World Council of Churches - News Release
Contact: +41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org
For immediate release - 08/02/2008 06:15:03 PM
WCC CONGRATULATES ARCHBISHOP HIERONYMOS II UPON HIS ELECTION AS HEAD OF THE CHURCH OF GREECE
Joyful anticipation of a continued "close cooperation with the Church of Greece in serving the cause of Christian unity" under the leadership of Archbishop Hieronymos II was expressed in a congratulatory message to the newly elected head of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Greece by WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia. The former Metropolitan of Thebes and Livadia was elected Archbishop of Athens and All Greece by the church's Holy Synod on 7 February. He succeeds Archbishop Christodoulos, who died on 28 January.
"We trust that, under your enlightened leadership, the Church of Greece will continue participating actively in the life and witness of the entire Orthodox family, as well as in the ecumenical movement, sharing generously theological, spiritual, human and material resources with sisters and brothers in Christ," Kobia wrote in his 8 February letter.
Full text of the WCC general secretary's letter: http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=5568
Biography of Archbishop Hieronymos II
http://www.ecclesia.gr/english/archbishop/index.html
Additional information:Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363media@wcc -coe.org
The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 347 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 560 million Christians in over 110 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, from the Methodist Church in Kenya. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.
WCC ID: nJoBWU5exi1qWrutF9UPe3zxFO1kvkS1uXQ4WDHV1NjMpf3OQUc2W1yD9KlKiEs