wfn.org | WCC NEWS: Over 100 theologians to gather for ecumenical "landmark" event

["WCC Media" <Media@wcc-coe.org>]

World Council of Churches - News Release

Contact: +41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org
For immediate release - 10/06/2009 12:01:27

OVER 100 THEOLOGIANS TO GATHER FOR ECUMENICAL "LANDMARK" EVENT

>Free audio recordings available

An upcoming meeting of 120 theologians from nearly all Christian
traditions will be looking at what churches consider to be their
mission in the world and how they come to decisions on
theological, ecumenical or moral questions. 

The Faith and Order Plenary Commissionof the World Council of
Churches (WCC) will meet at the Orthodox Academy in Kolympari,
Crete, Greece from 7 to 14 October 2009. 

The event promises to become "a landmark in ecumenical
dialogue", the WCC director of Faith and Order Canon Dr John
Gibaut said in an interview, which can be listened to at
oikoumene.org/crete2009 ( http://www.oikoumene.org/crete2009
). 

Known as the world's most representative forum for theological
dialogue, the 120-strong plenary commission will discuss three
main topics: 
What it means to be church
One outcome of the commission's work during recent years, the
study on The Nature and Mission of the Churchhas the potential to
become an ecumenical landmark. After having received comments
from the churches, it is now time to make decisions on the
continuation of the work. 
Sources of authority
By looking at how churches use sources of authority, the
commission will take a new approach to the old debate around
"Scripture versus Tradition", moving it from a theoretical
discussion towards a sharing of experiences.
Moral discernment
Through the examination of case studies – some of them on
controversial issues like proselytism, homosexuality and
stem-cell research – the commission will critically look at how
churches arrive at their positions on moral issues. The goal is
to begin the process of developing an ecumenically recognized set
of steps for the churches' moral discernment. 

Faith and Orderis the historical branch of the World Council of
Churches dealing with theological aspects of the churches search
for visible unity. With a membership wider than that of the WCC,
the commission includes the Roman Catholic Church as a full
member, as well as Pentecostal and Evangelical churches. The
plenary commission meets once between WCC assemblies, which take
place every seven or eight years. 

Speaking on what the commission hopes to achieve with its
studies on moral discernment, Gibaut expressed two hopes: "One is
that it might enable the churches to come to a common mind on
moral questions – we believe that's possible. And if that's not
possible, is it then a possibility that Christians might say to
each other: 'I disagree with your conclusion, but I respect the
way you got there.'"

>Read more and listen to the interview:
>http://www.oikoumene.org/crete2009

>WCC Faith and Order Commission:
>http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=3606

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.