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World Council of Churches
Press Release
For Immediate Use
18 February 1997

WCC EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE HEARS OF IMPROVED FINANCIAL
SITUATION; RECEIVES REPORTS ON TWO   MAJOR CONFERENCES;
ADOPTS STATEMENT ON CYPRUS; APPOINTS SWISS NATIONAL AS
NEW FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION CHIEF

Details of a more encouraging financial situation and positive reports on
two major World Council of Churches' (WCC) conferences have been
warmly received by the WCC Executive Committee (EC).

Finance:  In her report to the EC, Ms Birgitta Rantakari, Moderator of the
Finance Sub-Committee, said signs are more encouraging than a year
ago.  Investment performances have been good and exchange rates
against the Swiss franc had improved greatly in the last three months.

There had also been a welcome response to appeals to member
churches for membership contributions and to pay the cost of delegates
attending governing body meetings.

The moderator said it seemed the message that member churches must
contribute more towards WCC running costs was getting through.

Common Understanding and Vision: The 27-member EC met at the
Kykko Monastery, Cyprus, 12-15 February, at a time when the WCC is
carefully examining what its future direction and work should be.

In this regard, major discussions are now taking place within the WCC
and its member churches on a draft document, Towards a Common
Understanding and Vision of the World Council of Churches.

The EC spent a full day considering the document and responses to it
already received. A final version will be approved by the Central
Committee in September and forwarded to delegates at the next WCC
Assembly for their endorsement.

WCC Assembly:  The WCC Eighth Assembly is scheduled for Harare,
Zimbabwe, 10-22 September 1998.  The theme will be *Turn to God -
Rejoice in Hope* and the event is set to be a great celebration of the 50th
anniversary of the WCC.  It will include a major worship service in which
hundreds of church leaders from around the world will symbolically
recommit their churches, which have a combined membership of about
500 million, to a shared understanding of and vision for ecumenical
involvement in the years ahead.

The Assembly will set the tone and content of what the WCC will be and
do in the 21st century and the EC heard that financial support for the
Assembly to date was good.

Mission and Evangelism conference:   Still on finances, Ms
Rantakari reported an almost balanced budget for the recent Conference
on World Mission and Evangelism on the theme *Called to One Hope - the
Gospel in Diverse Cultures* (Bahia, Brazil, 24 Nov.- 3 Dec. 1996).  This
gathering had brought together over 500 mission experts who had
imaginatively explored the ways in which the Christian gospel challenges
human societies and is, in turn, challenged by them.

The EC commended a report on the conference from Rev. Ana Langerak,
Executive Director of WCC Unit II - Churches in Mission: Health,
Education, Witness, whose unit organised the event.

Future Finances:  Looking to the WCC's longer term financial future, Ms
Rantakari warned that although general income had increased, she
expected some significant reductions in 1998 and 1999, particularly from
the Evangelical Church in Germany which is the largest contributor. 

Structures and Staffing Levels:  The EC heard that work continues
on plans for new structures and staffing levels.  The General Secretary
will present details to the September Central Committee.  Dr Raiser has
always maintained restructuring must not be finance-led although clearly
the money available is a major consideration in any proposals he will
make.  It is likely some reductions in staffing levels will have to be made
in 1998 and 1999, though it is too early for any definite figures to be
given.

Sokoni:  Recently, the WCC's Unit III: Justice, Peace and Creation,
organised a major meeting in Nairobi.  This took the form of a Sokoni
(Swahili for market place) and was an expanded Unit III Commission
Meeting.  A variety of new methods had been employed; no papers were
read or produced. Instead, people shared on the basis of local
experience, worshipped, prayed and told stories.  In this way, the
results of 23 case studies undertaken as part of a major WCC *Theology
of Life* study process were presented.  Altogether, the 500 participants
were more actively involved than is often the case at such a large
conference.  Already, plans are underway for adopting something of the
Sokoni approach at the forthcoming WCC Assembly.

International Affairs: As always, the EC received a report on recent
WCC activity in the field of international affairs.  It also adopted a
statement on Cyprus.

Statement on Cyprus: The EC statement says the current situation on
the island is unacceptable and expresses great concern at the recently
heightened tensions in Cyprus and the surrounding regions.

The EC is dismayed that negotiations between Greek and Turkish
Cypriots remain deadlocked and laments the escalation of armaments
and the threats of military force.

The EC affirms that any settlement must assure the independence,
sovereignty, territorial integrity and unity of the island and all its people.

The EC encourages contact between the two communities on Cyprus
and regrets the obstacles to this which have been erected, particularly
by the Turkish-Cypriot leadership.

