World Council of Churches

"Now more than ever, the unity of the churches in Europe is needed to bear witness to a future that transcends the vision of a common economic and political future, to embrace a future in which abundant life in Jesus Christ gives hope to all people, everywhere," said World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, speaking in Sibiu, Romania on 5 September.

Kobia was addressing some 2500 delegates and other official participants from most European church traditions attending the opening session of the Third European Ecumenical Assembly, which he termed as the "single largest regular gathering of Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican and Protestant church leaders in the world".

"We expect to hear the churches of Europe speak with one voice, not only concerning the future of those countries admitted to an integrated Europe, but also the future of people living in all European countries and the future of the millions of immigrants from Asia, Africa, the Americas, the Middle East and the Pacific, living and working in Europe," Kobia affirmed.

He also emphasized that "churches around the world [...] stand ready to accompany the churches in Europe, especially in the face of secularisation."

Full text of the WCC general secretary's address:
http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=4137

Website of the Third European Ecumenical Assembly:
http://www.eea3.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.