wfn.org | CWS/NCCCUSA SUPPORTS CIS/BALTICS CONFERENCE

[CAROL_FOUKE.parti@ecunet.org]

National Council of the Churches of Christ in the
U.S.A.
Contact: Wendy S. McDowell, NCC, 212-870-2227
Internet: c/o carol_fouke.parti@ecunet.org

NCC10/11/96                    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CWSW/NCC SUPPORTS SECOND INTERCONFESSIONAL
CONFERENCE IN MINSK WITH THE THEME "CALLED TO ONE
HOPE IN THE BOND OF PEACE"

 NEW YORK, October 11 ---- Their regions are
torn by civil war and sociopolitical conflicts that
often take on religious overtones.  In response,
about 125 representatives of churches and religious
bodies in the Confederation of Independent States
(CIS) and the Baltics came together to show
solidarity, discuss solutions and promote peaceful
relations at a Second Interconfessional Conference
held October 1-3 in Minsk.  The theme was "Called to
One Hope in the Bond of Peace."

 "It is a significant milestone that
Protestants, Catholics and Orthodox came together to
think about the threats to peace in the region and
to formulate some ways to react together," said the
Very Rev. Leonid Kishkovsky, ecumenical officer for
the Orthodox Church in America and chair of the
Europe Committee, Church World Service and Witness,
National Council of Churches (CWSW/NCC).  "The
talking has intensely practical applications since
it is a region in which there are pockets of civil
war, floods of refugees and threats of extremist
nationalism.  The religious communities are facing
up together that they need to address both crisis
situations and longer term conflicts in a very
practical way."

 "It was a very exciting event.  The
roundtables, part of the agenda of the conference,
resulted in some frank and open discussions about
the past and future," said the Rev. Paul F. Wilson,
Europe Director for CWS/NCC.  With the decision to
form a continuing body, Wilson added, "this may be
the beginning of a Christian Council for the CIS and
the Baltics."

 Kishkovsky said he was particularly impressed
that the religious leaders and representatives were
able to discuss and debate about their
disagreements.  "They were forthright but also
careful about one another's sensitivities," he said.

 This latest conference built on the first
effort, "Christian Faith and Human Enmity," which
took place in June 1994 in Moscow in the midst of
inter-ethnic and interreligious conflict throughout
the CIS and the Baltics.  There, heads and
representatives of more than 20 religious bodies
came to the unanimous opinion that Christian
churches and religious bodies needed to serve the
cause of reconciliation together.  A Continuation
Committee was formed to continue inter-Christian
collaboration on questions of human rights and
religious freedom.  In November, 1995, the
Continuation Committee decided to convene a second
conference in 1996 to expand the ministry of
reconciliation.

 "We were able to support the 1994 Moscow
conference and, with the support of the United
States Agency for International Development (USAid)
through The Eurasia Foundation, were able to help
support this conference,"  the Rev. Wilson
explained. "Delegates came from religious traditions
rich in history and faith, however, in the present
moment, have few resources to meet one another to
consider the critical issues facing their societies.
The peaceful resolution of nationalism and ethnic
conflicts is of grave concern to the religious
communities of the region."

 Religious leaders and representatives at the
Oct. 1-3 conference explored the role of churches
and religious bodies in the CIS and the Baltics in
addressing the social dislocation and economic
problems endemic to the newly independent countries.
They also discussed collaboration of the CIS and
Baltic churches and international Christian
organizations in the task of reconciliation.
Kishkovsky said that although religious communities
have worked together in the past, for instance to
secure the release of hostages and prisoners and
help facilitate humanitarian aid in the war in
Chechnya, there are other ways religious groups
could benefit by coordinating their work.
"Christians have separately been helping refugees
and wounded people," he said, "but this new
mechanism of consultation may help Christians better
coordinate such programs in the future."

Wilson and Kishkovsky both expressed pride that
the NCC continues to support constructive work in
the region.  "The NCC and the churches in the United
States continue to experience good relations with
the religious communities in the former Soviet
Union," Kishkovsky reported.  "Our relationships
extend back when all contacts between our churches
were most difficult."

 Reports were presented by representatives of
the churches and religious bodies in the regions as
well as by representatives of the World Council of
Churches, the Vatican, the Conference of European
Churches, the Council of European Bishops'
Conferences and the NCC.

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