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{{Short description|Inter-church organization}}
The '''World Council of Churches''' ('''WCC''') is an international ] organization. Based in ], ], it has a membership of over 340 churches and denominations and those churches and denominations claim about 550 million Christian members throughout more than 120 countries.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/who/index-e.html | title = Who are we? | date = 2003 | work = World Council of Churches | accessdate = 2007-04-10 }}</ref> ] was unanimously elected World Council of Churches President in the 9th general assembly meeting held at the ] ] ] in Brazil in February of 2006.
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
The council has been involved in several activities that have caused ] and criticism, including the funding of groups engaged in violent struggle during the 1970s.
{{Infobox religion
|name= World Council of Churches
|image= World Council of Churches logo.svg
|imagewidth=
|caption= World Council of Churches logo
|abbreviation= WCC
|main_classification=
|orientation=
|polity=
|founder=
|leader_title= General secretary
|leader_name= ]
|founded_date= {{Start date and age |1948}}
|associations=
|area= International
|headquarters=
|congregations =
|members= 352 (member churches)
|ministers=
|publications=
|website= {{URL|https://www.oikoumene.org/}}
|footnotes=
}}
{{Christianity|expanded=hide}}
The '''World Council of Churches''' ('''WCC''') is a worldwide ] inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ].<ref name= "Harmon2010"/> Its full members today include the ], the ], most jurisdictions of the ], the ], the ], the ], the ], the ], the ], the ], the ]es, the ] and the ].<ref name= "Harmon2010">{{cite book |last1= Harmon |first1=Steven R. |title= Ecumenism Means You, Too: Ordinary Christians and the Quest for Christian Unity |date=15 March 2010 |publisher=Wipf & Stock |isbn= 978-1-62189-277-9 |page=97 |quote= Since its creation, it has also established a cordial cooperation with the World Council of Churches and regularly names Catholic observers at various ecumenical gatherings and invites observers of "fraternal delegates" of other churches or ecclesial communities to major events of the Catholic Church. The PCPCU publishes a journal called ''Information Service'' four times a year, in English and French. The WCC is the broadest and most inclusive among the many organized expressions of the modern ecumenical movement. It brings together 349 churches, denominations and church fellowships in more than 100 countries and territories throughout the world, representing over 560 million Christians and including most of the world's Orthodox churches, scores of Anglican, Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist and Reformed churches, as well as many United and Independent churches. …It describes itself as a fellowship of churches which confess the Lord Jesus Christ as God and Savior according to the Scriptures and therefore seek to fulfill together their common calling to the glory of the one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, with the goal of visible unity in one faith and one Eucharistic fellowship, expressed in worship and in common life in Christ.}}</ref><ref name= "Roberson1995" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/list |title=Member list |publisher=World Council of Churches |year=2014 |access-date=2014-11-12 |archive-date=25 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225212121/https://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/list%20 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Notably, the ] is not a full member, although it sends delegates who have observer status to meetings.<ref name="Harmon2010"/><ref>{{cite book |author1=Cross |author2=Livingstone |name-list-style= amp |year=1974 |title= The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church |url= https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780192115454 |url-access= registration |publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn= 978-0-19-211545-4}}</ref>

The WCC describes itself as "a worldwide fellowship of 352 global, regional and sub-regional, national and local churches seeking unity, a common witness and Christian service".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://publications.oikoumene.org/index.php?2070&backPID=2046&alp=A&aalp=A&tt_products=343 |title=Handbook of Churches and Councils |publisher=World Council of Churches |access-date=2013-08-09 |url-status= dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314104545/http://publications.oikoumene.org/index.php?2070&backPID=2046&alp=A&aalp=A&tt_products=343 |archive-date=14 March 2012}}</ref> It has no head office as such, but its administrative centre is at the ] in ], ].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.oikoumene.org/en/about-us/faq |publisher=World Council of Churches |title=Frequently Asked Questions |access-date=7 April 2020}}</ref> The organization's members include ] which claim to collectively represent over 500&nbsp;million people across the world in more than 110 countries.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.oikoumene.org/en/about-us | title = What is the World Council of Churches? | publisher = World Council of Churches | access-date = 2020-04-07 }}</ref>

