Conference of European Churches

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The Conference of European Churches (CEC) was founded in 1959 to promote reconciliation, dialogue and friendship between the churches of Europe at a time of growing Cold War political tensions and divisions. It is an ecumenical fellowship of Christian churches in Europe; its membership consists of most of Europe's mainstream Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and Old Catholic Churches. In 2005, CEC had 125 member churches. A major project, completed in 2001, was the production of the Charta Oecumenica of Europe's churches.

Assemblies

CEC assemblies take place once every six years. The 4th CEC assembly (1964) had to be held on a ship on the Baltic Sea owing to the difficulties of obtaining visas for delegates from eastern European countries.

Past assemblies

  • I. 1959 Nyborg, Denmark: "European Christianity in Today’s Secularised World"
  • II. 1960 Nyborg, Denmark: "The Service of the Church in a Changing World"
  • III. 1962 Nyborg, Denmark: "The Church in Europe and the Crisis of Modern Man"
  • IV. 1964 Baltic Sea, on board the M.V. Bornholm: "Living Together as Continents and Generations"
  • V. 1967 Pörtschach, Austria: "To Serve and Reconcile: the Task of the European Churches Today"
  • VI. 1971 Nyborg, Denmark: "Servants of God, Servants of Men"
  • VII. 1974 Engelberg, Switzerland: "Act on the Message - Unity in Christ and Peace in the World"
  • VIII. 1979 Chania, Crete, Greece: "Alive to the World in the Power of the Holy Spirit"
  • IX. 1986 Stirling, Scotland: "Glory to God and Peace on Earth"
  • X. 1992 Prague, then Czechoslovakia (now in Czech Republic): "God Unites - in Christ a New Creation"
  • XI. 1997 Graz, Austria: "Reconciliation, Gift of God and Source of New Life"
  • XII. 2003 Trondheim, Norway: Jesus Christ Heals and Reconciles: Our Witness in Europe"
  • XIII. 2009 Lyon, France: Called to One Hope in Christ
  • XIV. 2013 Budapest, Hungary:“And now what are you waiting for?” CEC and its Mission in a Changing Europe

Governance

Between assemblies, CEC was until 2013 governed by a Central Committee meeting annually. The 12th Assembly of the Conference of European Churches (Trondheim, 2003) elected the 40-member Committee. This Committee, according to the CEC Constitution, was "empowered to conduct the business of the Conference when the Assembly is not meeting". At the 14th CEC Assembly (Budapest 2013) the Central Committee was replaced by a 20-member Governing Board. The Governing Board meets twice annually to oversee the implementation of the decisions of the Assembly. (art. 6.1)[1] Recent meetings of the Central Committee took place in Geneva (2003), Prague (2004), Crete (2005), Derry (2006) and Crete (2012).

The President of CEC (from 2009 to 2013) was H.E. Metropolitan Emmanuel of France. He was succeeded in 2013 by Christopher Hill, a retired Church of England bishop (formerly Bishop of Guildford.)

There are a number of organisations in partnership and national councils of churches in the CEC. It is affiliated with the World Council of Churches (WCC).

Secretariat

The offices of the Conference of European Churches are (since 2014) based in Brussels, Belgium - formerly the offices used by the Church and Society Commission of CEC. The CEC General Secretariat and the (former) Churches in Dialogue Commission were previously located in the Ecumenical Centre, Geneva, Switzerland - which remains also the headquarters building of the World Council of Churches. The General Secretary (since June 2012) is Rev. Dr Guy Liagre, formerly President of the United Protestant Church in Belgium. He succeeded Rev. Prof. Dr Viorel Ionita who served as Interim General Secretary from 2010. The former General Secretary (2005-2010) was the Venerable Colin Williams, formerly Archdeacon of Lancaster in the Church of England; he succeeded the Rev. Dr Keith Clements.

Former Commissions

By 2014 the two former Commissions of CEC were fully integrated into the core work of CEC.

Church and Society Commission

In 1999 the European Ecumenical Commission on Church and Society (EECCS) merged with CEC, becoming CEC's Church and Society Commission. The Church and Society Commission's secretariat was located in offices in Brussels, Belgium and Strasbourg, France. The Director of the Church and Society Commission from 2002 until 2013 was the Rev. Rüdiger Noll. Recent annual plenary meetings of the Church and Society Commission have been held in El Escorial, Spain (2003), Wavre, Belgium (2004), Dunblane, Scotland (2005), Sigtuna, Sweden (2006), Etchmiadzin, Armenia (2007), Prague, Czech Republic (2008) and Nyborg, Denmark (2009). Following the 14th CEC Assembly in Budapest in 2013 the programmes of the Church and Society Commission were integrated fully into the work of CEC, a move completed in 2014.

Churches in Dialogue Commission

Based in Geneva, the staff member in charge was until July 2012, Rev. Professor Father Viorel Ionita, of the Romanian Orthodox Church. The new General Secretary of CEC, Rev. Dr Guy Liagre succeeded him from 2012. From 2013 the work of the Churches in Dialogue Commission has been fully integrated in the work on ecumenical relations led by the CEC General Secretary.

Relations with the Roman Catholic Church

The largest Christian body, the Roman Catholic Church, is not a member of the CEC for the same reasons that it abstains from officially participating in the World Council of Churches, which is that such organizations do not recognize any kind of Roman Catholic primacy in the governance of the universal Church.[2]

The Third European Ecumenical Assembly (co-organised by CEC and CCEE) was held in Sibiu, Romania, 4–9 September 2007.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Source about governing bodies: CEC official site - CEC/KEK GOVERNING BODIES.
  2. ↑ APIC article
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

Further reading

  • Hans-Ulrich Reuter, "Die Europäische Ökumenische Kommission für Kirche und Gesellschaft (EECCS) als Beispiel für das Engagement des Protestantismus auf europäischer Ebene"; PhD-thesis University of Hannover; abstract in English included; Stuttgart, Hannover: ibidem-Verlag, 2002; ISBN 3-89821-218-1

External links

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