The EC statement also calls on all religious communities in Cyprus to
support efforts at establishing bi-communal contact, and asserts that the
Church has a special obligation to instill tolerance and generosity and to
guide the people of Cyprus in the path of national reconciliation.
The full text of the statement is attached.

Staff Appointment: The EC appointed Mr Robert Christeler to the new
post of Executive Director of Finance and Adminstration. Mr Christeler is
a Swiss national and currently Managing Director of DataTech, S.A. in
Geneva.  He is also Adjunct Professor of Finance and Strategy at the
European University, Geneva.

..............

World Council of Churches
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Kykko Monastery, Cyprus

12-15 February 1997

STATEMENT ON THE SITUATION IN CYPRUS
(Adopted)

The Executive Committee of the World Council of Churches, meeting in
Cyprus,
12-15 February 1997,

Expresses its deep concern that after twenty-three years of division of
the island there is still no lasting political settlement, and
Believes that the continuation of the status quo is unacceptable; it
violates the sovereignty and unity of Cyprus, the fundamental human
rights of its people, and poses wider threats to their security and to
peace and stability in the wider region.

The Executive Committee therefore:

Recalls and reaffirms its earlier resolutions on Cyprus and those adopted
by the WCC Central Committee and Assembly by which the Council:

	- strongly disapproved of the 1974 invasion of Cyprus by Turkish
military forces;

	- lamented the non-compliance of the parties with repeated
resolutions of the United Nations Security Council and General Assembly
calling for a cease-fire, the withdrawal of all foreign forces, and
good-faith negotiations between the Greek and Turkish communities in
Cyprus under the auspices of the Secretary-General;

	- expressed the conviction that such negotiations be conducted
freely and on the basis of equality with a view to reaching an acceptable
agreement based on the fundamental rights of both Cypriot communities;

	- lamented the displacement of persons from their homes, called
for the early and safe return of all refugees and displaced persons, and
appealed to the parties not to use such vulnerable populations as pawns
in negotiations nor as objects of political exploitation;

	- condemned the massive settlement on the island of mainland
Turkish citizens with the intention of changing radically the demography
of Cyprus;

	- called for due respect of religious and sacred places in the
island, and for protection of the sanctity, identity and integrity of places
of worship;

The Executive Committee further:

Expresses grave concern at the heightened tensions in Cyprus and the
surrounding region;

Expresses dismay that negotiations between the leaders of the Greek
and Turkish Cypriot communities remain deadlocked;

Deplores the recent acts of violence along the buffer zone and mourns
the tragic deaths which occurred there;

Laments the escalation of armaments and threats to use military force
which further incite fear, insecurity and tensions between the two
communities, and threatens the independence and territorial integrity of
Cyprus;

Calls upon all parties to abstain from the use of provocative language or
actions which would increase mistrust and breed animosity between the
two communities;

Reaffirms its support to the Secretary-General of the United Nations in
the exercise of his good offices to obtain a comprehensive negotiated
settlement of the Cyprus conflict, and urges all states concerned to
cooperate with and strengthen these efforts;

Believes that the forthcoming accession negotiations between the
European Union and Cyprus could benefit both Cypriot communities and
help create a positive atmosphere for a just, peaceful settlement of the
problem of Cyprus;

Affirms its conviction that a settlement must assure the independence,
sovereignty, territorial integrity and unity of the island and all its people,
and should be reached by the people of Cyprus, free of outside
geopolitical interests and without foreign interference;

Warmly welcomes civil society initiatives to reestablish or strengthen
contacts and mutual confidence between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot
communities to promote peace and reconciliation;

Encourages and supports such bi-communal efforts as an important
contribution to breaking the present status quo and placing the people of
Cyprus at the heart of efforts to shape their common future, to restore
relations and promote a peaceful settlement;

Regrets the obstacles placed in the way of these efforts, and calls
insistently on all competent authorities, especially the Turkish Cypriot
leadership, to lift all impediments to such contacts;

Encourages all the religious communities of Cyprus to support these
efforts;

Firmly believes that the Church has a special obligation and contribution
to make to instill tolerance, a generosity of spirit in society and respect
for fundamental principles of human rights, and to guide the people of
Cyprus in the paths of justice, peace and national reconciliation;

Urges WCC member churches around the world to encourage and
accompany the Church of Cyprus as it seeks to be faithful to Jesus
Christ, the Prince of Peace, and to press on their own governments and
the United Nations the urgent need to give high priority to a prompt
negotiated solution to the Cyprus problem;

Calls on the WCC, through its international affairs staff (CCIA) to continue
to monitor closely the situation in Cyprus and, in cooperation with the
Church of Cyprus, to seek opportunities to promote the implementation of
this statement in the context of the Programme to Overcome Violence.
**********
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
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