Many regional affiliates of the World Council of Churches, such as the ] and ], work for the cause of Christian unity at the domestic level, with member denominations including the Oriental Orthodox Churches, Lutheran churches, Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox churches, Methodist churches, Anglican Communion, Reformed churches, among others.<ref>{{cite web |title= Churches |url= https://www.mecc.org/churches |publisher=] |access-date=9 October 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title= Member Churches |url= https://www.ncca.org.au/about/memberchurches |publisher= ] |access-date=9 October 2020}}</ref>


==History== ==History==
The ] met with initial successes in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including the ] of 1910 (chaired by future WCC Honorary President ]). In 1920, the former ], ], wrote a letter "addressed 'To all the Churches of Christ, wherever they may be', urging closer co-operation among separated Christians, and suggesting a 'League of Churches', parallel to the newly founded ]".<ref name="Ware1993">{{cite book|last=Ware|first=Kallistos|title=The Orthodox Church|date=29 April 1993|publisher=Penguin Adult|isbn=9780140146561|page=322|quote=From the beginning of the twentieth century the Ecumenical Patriarchate has shown a special concern for Christian reconciliation. At his accession in 1902, Patriarch Joachim III sent an encyclical letter to all the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Churches, asking in particular for their opinion on relations with other Christian bodies. In January 1920 the Ecumenical Patriarchate followed this up with a bold and prophetic letter addressed 'To all the Churches of Christ, wherever they may be', urging closer co-operation among separated Christians, and suggesting a 'League of Churches', parallel to the newly founded League of Nations. Many of the ideas in this letter anticipate subsequent developments in the WCC. Constantinople, along with several of the other Eastern Orthodox Churches, was represented at the Faith and Order Conferences at Lausanne in 1927 and at Edinburgh in 1937. The Ecumenical Patriarchate also participated in the first Assembly of the WCC at Amsterdam in 1948, and has been a consistent supporter of the work of the WCC ever since.}}</ref> Church leaders agreed in 1937 to establish a World Council of Churches, based on a merger of the '']'' (under ] of the ] of the United States) and '']'' (under ] of the Lutheran ]) organisations.
After the initial successes of the ] in the late ] and early ] centuries, including the ] of 1910 (chaired by future WCC Honorary President ]), church leaders (in ]) agreed to establish a World Council of Churches, based on a merger of the ''Faith and Order Movement'' and ''Life and Work Movement'' organisations. Its official establishment was deferred with the outbreak of ] until ], ]. Delegates of 147 churches assembled in ] to merge the ''Faith and Order Movement'' and ''Life and Work Movement''.
Subsequently mergers were with the ''International Missionary Council'' in ] and the ''World Council of Christian Education'', with its roots in the ] ] movement, in ].


Its official establishment was deferred with the outbreak of ] until 23 August 1948. Delegates of 147 churches assembled in ] to merge the ] and Life and Work Movement.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oikoumene.org/en/who-are-we/background/history/assemblies.html|title=WCC Assemblies 1948 - today|publisher=World Council of Churches|access-date=2011-08-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110908154936/http://www.oikoumene.org/en/who-are-we/background/history/assemblies.html|archive-date=2011-09-08|url-status=dead}}</ref> This was consolidated by a second meeting at ] in 1950, for which the British Methodist ] edited an influential volume of studies, ''The Nature of the Church''.<ref>Flew's ODNB entry: {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210729212042/https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-39614;jsessionid=4678453D0BC3791F580939404240868B |date=29 July 2021 }}</ref> Subsequent mergers were with the ] in 1961 and the World Council of Christian Education, with its roots in the 18th century ] movement, in 1971.
WCC member churches include most of the ]es; numerous ] churches, such as the ], some ]s, many ], ], and ], a broad sampling of united and independent churches, and some Pentecostal churches.


WCC member churches include the ] and the ]es, almost all of the ]es and ]es; the ]; the ]; some ]es; the Methodist churches; the ] and other ], a sampling of ] and independent churches, and some ] and ] churches.<ref name="Harmon2010"/><ref name="Roberson1995">{{cite book |last1=Roberson |first1=Ronald G. |title=Oriental Orthodox-Roman Catholic Interchurch Marriages: And Other Pastoral Relationships |date=1995 |publisher=USCCB Publishing |isbn=978-1-55586-097-4 |page=81 |language=en|quote=These Churches are the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, the Syrian Orthodox Church, and the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church in India. In addition, an independent Orthodox Church of Eritrea was established following that country's independence from Ethiopia in 1993. All are members of the World Council of Churches and have committed themselves to the contemporary ecumenical movement. In total, there are probably about thirty million Oriental Orthodox faithful in the world today.}}</ref>
The largest Christian body, the ], is not a member of the WCC, but has worked closely with the Council for more than three decades and sends observers to all major WCC conferences as well as to its Central Committee meetings and the Assemblies. The ] ] also nominates 12 members to the WCC's ''Faith and Order Commission'' as full members. While not a member of the WCC, the Roman Catholic Church is a member of some other ecumenical bodies at regional and national levels, for example, the ] and the National Council of Christian Churches in Brazil (CONIC).


