world council of churches

In Gratitude for Stanley Samartha
Franz von Hammerstein


In 1975, as I was called to work in the Dialogue sub-unit of the WCC, whose director was Dr. Stanley Samartha, I was marked by my experiences of the Jewish-Christian dialogue and had no idea about the extended wider dialogue between the world religions. Islam and Hinduism were completely unknown to me. It took some time also in Germany before there was a noticeable interest in these religions. That is why I was surprised but at the same time truly grateful to learn that at the Assembly in Nairobi there would be not only a Jewish representative but also a Muslim, a Hindu, a Buddhist and even a Sikh. Samartha was the one who brought about the invitation to people of other faiths to the Assembly. The guests of other faiths participated in Section III entitled "Towards a wider ecumenism". I was co-responsible for the guests. It was an important beginning. Due to the historically conditioned confessional limitations and constraints it took us some time to internalise the importance of what was begun in Nairobi. Samartha was the one who bought us out of this narrowness.

Somewhat later, he sent me to India and Sri Lanka to meet with study centres and to gather experiences. These meetings and encounters in a world unknown to me so far widened my religious horizon. I am to this day benefiting from this widened horizon. We have so far in the ecumenical movement not really taken in and integrated the challenges of Samartha whether it be in Geneva or in Berlin, where today I live my life in retirement.

If the WCC had had its roots in India instead of in Geneva, we would have had a much stronger emphasis on dialogue between religions. However, the contribution of Stanley Samartha was that we in Geneva should also promote friendly dialogue as a way to address globalisation and confront the threats of terrorism. Together religions must be able to impart to our world the need for peace so that conflicts, wars and hatred do not take control of our lives.

Today, 25 years after Nairobi, in my home town Berlin, Samartha would have found many who would engage themselves for the same goal and in the same spirit. They may do so without knowing Samartha. In addition, Jews all over the world should be won for a stronger participation in this ecumenical dialogue.


Go to Stanley Samartha Dialogue with People of Living Faiths and Ideologies, by Alan Brockway
Return to Current Dialogue (38), December 2001

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