
The pre-assembly will explore the shape of our churches as reconciling communities, transformative discipleship, and our role in contemporary society.
“Most of all, I honour your courage in together facing the situation and challenges of our times and stepping forth with ideas, commitments and witness to meet the day, advance the cause of reconciliation and unity, and inform the full fellowship of churches in Europe and beyond,” said Sauca. “I will not dwell on the challenges we face; God knows they are many and steep.”
Instead, Sauca reminded European churches of their vital ecumenical contributions to the life, well-being, and future of the European churches and all of Europe. “The European churches have been so important to the whole ecumenical enterprise and to the development of post-war Europe,” said Sauca. “Indeed, your legacy of active engagement in the life of Europe, transcending ethnic, partisan, and nationalistic confines, has been as helpful to the larger society as to the churches themselves.”
Christian churches united in fellowship can also contribute a distinctive, even decisive, voice to Europe’s future, Sauca continued.
“Seeking to align with God’s purposes in the world, you can articulate foundational values that undergird and pertain directly to the public good and are persuasive in Europe’s public sphere: the values of truth, human rights and human dignity, social justice, peace and nonviolence, democratic governance for the common good, and care for the marginalized and for our planet,” he said. “I also believe that, paradoxically, as Christians and as churches, the more we unite around a common spiritual paradigm of self-giving love, as exemplified and conveyed in Christ’s love, the more we will be able to speak authentically and convincingly to a pluralistic, searching Europe about the consonant, indispensable values of human dignity, social justice, and the common good.”
Churches and religious communities of Europe can be spiritual beacons, Sauca concluded. “In this spirit, I pray that your discussions may prove fruitful for our assembly and for the future of Europe’s churches and society.”
WCC greetings to the Pre-Assembly Meeting of the Conference of European Churches