Many churches who refused to join the WCC joined to form the ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldea.org/|title=WEA - World Evangelical Alliance Est 1846|access-date=2015-07-09}}</ref>
Delegates sent from the member churches meet every seven years in an Assembly, which elects a Central Committee that governs between Assemblies. A variety of other committees and commissions answer to the Central Committee and its staff.


Neither the WCC nor the U.S.-based ] (NCC) include denominations such as ], ], ], and other groups which have historically refused to affirm biblical Christianity and the widely accepted creeds of Christendom (for example, the ] as canonized by the ]).<ref>cite web|url=https://www.equip.org/articles/the-world-and-national-councils-of-churches/</ref>
These Assemblies have been held since ], and last met in ] in February ], under the theme "God, in your grace, transform the world".


] with World Council of Churches Delegation. Bp. G. Brook Mosely, Sec. State ], Dr. Kenneth L. Maxwell, Dr. ], President Kennedy, ], Dr. ], Bp. B. Julian Smith, Bp. ], Judge ], Dr. ]. White House, Cabinet Room in 1962.]]
===Previous Assemblies===
Delegates sent from the member churches meet every seven or eight years in an Assembly, which elects a Central Committee that governs between Assemblies. A variety of other committees and commissions answer to the Central Committee and its staff. Assemblies have been held since 1948.
*], ] - ], ]
*], ], ] - ], ]
*], ] - ], ]
*], ] - ], ]
*], ] - ], ]
*], ] ] - ], ]
*], ] - ], ]
*], ] - ], ]
*], ] - ], ]


]
A former president of the WCC was Rev. ], the famous ] anti-] ].


The "human rights abuses in communist countries evoked grave concern among the leaders of the World Council of Churches."<ref>{{cite book|last=Forsythe|first=David P.|title=Encyclopedia of Human Rights, Volume 1|year=2009|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0195334029|page=277}}</ref> However, historian Christopher Andrew claims that, during the Cold War, a number of important WCC representatives of the Orthodox Church in Eastern Europe had been working for the KGB, and that they influenced the policy of the WCC.<ref name= andrew>Christopher Andrew, "KGB Foreign Intelligence from Brezhnev to the Coup"', in: Wesley K. Wark (ed), ''Espionage: past, present, future?'', Routledge, 1994, : "One recently declassified document of 1969 describes the work of five KGB agents on the WCC Central Committee and the appointment of another to a 'high WCC post'. A similar report from 1989 claims that, as a result of agent operations to implement 'a plan approved by the KGB leadership', the WCC Executive and Central Committee adopted public statements (eight) and messages (three) which corresponded to the political course of Socialist countries'. While it would be naive to take such boasting entirely a face value, there can be little doubt about the reality of Soviet penetration of the WCC."</ref> From 1955 to 1958, ] co-chaired a WCC international commission to prepare a document addressing the threat of ] during the Cold War.<ref>{{Cite book|page=194|title=Cold War Christians and the Spectre of Nuclear Deterrence, 1945-1959|author=Jonathan Gorry|publisher=]|year=2013|isbn=978-1137334244}}</ref>
===General Secretaries===

{| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3"
At the 1961 conference, a 32-year-old Russian Orthodox Bishop named Aleksey Ridiger was sent as delegate to the assembly, and then appointed to the WCC's central committee. He was later elected as Russian patriarch in 1990 as ].<ref>John Gordon Garrard et al., ''Russian Orthodoxy Resurgent: Faith and Power in the New Russia.'', p. 37 f. Google books preview here .</ref>
|- style="background-color: #E8E8E8"

