wfn.org | WCC/CEC Statement on Albania

[smm@wcc-coe.org]

World Council of Churches
Press Release
For Immediate Use
20 March 1997

STATEMENT BY WCC AND CEC GENERAL SECRETARIES ON THE
CRISIS IN ALBANIA

The following statement has been issued by Rev. Dr Konrad
Raiser, General Secretary of the World Council of Churches
(WCC), and Mr Jean Fischer, General Secretary of the
Conference of European Churches (CEC).

*In various messages to Archbishop Anastasios, primate of the Orthodox
Autocephalous Church in Albania, the only member church of the World
Council of Churches and the Conference of European Churches in that
country, we have expressed the deep concern and solidarity of the
ecumenical family in Europe and worldwide with his church and the
people of Albania in this time of crisis.

The World Council of Churches and  the Conference of European
Churches warmly welcomes the initiatives taken by the religious leaders
in Albania to promote a solution to this crisis.  Their joint actions reflect
the traditional harmonious relations among the churches and Islam in
Albania, and belie any suggestion that this conflict arises from ethnic or
religious tensions.

We welcome in particular, and endorse the repeated appeals of the
Orthodox Autocephalous Church in Albania calling for an end to violence
and bloodshed, and for a just and negotiated solution to the crisis, the
establishment of an interim government and for new elections as soon
as they can be prepared responsibly.

We share the appeal of the Church for the restoration of order, and a
cessation of all acts of violence and attacks against property, including in
particular those directed against places of religious worship and social
service institutions in Albania.

We also welcome the efforts of the European Union and the Organization
for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to defuse this crisis, to
assist in the shaping of representative and durable democratic
institutions, and to provide relief to the most vulnerable in the country.

We urge churches and agencies to be attentive to opportunities, through
ACT (Action by Churches Together), to assist in the task of meeting
human need created by this crisis, and to strengthen church ministries in
Albania to the people of the country. Similarly, we urge governments,
especially those in Europe, and all responsible inter-governmental
institutions to turn their urgent attention to the long-term economic and
social development of Albania. 

In this Ecumenical Year of Churches in Solidarity with Uprooted People,
we are especially sensitive to the need for host governments to protect
and assist those who have fled from chaos and violence in Albania in
order  to seek refuge in neighbouring countries.  This is not their
responsibility alone, however.  The international community, particularly
the governments of Europe, must assist the host governments in meeting
their responsibilities.

The World Council of Churches and the Conference of European
Churches recommit themselves to strive with Churches and partners in
Albania for the restoration and rehabilitation of communities and
properties, and for the nurturing of a society based on justice, freedom
and respect for all.

We and our member churches around the world continue to pray for the
whole people of Albania, and to hope that the legacy of their recent past
can soon be overcome so they may be free to construct the just,
peaceful and tolerant society they need and deserve.
At this time of Lent, when together with the churches and Christians in
Albania we commemorate and follow the way of Jesus Christ to his
Cross and his rising from the dead, we affirm the power of God to call
forth new life out of human confusion and despair."

**********
The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of churches, now 330, in
more than 100 countries in all continents from virtually all Christian
traditions.  The Roman Catholic Church is not a member church but
works cooperatively with the WCC.  The highest governing body is the
Assembly, which meets approximately every seven years.  The WCC
was formally inaugurated in 1948 in Amsterdam, Netherlands.  Its staff is
headed by general secretary Konrad Raiser from the Evangelical Church
in Germany.

World Council of Churches
Press and Information Office
Tel:  (41.22) 791.61.52/51
Fax:  (41.22) 798 13 46
E-Mail: jwn@wcc-coe.org

P.O. Box 2100
CH-1211 Geneva 2