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World Council of Churches - News Release

Contact: +41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org

>For immediate release - 26/06/2008 15:52:40

ORTHODOX WOMEN: CHURCH PARTICIPATION IMPROVED BUT CONCERNS REMAIN

Over the last decade, Orthodox women reached significant milestones  regarding their participation in church life, but many of their concerns  have not yet been fully addressed, an international gathering of Orthodox  women stated.

A long decade has past since the last inter-Orthodox women's consultation  took place in Istanbul, Turkey in 1997. In the intervening years, the  participation of Orthodox women in the life of the church has improved.  Significant milestones range from the recognition of women's issues by  church structures to women's participation in some church ministries and  decision-making processes.

Many of the concerns of women, however, have not yet been fully addressed  within the life of the church. A list of them includes: access to and  funding for theological studies and subsequent employment opportunities  within the church; supporting and equipping women for pastoral care and  other church ministries; participation in church decision-making processes;  taking a new look at prayers and practices associated with women's  biology.

These were amongst the main findings of a five-day long consultation,  which brought together some 45 women from Eastern and Oriental Orthodox  Churches in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia and North America.  Meeting from 8-12 June in Volos, Greece, they discussed the participation,  ministry and concerns of Orthodox women in the church and in the ecumenical  movement.

Participants at the consultation recommended undertaking a full assessment  of the current situation and needs of Orthodox women, given the many  changes that have taken place over the last decade, as well as the  development of a framework for future action. "We see the need to  identify, together with our church leadership, the ways and instruments to  implement decisions and recommendations of women's consultations in our  churches", the participants stated in a report on the deliberations.

The consultation took place at the Volos Academy for Theological Studies  and was sponsored by the World Council of Churches Programme for Women in  Church and Society and hosted by the Diocese of Dimitrias.

Full text of the Report of the Inter-Orthodox Consultation
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?id=6054

WCC Programme for Women in Church and Society

http://www.oikoumene.org/en/programmes/the-wcc-and-the-ecumenical-movement- in-the-21st-century/women-in-church-and-society.html

Diocese of Dimitrias, Church of Greece (in Greek)
http://www.imd.gr/main/index.php

Volos Academy for Theological Studies (in Greek)
http://www.acadimia.gr/index.php?lang=el

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 349 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.