The ninth assembly took place in ] in February 2006, under the theme "God, in your grace, transform the world".<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/documents/assembly/2006-porto-alegre/official-report-of-the-wcc-9th-assembly/@@download/file/poa_report.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141024213026/http://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/documents/assembly/2006-porto-alegre/official-report-of-the-wcc-9th-assembly/@@download/file/poa_report.pdf |archive-date=2014-10-24 |url-status=live |title=Official Report of the Ninth Assembly of the World Council of Churches|publisher=World Council of Churches|access-date=2015-07-09}}</ref> During the first Assemblies, theologians ] and Amilkas Alivizatos contributed significantly to the debates that led to the drafting of the "Toronto Statement", a foundational document which facilitated Eastern Orthodox participation in the organization and today it constitutes its ecclesiological charter.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oikoumene.org/resources/documents/other-meetings/visits/archbishop-christodoulos/wcc-general-secretary-welcome-speech.html|title=WCC General Secretary Welcome Speech of the Official Visit of His Beatitude Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens and of All Greece to the World Council of Churches, 29 May 2006|work=World Council of Churches|access-date=2011-05-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121007105411/http://www.oikoumene.org/resources/documents/other-meetings/visits/archbishop-christodoulos/wcc-general-secretary-welcome-speech.html|archive-date=7 October 2012|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

The 10th Assembly was held in ], Republic of Korea, from 30 October to 8 November 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wcc-assembly.info|title=10th Assembly of the World Council of Churches|access-date=2015-07-09}}</ref>

In 2013 Dr. ] of Nairobi, from the Anglican Church of Kenya, was elected as moderator of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches; she is the first woman and the first African to hold this position.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://allafrica.com/stories/201311081461.html|title=allAfrica.com: Kenya: First Woman and African Moderator Elected to the WCC Central Committee|work=allAfrica.com|access-date=2015-07-09}}</ref>

The 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches took place in ], Germany, from 31 August to 8 September 2022, under the theme "Christ's love moves the world to reconciliation and unity".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Unity Statement of the WCC 11th Assembly |url=https://www.oikoumene.org/resources/documents/unity-statement-of-the-wcc-11th-assembly |access-date=2023-10-05 |website=World Council of Churches |language=en}}</ref>

==Events and presidents==

===Assemblies===
The World Council of Churches has held 11 Assemblies to date, starting with the founding assembly in 1948:<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116134826/http://www.oikoumene.org/en/about-us/organizational-structure/assembly/since-1948 |date=16 January 2014 }}. Oikoumene.org. Retrieved 2014-01-15.</ref>
#], ], 22 August – 4 September 1948
#], ], ], 15–31 August 1954
#], ], 19 November – 5 December 1961
#], ], 4–20 July 1968
#], ], 23 November – 10 December 1975
#], ], ] 24 July – 10 August 1983
#], ], ], 7–21 February 1991<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720012741/http://www.wcc-assembly.info/index.php?id=514 |date=20 July 2011 }}. WCC-Assembly.info (2012-10-29). Retrieved on 2013-08-09.</ref>
#], ], 3–14 December 1998
#], ], ], 14–23 February 2006
#], ], 30 October – 8 November 2013
#], ], 31 August – 8 September 2022<ref>{{Cite web|title=New 2022 date decided for WCC 11th Assembly as "opportunity to deepen visible unity"|url=https://www.oikoumene.org/news/new-2022-date-decided-for-wcc-11th-assembly-as-opportunity-to-deepen-visible-unity|access-date=2022-02-04|website=World Council of Churches|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=WCC 11th Assembly, 31 August – 8 September 2022|url=https://www.oikoumene.org/news/wcc-11th-assembly-31-august-8-september-2022|access-date=2022-02-04|website=World Council of Churches|language=en}}</ref>

