World Council of Churches - Geneva Info
Contact: + 41 22 791 6153+41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org
For immediate release - 14/02/2008
ECUMENICAL CELEBRATION AT ST. PIERRE CATHEDRAL TO MARK WCC 60TH ANNIVERSARY
A festive ecumenical celebration presided by the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I will take place at Geneva's St. Pierre Cathedral on Sunday, 17 February, at 16:00, to mark the 60th anniversary of the World Council of Churches (WCC).
Bartholomew I, who heads the Patriarchate of Constantinople, is also widely recognized as spiritual leader of the world's 300 million Orthodox. The celebration takes place in the context of the 13-20 February meeting of the WCC central committee in Geneva, whose 150 members will be in attendance. Other church representatives are also expected to participate.
Members of the media are welcome to cover the celebration and to submit interview requests; please contact the WCC media relations staff in advance.
Since its foundation in Amsterdam in 1948, the World Council of Churches has been the churches' primary instrument to promote the search for Christian unity and to foster common witness and service. Today it has a worldwide fellowship of 349 member churches.
The central committee is the WCC's highest governing body in the interval between assemblies, and meets every 18 months. It is responsible for executing Assembly resolutions, reviewing WCC programmes, monitoring their implementation, and approving WCC budget plans.
More information about the WCC central committee meeting is available at: http://www.oikoumene.org/en/events-sections/cc2008.html
More information about the WCC's 60th anniversary is available at: http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=4246
Additional information:Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@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.
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