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This text is the fruit of the joint study programme on Ecclesiology and Ethics conducted by Faith and Order and the WCC's Justice, Peace and Creation team. The results of meetings in Rønde, Denmark; Jerusalem, Israel; and Johannesburg, South Africa, they explore how the churches are called to be a community of ethical reflection - and engagement - in today's world.

A statement adopted by the WCC central committee on the basis
of the WCC consultative group on AIDS study process,
September 1996

The WCC Executive Committee agreed in February 1995 that the process of study and consultation on the "common understanding and vision of the World Council of Churches" should aim at preparing a document for the Eighth Assembly, on the occasion of the WCC's 50th anniversary, which might serve as an "ecumenical charter" for the 21st century. In September 1995, the Central Committee approved a procedure for preparing such a text. An initial draft came from a consultation in December 1995 which brought together some 35 persons from all regions and church traditions. This was shared with a variety of groups and individuals, then revised in June 1996 and sent to the Central Committee for discussion in September 1996.

The Executive Committee of the World Council of Churches, meeting in Sigtuna, Sweden, 14-20 September 1993, warmly welcomes the exchange of letters of mutual recognition between the leaders of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, and the subsequent signing in Washington, D.C. of an agreement to establish a transitional Palestinian Interim Self-Government Authority in the occupied territories of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

In 1979 the WCC produced a document entitled "Guidelines on Dialogue with People of Living Faiths" which sought to identify and discuss the major practical and theological issues in interfaith relations. While it addressed some of the overall aspects, it recognized the need for more specific "guidelines" or ecumenical considerations on Christian relations with each of the major faith communities in the world. This document results from the attempt to follow this up in the area of Christian-Muslim relations. It draws on the experience gained from the considerable work carried out over the years. All the meetings between Christians and Muslims organized by the sub-unit on Dialogue during the past twenty years have been documented in the WCC publication "Meeting in Faith". These meetings, however, are only a small part of a much richer history of relations and numerous dialogue encounters in many places. The document that follows is itself based on five regional meetings between Christians and Muslims organized in different parts of the world. These meetings helped to identify some of the important issues which Christians and Muslims need to reflect on and continue to consider together in the years ahead. Many qualified persons in the field of Christian-Muslim relations were consulted in the process.

Adopted by the WCC Executive Committee’s at its meeting in Reykjavik, Iceland 15-19 September 1986

Statement of the WCC Executive Committee, after having received a report on the consultation held in Geneva in June 1986 on "AIDS and the Church as a Healing Community".

In 1975 the Consultation on the Church and the Jewish People (CCJP) voted to begin the process that has borne fruit in these Ecumenical Considerations on Jewish-Christian dialogue. The first step was to request preparatory papers from the various regions with experience in Jewish-Christian dialogue. When the Central Committee adopted "Guidelines on Dialogue" in 1979, work on developing specific suggestions for Jewish-Christian dialogue began and, after a period of drafting and revisions, a draft was presented for comments to the International Jewish Committee on Interreligious Consultations (IJCIC), the CCJP's primary Jewish dialogue partner. After discussion in the DFI Working Group in 1980, a revised draft was circulated among interested persons in the churches and comments solicited. Many and substantial comments and suggestions were received.

When it met in London Colney, England, in June 1981, the CCJP adopted its final revisions and submitted them to the DFI Working Group, which adopted them at its meeting in Bali, Indonesia, 2 January 1982, having made its own revisions at a few points. On the advice of the February 1982 WCC Executive Committee, various concerned member churches and various members of the CCJP were further consulted in order to revise and re-order the text. The result, "Ecumenical Considerations on Jewish-Christian Dialogue", was "received and commended to the churches for study and action" by the Executive Committee of the World Council of Churches at Geneva on 16 July 1982.

Communique from the 2011 Consultation of the World Conference of Associations of Theological Institutions (WOCATI), which took place in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 4 to 8 July. The Consultation, the first ever mabe in Africa, gathered 38 representatives of Protestant, Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Evangelical, Pentecostal and African Independent Churches, who discussed issues of quality in theological education on a global level.

World Council of Churches general secretary’s greetings to the World Methodist Conference, 4 - 8 August 2011, Durban, South Africa.

APPENDIX 3, Persons Involved in the HIV/AIDS Study Process

CHAPTER 1, Why this Study Was Prepared

Ecumenical Disability Advocates Network