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As young people from across the world gathered for a three-week Interreligious Summer School at the World Council of Churches (WCC ) Bossey Ecumenical Institute, they heard inspiring greetings about interreligious dialogue from people who encouraged them to contribute to issues of religious pluralism and intercultural acceptance in a society based on migration and globalization.

As the Global Ecumenical Theological Institute 2017 (GETI’17) drew to a close in Berlin on 31 May, participants rejoiced in a sense of renewed ecumenical energy, and of fellowship across traditions, as they prepare to return to their home contexts.

During Kirchentag, a Protestant church festival in Germany, vice-moderator of the WCC Commission of Ecumenical Education and Formation Prof. Dr Esther Mombo visited the World Council of Churches (WCC) booth, where she talked with Marianne Ejdersten, WCC director of Communication.

“We’ve seen in the case of refugees, how the church takes a strong standpoint in welcoming those who have fled. But it isn’t always so easy in the congregations. There are many who feel fear, as we receive not only refugees but sometimes also people of other faiths. In this case, we can see a gap between what the church says, and what is actually lived.”

Rauha. Paix. Friede. Paghidait.

Rauha. Paix. Friede. Paghidait.

Religious radicalisation is at the heart of many political discussions worldwide but is also playing a major role in intra-Christian and interreligious dialogue. Often a divisive feature in these discussions is the tendency to stereotype certain religions as having extremist expressions and actions.

The Grand Imam of Cairo’s prestigious Al-Azhar mosque and university, Prof. Dr Ahmad al-Tayyeb, will visit the WCC to give a public lecture and participate in high-level dialogue on interreligious peacemaking. “We are honoured to welcome one of the world’s highest-ranking and most influential Muslim leaders to Geneva, and I very much look forward to his lecture and to sharing views with him on the many challenges that we as religious persons and leaders face together,” says WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit.

«Bossey m’a ouvert l’esprit et a élargi mes horizons.» Ces mots prononcés par un ancien élève rencontré le mois dernier au cours d’une conférence ont ému la pasteure Dagmar Heller, doyenne de l’Institut œcuménique de Bossey. Pour elle, ils reflètent ce qui se produit à Bossey depuis 70 ans: une expérience bouleversante qui transforme les étudiantes et étudiants en responsables de leur communauté locale et du mouvement œcuménique mondial.

Les représentants et représentantes du Conseil œcuménique des Églises (COE) et de l’Église catholique romaine élaborent de nouvelles façons de travailler en commun sur les problèmes contemporains les plus urgents.

Georges «Yorgo» Lemopoulos a expliqué que sa découverte de l'œcuménisme mondial, alors qu'il était étudiant en théologie à Istanbul, en Turquie, a transformé sa vie. Le membre du Patriarcat œcuménique de Constantinople attribue la naissance de son intérêt pour le mouvement mondial de l'Église aux professeurs de théologie qui s'impliquaient dans le travail œcuménique.

Last Sunday, the “Twin Consultation” on “Reformation – Education – Transformation” wrapped up at the Francke Foundations in Halle, Germany. Held six months after the first consultation in São Leopoldo, Brazil, the five-day session in Halle became a vibrant meeting point and a juncture between different religious contexts from the global North and South.

More than 120 people from throughout the world have gathered in the eastern German city of Halle to reflect on how insights from the Protestant Reformation 500 years ago can contribute to transforming the world today.

Plus de 120 personnes du monde entier se sont réunies à Halle, dans l'est de l'Allemagne, pour réfléchir à la mesure dans laquelle les conceptions de la Réforme protestante intervenue il y a 500 ans pouvaient contribuer à transformer le monde actuel.

Twenty-seven international students from the Bossey Ecumenical Institute, Switzerland, are embarking on a future of ecumenism, dialogue and unity that began with months of intense study and fellowship.

For public theology, “the essential and pressing task of the churches and theological education is to foster love, dialogue, forgiveness, reconciliation” says Prof. Dr Rudolf Von Sinner.

Even before Rev. Dr Solomon Mepaiyeda heard about the Ecumenical Institute at Chateau de Bossey, he knew he wanted to study at a reputable ecumenical institution. “I wanted to contribute to collaborative efforts among Nigerian churches,” said Mepaiyeda, a member of the Anglican Church.

Un programme de formation œcuménique du COE récemment organisé à Kinshasa, capitale de la République démocratique du Congo, a préparé une trentaine de jeunes Congolais à devenir des artisans de la paix alors qu’un conflit sévit dans le pays et que des élections nationales sont prévues prochainement.

Rev. Dr Odair Pedroso Mateus, professor of ecumenical theology at the Ecumenical Institute in Bossey, Switzerland and acting director of the WCC Commission on Faith and Order, has been confirmed as the new Faith and Order director.

The WCC is hosting the annual meeting of an international group of people with responsibilities for ecumenical relations in several member churches of the WCC. The spring session of the gathering of the Ecumenical Officers Network is taking the theme “pilgrimage of justice and peace” as the inspiration for learning, reflective study and discussion on current developments in the ecumenical movement.