World Council of Churches Office of Communication Press Release 150 route de Ferney, P.O. Box 2100, 1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland E-mail: media | |||
CHURCH LEADERS MEET TO DISCUSS CHURCHES' RESPONSE TO THE BALKAN CRISIS | |||
The consultation, which is jointly organised by the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Conference of European Churches (CEC) in cooperation with the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) and the Ecumenical Council of Churches in Hungary, has, according to WCC Europe secretary, Alexander Belopopsky, three main purposes:
Acknowledging the different and sometimes contradictory perceptions of the conflict as reflected in the public pronouncements of the churches and ecumenical bodies, Belopopsky welcomes the meeting as "an opportunity for representatives of churches from the affected area, and from Eastern and Western Europe and North America, to meet and look towards strengthening the churches' role and witness in promoting a lasting solution to this crisis."
Following the consultation there will be a H-1121 Budapest, Normafa út 54 on Thursday, 27 May, at 14:00 hours Tel: (+36-1) 375 4011 Fax: (+36-1) 375 6164 Participants at the consultation will include representatives of the following churches and councils:
Church of England
Rev. Dr Konrad Raiser, WCC general secretary
The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of churches, now 336, in more than 100 countries in all continents from virtually all Christian traditions. The Roman Catholic Church is not a member church but works cooperatively with the WCC. The highest governing body is the assembly, which meets approximately every seven years. The WCC was formally inaugurated in 1948 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its staff is headed by general secretary Konrad Raiser from the Evangelical Church in Germany. |