wfn.org | WCC general secretary to visit churches in Greece

["Sheila Mesa" <smm@wcc-coe.org>]

World Council of Churches
Press Release, PR-02-13
For Immediate Use
20 March 2002

WCC general secretary looks forward "with enthusiasm and
caution" to a visit to churches in Greece

The evolution and the work of the Special Commission on Orthodox
participation in the World Council of Churches (WCC) as well as
current social, political and ecumenical challenges - such as
inter-church relations, the question of bioethics and the role of
Greece as the only Orthodox country in the European Union - will
be amongst the issues addressed during WCC general secretary
Konrad Raiser's visit to the Church of Greece, 20 - 24 March.  

Welcomed by Metropolitans Amvrosios of Kalavryta and
Chrysostomos of Peristerion, the official part of Raiser's visit
will begin in Athens with a meeting with His Beatitude Archbishop
Christodoulos of Athens and All Greece, with members of the
Special Commission and representatives of the Church of Greece in
WCC consultative bodies, as well as with members of the Synodical
Commission for inter-Orthodox and inter-Christian relations.
Raiser will visit the Theological Faculty of Athens University
and the newly established Church Centre for Bio-Ethics.  

In Athens, the WCC general secretary will also meet with
representatives of the Greek Evangelical Church and of the
Armenian Apostolic Community in Greece.  

On Saturday, 23 March, Raiser will leave Athens for Thessaloniki
to meet in a more informal way with Theological Faculty
professors and members of the Association for Ecumenical Studies,
as well as with representatives of the Roman Catholic and
Evangelical communities. The Greek version of Raiser's book
Ecumenism in Transition will be presented to the public at a
second informal gathering.  

Raiser will attend the divine liturgy at the Cathedral of
Neapolis and Stavroupolis on Sunday, 24 March. At a lunch hosted
by His Eminence Metropolitan Dionysios, he will meet members of
the academic community as well as political authorities and
representatives of the civil society.  

"I am looking forward to my visit to Greece. We could do more to
draw Orthodox theological teachers from Greece into our
ecumenical work," said Raiser on the eve of his visit. "I come
with enthusiasm when I think of the numerous church initiatives
in response to current challenges in society. But I come also
with caution, being aware that a number of fundamental issues
need further discussion," he added.  

For further information, please contact Media Relations Office,
tel.:  (+41.22) 791.61.53   

**********
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a fellowship of churches,
now 342, 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, The Netherlands. Its staff is headed by general
secretary Konrad Raiser from the Evangelical Church in Germany.

World Council of Churches
Media Relations Office
Tel: (41 22) 791 6153 / 791 6421
Fax: (41 22) 798 1346
E-mail: ka@wcc-coe.org 
Web: www.wcc-coe.org 

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