=== Presidents ===

Presidents elected at the 11th Assembly<ref>{{Cite web |title=World Council of Churches elects new presidents |url=https://www.presbyterianmission.org/story/world-council-of-churches-elects-new-presidents/ |access-date=2022-10-03 |website=Presbyterian Mission Agency |date=5 September 2022 |language=en-US}}</ref> are:
* Africa: Rev. Dr. Rufus Okikiola Ositelu, (])<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-09-11 |title=Ositelu emerges WCC President for African region |url=https://guardian.ng/sunday-magazine/ositelu-emerges-wcc-president-for-african-region/ |access-date=2022-10-03 |website=The Guardian Nigeria News – Nigeria and World News |language=en-US}}</ref>
* Asia: Rev. Dr Henriette Hutabarat-Lebang (])
* Europe: Rev. Dr. Susan Durber (])<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nye |first=Ann-Marie |date=2022-09-07 |title=URC minister elected as WCC president |url=https://urc.org.uk/urc-minister-elected-as-wcc-president/ |access-date=2022-10-03 |website=United Reformed Church |language=en-GB}}</ref>
* Latin America and Caribbean: Rev. ] (], ])
* North America: Rev. ] (])
* Pacific: Rev. François Pihaatae (])
* Eastern Orthodox: H.E. Metropolitan Dr. Vasilios of Constantia – Ammochostos, ]
* Oriental Orthodox: H.H. Catholicos ] (Armenian Apostolic Church of Cilicia)<ref>{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=Weekly |date=2022-09-07 |title=His Holiness Aram I elected a president of the World Council of Churches |url=https://armenianweekly.com/2022/09/07/his-holiness-aram-i-elected-a-president-of-the-world-council-of-churches/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221001100701/https://armenianweekly.com/2022/09/07/his-holiness-aram-i-elected-a-president-of-the-world-council-of-churches/ |archive-date=October 1, 2022 |access-date=2022-10-03 |website=The Armenian Weekly |language=en-US}}</ref>

Former presidents of the World Council of Churches include:
* The Rev. ] (Presbyterian Church in Colombia)
* ] (])
* ], Chinese theologian
* ] (Patriarch of Antioch and all of the East ])
* ] (Patriarch of the ])
* ] (Catholicos of the ])
* Rev. Dr. ], Indonesian theologian
* Rev. ], the famous Protestant anti-] ]
* Mele'ana Puloka (])
* ] (])
* Archbishop ] (])

===General secretaries===
Since the World Council of Churches was officially founded in 1948, the following men have served as general secretary:<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304061557/http://www.oikoumene.org/en/about-us/organizational-structure/general-secretary/since-1948 |date=4 March 2016 }}. Oikoumene.org. Retrieved 2014-01-15.</ref>

{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|-
!Years !Years
!Name !Name
Line 35: Line 110:
!Nationality !Nationality
|- |-
|1948 - 1966||]||] in the Netherlands/], ]||] |1948–1966||]||]<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205014701/https://www.trouw.nl/nieuws/grondlegger-van-wereldraad-van-kerken-wilde-muren-tussen-mensen-slechten~b0c533b8/ |date=5 February 2021 }} in Trouw</ref>/], ]||]
|- |-
|1966 - 1972||]||] (USA)||] |1966–1972||]||] (USA)||]
|- |-
|1972 - 1984||]||]||] |1972–1984||]||]||]
|- |-
|1985 - 1992||]||Evangelical Methodist Church of Uruguay||] |1985–1992||]||Evangelical Methodist Church of Uruguay||]
|- |-
|1993 - 2003||]||] (EKD)||] |1993–2003||]||] (EKD)||]
|- |-
|2004 - ||]||]||] |2004–2009||]||Methodist Church in Kenya||]
|-
|2010–2020||]||]||]
|-
|2020–2022||]||]|||]
|-
|2023–||]||]|||]
|} |}


==Commissions and Teams== ==Commissions and teams==
There are two complementary approaches to ecumenism: dialogue and action. The ''Faith and Order Movement'' and ''Life and Work Movement'' represent these approaches . These approaches are reflected in the work of the WCC in its , these being: There are two complementary approaches to ecumenism: dialogue and action. The ''Faith and Order Movement'' and ''Life and Work Movement'' represent these approaches.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/faith/whatis-e.html|title=World Council of Churches — World Council of Churches|access-date=2015-07-09}}</ref> These approaches are reflected in the work of the WCC in its , these being:
*Echos – Commission on Youth (ages 18–30)
*Commission of the Churches on Diakonia and Development *Commission of the Churches on Diakonia and Development
*Commission on Education and Ecumenical Formation *Commission on Education and Ecumenical Formation
Line 57: Line 139:
*Faith and Order Plenary Commission and the Faith and Order Standing Commission *Faith and Order Plenary Commission and the Faith and Order Standing Commission
*Joint Consultative Group with Pentecostals *Joint Consultative Group with Pentecostals
*Joint Working Group WCC – Roman Catholic Church (Vatican) *Joint Working Group WCC – Catholic Church (Vatican)
*Reference Group on the Decade to Overcome Violence *Reference Group on the Decade to Overcome Violence
*Reference Group on Inter-Religious Relations *Reference Group on Inter-Religious Relations
*Special Commission on Orthodox Participation in the WCC *Special Commission on Orthodox Participation in the WCC


===Diakonia and Development & International Relations Commissions=== ===Diakonia and development and international relations commissions===
The WCC acts through both its member churches and other religious and social organizations to coordinate ecumenical, evangelical, and social action. The WCC acts through both its member churches and other religious and social organizations to coordinate ecumenical, evangelical, and social action.


