wfn.org | WCC NEWS: Tveit: The cross of Christ, a reality check for the ecumenical movement

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

>World Council of Churches - News release
>For immediate release: 24 February 2010
>Contact: + 41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363

THE CROSS OF CHRIST, A REALITY CHECK FOR THE ECUMENICAL

>MOVEMENT

Metropolitan Bishoy of Damietta, from the Coptic Orthodox
Church, and other members of the WCC executive committee express
words of blessing during the installation of the WCC general
secretary the Rev. Olav Fykse Tveit. 

"To be one, the Church must go back to its common basis. Nothing
except Jesus Christ, and him crucified", the World Council of
Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit has
said. The cross is not just a sign of religious identity, he
added, but a "reality check" for both the churches and the
ecumenical movement. 

Tveit was preaching at a service in the Ecumenical Centre in
Geneva on 23 February. During the service, the WCC Executive
Committee formally installed Tveit as the Council's general
secretary. A pastor and theologian from Norway, Tveit, 49, was
elected as the WCC's 7th general secretary in August 2009 and
began his term on 1 January 2010. 

"Seen in the perspective of the resurrection", Tveit said, "the
cross becomes the sign of God's victory over sin and evil" and of
"God's unconditional love to all human beings". It is also at the
root of any possible Christian unity: "We are one as Christians
because we receive the same gift" of God's "being with us and for
us" through the cross. 

"It doesn’t sound like very diplomatic language", acknowledged
Tveit in his sermon, referring to the statement that the cross is
"the symbol of what the churches have to give to the world […]
nothing except Jesus Christ, and him crucified". Nevertheless, he
affirmed that such a statement offers "substance and direction to
the ecumenical movement". 

"How shall we, then, best give shape to the ecumenical movement
of the cross in our time?" Tveit wondered. "And how can the
ecumenical movement be a movement of the cross – the tree of
life?" 

Following early teachers of the church, Tveit suggested that
"when Christ stretches out his arms at the cross, he is
stretching out to the whole world, embracing everybody". The
uniqueness of the cross "is precisely that it is inclusive", he
said. 

For Tveit, the call of the ecumenical movement goes beyond
successes and failures. "Whether we are heard or not, our call is
to carry the cross with one another". This may entail walking in
the shoes of the poor and oppressed, suffering distress when
agreements are not reached, overcoming disappointment when
problems are not solved. 

However, Tveit said, the call to "carry the cross in our search
for unity" remains. "And we shall do it together, never alone." 

The service of installation of the new WCC general secretary was
led by the moderator of the WCC central committee Rev. Dr Walter
Altmann. Participants included a large number of representatives
of churches, ecumenical and international organizations, and
members of the diplomatic corps based in Geneva. 

After the service, greetings were presented by Mr. Jens Petter
Johnsen, director of the Church of Norway national council; the
Rev. Thomas Wipf, president of the Council of the Federation of
Swiss Protestant Churches; Mr. Alain Stehlé, president of the
Association of Churches and Christian Communities of Geneva; the
Rev. Dr. Setri Nyomi, general secretary of the World Alliance of
Reformed Churches on behalf of the ecumenical organizations in
the Ecumenical Centre; Archbishop Silvano Maria Tomasi, permanent
observer of the Holy See to the United Nations; and Ms Bente
Agell-Hansen, Norwegian ambassador to the United Nations and
other international organizations. 

The WCC executive committee is meeting in Bossey, near Geneva,
from 23-26 February. 

Full text of the sermon preached by the WCC general secretary: 

English

http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?id=2267&rid=f_15592&mid=1954&aC=c416b25e&jumpurl=1

German 

http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?id=2267&rid=f_15592&mid=1954&aC=c416b25e&jumpurl=2

French 

http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?id=2267&rid=f_15592&mid=1954&aC=c416b25e&jumpurl=3

Spanish 

http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?id=2267&rid=f_15592&mid=1954&aC=c416b25e&jumpurl=4

Russian 

http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?id=2267&rid=f_15592&mid=1954&aC=c416b25e&jumpurl=5

A recording of the sermon (in mp3 format) is available (14min30,
10Mb)http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?id=2267&rid=f_15592&mid=1954&aC=c416b25e&jumpurl=6

A free of charge high resolution photo from the service is
available 
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?id=2267&rid=f_15592&mid=1954&aC=c416b25e&jumpurl=7

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 Olav Fykse Tveit,
from the [Lutheran] Church of Norway. Headquarters: Geneva,
Switzerland.