wfn.org | Episcopalians: World Council of Churches addresses international issues--and its own future

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September 4, 2002

2002-200

Episcopalians: World Council of Churches addresses 
international issues--and its own future

by James Solheim

(ENS) In a 10-day meeting in Geneva, the Central Committee of 
the World Council of Churches (WCC) addressed a wide range of 
international issues but also embraced some changes that could 
reshape the whole ecumenical movement.

In his opening comments on August 26, General Secretary 
Konrad Raiser called for a "new ecumenical configuration" in the 
21st century. His comments were echoed by committee moderator, 
Aram I, Catholicos of Cilicia, who urged member churches to stop 
emphasizing their differences and move from a "static to a 
dynamic concept of church."

The committee also approved sweeping changes in the way the 
WCC worships and conducts its business, steps that could renew 
the "structure, style and ethos" of the WCC in response to 
persistent criticisms from Orthodox members who often feel 
marginalized in the decision-making process of the council. The 
Orthodox have objected to what they perceive as a Protestant 
domination of the council.

The committee voted to replace a parliamentary voting 
procedures with a consensus model and will more clearly 
delineate between "confessional" worship, identified with a 
particular church, and "interconfessional" worship that may 
blend liturgical elements.

In an effort to enlarge the table, the committee created two 
categories for participation in the WCC--member churches and 
"churches in association" who could send non-voting 
representatives. The proposal elicited heated debate. Dean 
Anders Gadegaard of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark 
argued that "creating a whole new level of relationship is 
contrary to the whole spirit of the WCC, especially after the 
special commission worked so hard to address the grievances of 
the Orthodox churches to keep them as full members."

The Rev. Leonid Kishkovsky of the Orthodox Church in America 
praised the proposal as "the art of the possible" and might 
"persuade some churches to become full members rather than 
churches in association."

The 158-member committee also decided to test the consensus 
model in its future meetings and report the results to the 
General Assembly which will be held in Brazil in 2006. It 
appointed an 18-member search committee that will seek 
candidates to replace Raiser, who plans to retire in 2003 after 
a decade in the post.

Armed conflict on the agenda

The Central Committee called on the United States to desist 
from military threats against Iraq, while also calling on 
Baghdad to respected resolutions of the United 
Nations--including demands that it destroy all weapons of mass 
destruction and cooperate with UN inspectors. The committee's 
statement called on the UN to lift immediately all sanctions 
that have direct effect on the civilian population of Iraq and 
urged member churches to address "the root causes of the 
conflict itself."

The committee also warned against military escalation in 
Colombia's 40-year civil war, arguing that it is a threat to the 
"entire Latin American continent." It called on the United 
States to cease its military aid to the Colombian government and 
end its "Plan Colombia" that provides military aid ostensibly to 
eradicate the drug trade. Critics contend that the Colombian 
military has used the aid to further its war with the guerillas.

In other action, the committee called for an end to Israeli 
occupation of Palestinian territories and an end to Palestinian 
suicide bombings "based on our commitment to international law 
and to peace, justice and reconciliation." The WCC has launched 
an Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme as an expression of 
"dynamic solidarity" with Israelis and Palestinians who are 
seeking a non-violent solution. A dozen European Christians from 
Germany and Scandinavia are participating in the first group to 
enter the region.

The committee also urged the governments of India and 
Pakistan to dismantle their nuclear arsenals and to stop further 
nuclear development, warning against confrontations that pose "a 
major threat to world peace." It called on the two nuclear 
powers to put their facilities under civilian political control 
and promise not to be the first to use the weapons.

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--James Solheim is director of Episcopal News Service. This 
article is based on WCC news reports available at 
www.wcc-coe.org.