Rev. Dr Ioan Sauca, Director
The director of the Ecumenical Institute is a priest of the Romanian Orthodox Church and lectures in missiology and ecumenical theology. He taught missiology and ecumenism in his home country at the Faculty of Theology in Sibiu, Romania. A graduate of the Ecumenical Institute, Sauca holds a Ph.D. in missiology from the University of Birmingham, England. Appointed director of the Ecumenical Institute in 2001, Sauca also heads the education and ecumenical formation programme of the WCC. On 3 June 2020, Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca has been appointed interim general secretary of the World Council of Churches by the WCC executive committee.
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Rev Dr Kuzipa Nalwamba, Professor of Ecumenical Social Ethics
Ordained in the United Church of Zambia (UCZ) Nalwamba holds PhD and MA (Theology) degrees from the University of Pretoria, South Africa, MTh (History of Christianity and Mission) and MDiv from Trinity Theological College, Singapore. She also holds a BA Ed. from the University of Zambia. She worked at the Council for World Mission and prior to that as lecturer and academic dean at the United Church of Zambia Theological College, staff at the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students and as high school teacher. Her research interests include Eco-theology and History of Christianity. She joined the Ecumenical Institute faculty in August 2019 and is also Programme Executive for Ecumenical Theological Education (ETE).
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Rev. Dr Simone Sinn, Professor of Ecumenical Theology
A theologian and ordained pastor seconded to the WCC from the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), Simone Sinn holds a doctorate in systematic theology from the University of Münster. In her doctoral research, Sinn explored the theological and socio-political questions entangled in religious pluralism. From 2013 to 2018, Sinn worked in the theology department of the Lutheran World Federation in Geneva and coordinated international study processes and consultations in the area of public theology and interreligious relations. Sinn joined the faculty of the Ecumenical Institute in July 2018, combining teaching at Bossey with programme executive responsibility in the World Council of Churches’ Commission on Faith and Order. In August 2021, Sinn was appointed the Academic Dean.
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Rev. Fr Dr Lawrence Iwuamadi, Professor of Ecumenical Biblical Hermeneutics
A Roman Catholic priest of the Archdiocese of Owerri, Nigeria. Iwuamadi obtained his licentiate degree in Sacred Scriptures (SSL) from the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome and his Ph.D. in biblical theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University also in Rome. Before being appointed to the Ecumenical Institute in 2012 by the Vatican, he taught Fundamental Scriptures, Greek and New Testament Theology at the Seat of Wisdom Seminary in Owerri. The chair of Ecumenical Biblical Hermeneutics is supported by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU).
Rev. Dr Odair Pedroso Mateus, Professor of Ecumenical Theology
A pastor of the Independent Presbyterian Church of Brazil, Mateus worked in the Office for Theology and Ecumenical Engagement in the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and edited its quarterly journal Reformed World. A graduate of the Ecumenical Institute, he holds a Ph.D. in theology from the Faculty of Protestant Theology of the Marc Bloch University, in Strasbourg, France. From 2007 he is lecturing at the Ecumenical Institute and participating in the work of WCC’s Faith and Order Commission. Since 2015 he also has been appointed Director of Faith and Order. His chair is supported by the US-based Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
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Rev. Dr Joo Mee Hur, Professor of Ecumenical Missiology
A pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Korea (PCK), she holds a PhD in Theology and Religion from Johannes Gutenberg University (JGU) Mainz, Germany, a ThM from Protestant Theological University (PThU), the Netherlands. From 2012 to 2018, she was a lecturer (Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin) at the chair for Comparative Religion and Missiology, the Protestant Theology Faculty, JGU Mainz, Germany. She joined the Ecumenical Institute Bossey in August 2021. The chair of Ecumenical Missiology is supported by United Evangelical Mission (UEM), Council for World Mission (CWM), and Community of Churches in Mission (CEVAA).
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Dr. Vasile-Octavian Mihoc, Adjunct Professor
With educational background that is ecumenical, focusing on Systematic Theology and intercultural and interreligious issues, Mihoc holds a BA and MA from the Faculty of Orthodox Theology, University of Sibiu (Romania), and a PhD from the Faculty of Protestant Theology, University of Göttingen. Between 2013-2019, he was a Research and Teaching Assistant at the Faculty of Roman Catholic Theology, University of Münster designing and teaching courses on topics like comparative Missiology, Ecumenics and the Study of Christian theology beyond Europe; religious identity and conversion; interreligious theology; methods and projects in comparative theology, and theological aesthetics. He joined the Ecumenical Institute in 2019 and also serves as the Programme Executive in charge of ecumenical relations of the World Council of Churches.
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Rev. Dr Benjamin Simon, Adjunct Professor
Ordained pastor of the Church of Baden (EKD, Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland) Simon is the Programme Executive for Church Relations of the World Council of Churches since March 2020. He was the chair for Ecumenical Missiology at the Ecumenical Institute Bossey since 2016 and is the managing editor of the International Review of Mission. He completed his Dr. theol. in Missiology and Intercultural Theology at the University of Heidelberg and his “habilitation” (Post-Doc) at the University of Mainz with the venia legendi in Religious Studies and Intercultural Theology. Simon published extensively in the field of Migration, Christianity in Africa and the Diaspora. Before joining WCC he was working as parish pastor, Ecumenical Officer of his church and as lecturer at the Makumira University College, Tanzania.
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