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The Fifth World Conference on Faith and Order took place at Santiago de Compostela, Spain, 3 - 14 August 1993, with its theme "Towards Koinonia in Faith, Life and Witness". A comprehensive Report of the Conference will be published towards the end of this year. We now publish the Message and the four Section Reports together with the Discussion Paper prepared for the Conference. The Message and Reports are the most tangible results of the World Conference. However, they represent only one important part of this gathering which was marked by common worship and prayer, Bible study, a great number of papers, plenary discussions, a statement by the younger theologians and the many personal encounters between the participants (about 400 in different categories).

This text (Faith and Order Paper no. 151), the result of Faith and Order's study on The Unity of the Church and the Renewal of Human Community, explores the relation between the church's unity and its mission and prophetic witness in the world.

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.

This text is a chapter in Conciliar Fellowship (Geneva: WCC 1992), by Aram Keshishian, now H.H. Catholicos Aram I of Cilicia. Grounded firmly in his knowledge of and experience with the WCC, and its Faith and Order Commission, Catholicos Aram unfolds his vision of conciliarity in terms of where the ecumenical movement is today, and where it ought ultimately to be headed.

This text developed by Faith and Order is another of the "unity statements" adopted by WCC Assemblies over the years. It is one attempt to indicate the elements of "full communion" among churches.

By the Middle East Council of Churches

The Dialogue sub-unit of the WCC undertook a four-year study programme on 'My Neighbour's Faith and Mine - Theological Discoveries through Interfaith Dialogue'. As the apex of this study, delegates from the Orthodox, Protestant and Roman Catholic traditions were brought together to reflect on some of these issues. A week of intense discussions centred on questions such as the significance of religious plurality, christology, and the issues in understanding the activity of the Spirit in the world. The document which follows is a statement made by the members of this consultation, which was held in Baar, near Zurich, Switzerland in January 1990. It is hoped that the statement will help to animate and facilitate the discussion of these important issues as we face the Seventh Assembly in Canberra in February 1991.

Further statements from the Heads of Churches and Christian Communities in Jerusalem are available in Jerusalem Testament: Palestinian Christians Speak, 1988-2008 by Melanie May (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2010)

Further statements from the Heads of Churches and Christian Communities in Jerusalem are available in Jerusalem Testament: Palestinian Christians Speak, 1988-2008 by Melanie May (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2010)

"Guidelines for sharing", in Sharing for Life, the report of the El Escorial consultation. 1987

The study guide My Neighbour's Faith and Mine: Theological discoveries through interfaith dialogue, was published by the WCC in 1986. Since then it has been translated into numerous languages and used widely.

The study guide My Neighbour's Faith and Mine: Theological discoveries through interfaith dialogue, was published by the WCC in 1986. Since then it has been translated into numerous languages and used widely.

The study guide My Neighbour's Faith and Mine: Theological discoveries through interfaith dialogue, was published by the WCC in 1986. Since then it has been translated into numerous languages and used widely.

The study guide My Neighbour's Faith and Mine: Theological discoveries through interfaith dialogue, was published by the WCC in 1986. Since then it has been translated into numerous languages and used widely.

(Suggested as a possible reading at prayers for peace on Hiroshima Day)

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.