Search results

The Assembly Message of the eighth assembly of the World Council of Churches, 3 - 14 December 1998.

Anastasios, Archbishop of Tirana, Durres and All Albania, explored the implications of "anamnesis" - "remembrance" - for the church and the world, lifting up the importance of anamnesis for the ecumenical movement. Delegates were given some silent time to reflect on his words before turning their attention to the second presentation.

The third meditation was given by Kosuke Koyama, recently retired professor of ecumenical studies at Union Theological Seminary in New York and a former missionary of the United Church of Christ in Japan. He addressed the second part of the assembly theme, reflecting on how we can rejoice in hope in the face of so much suffering and violence.

The report results from seven years' work by a dedicated group drawn from the World Council of Churches and the Roman Catholic Church. The character of the document is intentionally educational. The group believed that it would in this way best serve the interest of all who wish to know not only the Joint Working Group's agenda but the growing relationship of the WCC and the RCC within the broader perspective of the one ecumenical movement which the group has witnessed and in some measure assisted.

Letter to the WCC 8th Assembly from the women and men of the Decade Festival of the Churches in Solidarity with Women

Bericht des Weisungsausschusses für Grundsatzfragen II
- wie von der Achten Vollversammlung angenommen - Dezember 1998

The Vocation of the Laity in Church and World: Towards an Inclusive Community on Different Levels" - a response by by Elizabeth Tapia to the paper "Formation of the Laos".

Response by Maha Milki Wehbe to the paper "On Being Christian in the World" by Hans-Ruedi Weber at the May 1997 international consultation on the theme: "Towards a Common Understanding of the Theological Concepts of Laity/Laos: The People of God."

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.

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 Unit IV Committee recognizes that diakonia, martyria and koinonia are essential elements of the central mission of the church. Koinonia without diakonia is dead. Sharing and service as practical actions are at the heart of our fellowship and are a source of our unity.

Address to the Plenary of the World Summit for Social Development, March 1995, by Konrad Raiser, general secretary, World Council of Churches