wfn.org | WCC news: WCC moves towards consensus methodology

["WCC Media" <Media@wcc-coe.org>]

World Council of Churches 7 Press Update
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 23/06/2004 - pu-04-30

 Committee anticipates a "change in ethos and culture"
 as WCC moves towards consensus methodology

 Cf. Upcoming events June 2004: 
http://www2.wcc-coe.org/pressreleasesen.nsf/index/ev-04-7.html

					  Free photo available -
see below.

Changes planned in the WCC are a move towards "a new ethos and
culture"
with the potential "to strengthen and deepen the fellowship of
churches".
This was the view expressed by the Steering Committee of the
Special
Commission on Orthodox Participation in the WCC which met in
Minsk,
Belarus, 16-19 June 2004. Participants voiced support for
changes in the
WCC's decision-making and membership rules, and developed
theological
reflection on issues of ecclesiology. WCC general secretary Rev.
Dr Samuel
Kobia attended the event, and during his visit met with
Belarusian
religious and political leaders.

The Committee reviewed plans for a progressive introduction of a
consensus
methodology in WCC meetings. The proposals, to be tested during
the WCC
central committee in 2005, are designed to overcome the
traditional divide
between majority and minority votes, and to foster a new quality
of
collaboration. Kobia linked consensus to a search for
"spiritual
discernment" which could strengthen WCC's efforts in dialogue
and advocacy.
"Consensus opens the way to a new, more spiritual, culture for
WCC," Kobia
said.

The Special Commission on Orthodox Participation in the WCC was
initiated
by the WCC's eighth assembly in 1998 in response to sustained
criticism of
the Council by some of its Orthodox member churches. Following
the report
of the Special Commission in 2002, the Steering Committee has
overseen the
implementation of a series of recommendations. The meeting in
Minsk was
co-chaired by Bishop Rolf Koppe (Evangelical Church in Germany)
and
Metropolitan Gennadios of Sassima (Ecumenical Patriarchate).

According to Bishop Koppe, the Committee was able to take up
"some of the
most difficult questions that faced us in the Special
Commission," and
affirmed the commitment of churches to work and pray together
while
recognizing what continues to separate them. The Special
Commission had
identified divergencies in ecclesiology, or how churches
understand
themselves in relation to the undivided Church, as a fundamental
obstacle
in ecumenical relations. A full statement on ecclesiology,
prepared by the
WCC Faith and Order Commission, will be presented at the
Council's ninth
assembly in 2006.

The Committee was informed about plans for a clarification of
membership
criteria in WCC, and proposed ways of strengthening the
understanding and
reception of the Special Commission report and its underlying
issues among
the churches, in preparation for and during the 2006 assembly.

Speaking after the event, Metropolitan Gennadios emphasized the
remarkable
level of "trust, mutual confidence, and commitment" that
characterized the
work of the Committee and could provide an example for other
areas of
ecumenical work. "Of course, many difficulties persist, but we
have reached
a stage in our work where we can overcome hostilities, and find
a common
language and a new quality to our unity."

The Steering Committee meeting was hosted by the Saints
Methodius and Cyril
Christian Educational Centre of the Belarusian Exarchate, a part
of the
Russian Orthodox Church, and the largest religious community in
the
country. In addition to meetings with the head of the church
Metropolitan
Filaret of Minsk, informal discussions were held with
representatives of
other churches, and with leaders of the Jewish and Islamic
communities. In
parallel to the meeting, Kobia and other members of the Steering
Committee
addressed an international seminar on "Possibilities and
Challenges of the
Ecumenical Movement Today".

The WCC general secretary met with the president of Belarus,
Alexander
Lukashenko, on 16 June 2004. He was accompanied by Metropolitan
Filaret and
Rev. Leonid Kishkovsky (Orthodox Church in America), a member of
the WCC
executive committee. Kobia emphasized the value of dynamic
inter-church
initiatives in the areas of charity and education, including
the
independent theological faculty of the European Humanities
University, and
the Belarus Round Table, a forum for inter-church collaboration
in social
assistance and humanitarian aid. The meeting took place in a
context of
international concern about religious and political freedoms in
Belarus.

The interim Steering Committee will meet once more prior to the
WCC's ninth
assembly in 2006, when a permanent committee will be appointed
to continue
the "authority, mandate, concerns and dynamic" of the Special
Commission,
the report of the Steering Committee noted.

Further information and background documents on the Special
Commission are
available on our website at:
http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/press_corner/index-e.html 

A high-resolution version of a photo from the meeting is
available at:
http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/who/sc-minsk-04.html 

For more information contact:
	 Media Relations Office
 tel: (+41 22) 791 64 21 / (+41 22) 791 61 53
 e-mail:media@wcc-coe.org 
 http://www.wcc-coe.org 

 The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of churches, now
342, in
 more than 120 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 Samuel Kobia from the Methodist church in
Kenya.