Current WCC programmes include a ], an international campaign to combat ] in ] and the ''Justice, Peace and Creation'' initiative. Current WCC programs include a ], an international campaign to combat ] in ] and the ''Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC)'' initiative.


===Faith and Order Commission=== ===Faith and Order Commission===
{{main|Faith and Order Commission}}
WCC's has been successful in working toward consensus on ], ], and ], on the date of ], on the nature and purpose of the ] (]), and on ecumenical ].
WCC's ] has been successful in working toward consensus on ], ], and ], on the date of ], on the nature and purpose of the ] (]), and on ecumenical ].


====Texts====
The 1952 meeting of the Faith and Order Commission, held in ], ], produced the ] for ecumenical co-operation.
* '']'' (Faith and Order Paper No. 111, the “Lima Text”; 1982)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/documents/wcc-commissions/faith-and-order-commission/i-unity-the-church-and-its-mission/baptism-eucharist-and-ministry-faith-and-order-paper-no-111-the-lima-text|title=Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry (Faith and Order Paper no. 111, the "Lima Text")|access-date=2015-07-09|archive-date=4 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160404233443/http://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/documents/commissions/faith-and-order/i-unity-the-church-and-its-mission/baptism-eucharist-and-ministry-faith-and-order-paper-no-111-the-lima-text|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* ''The Churchː Towards a Common Vision'' (Faith and Order Paper no. 214; 2013<ref>{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/documents/wcc-commissions/faith-and-order-commission/i-unity-the-church-and-its-mission/the-church-towards-a-common-vision |date=* }}</ref>) after ''The Nature and Mission of the Church – A Stage on the Way to a Common Statement'' (Faith and Order Paper no. 198; 2005<ref>{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/documents/wcc-commissions/faith-and-order-commission/i-unity-the-church-and-its-mission/the-nature-and-mission-of-the-church-a-stage-on-the-way-to-a-common-statement |date=* }}</ref>) and ''The Nature and Purpose of the Church'' (Faith and Order Paper no. 181; 1998<ref>{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/documents/wcc-commissions/faith-and-order-commission/i-unity-the-church-and-its-mission/previous-stage-the-nature-and-purpose-of-the-church-a-stage-on-the-way-to-a-common-statement |date=* }}</ref>)
* ''Towards a Common Date of Easter''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.oikoumene.org/resources/documents/towards-a-common-date-for-easter|title=Towards a Common Date for Easter|access-date=2021-12-17}}</ref>


===Justice, Peace and Creation Commission===
The Commission has 120 members, including representation of churches who are not members of the World Council of Churches, among them the Roman Catholic Church. Members are men and women from around the world - pastors, laypersons, academics, church leaders nominated by their church.
Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) has drawn many elements together with an ] focus. Its mandate is:


{{blockquote|To analyze and reflect on justice, peace and creation ''in their interrelatedness'', to promote values and practices that make for a ], and to work towards a culture of solidarity with young people, women, Indigenous Peoples and racially and ethnically oppressed people.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/jpc/index-e.html|title=World Council of Churches — World Council of Churches|access-date=2015-07-09}}</ref>}}
(BEM) was published in 1982. It attempted to express the convergences that had been found over the years. It was sent to all member churches and six volumes of responses compiled. As a result, some churches have changed their liturgical practices, and some have entered into discussions, which in turn led to further agreements and steps towards unity.


Focal issues have been ] and the emergence of ] (in terms of people ''bonding together'' in the struggle for justice, peace, and the protection of creation).<ref>{{Cite book
A major study on the church () is being undertaken examining the question 'What it means to be a church, or the Church?'
| last = Schmitthenner
| first = Ulrich
| title = Contributions of churches and civil society to justice, peace and the integrity of creation: a compendium (with CD-ROM)
| publisher = IKO
| year = 1999
| location = Frankfurt, Germany
| isbn = 978-3-88939-491-0}}
</ref>


Attention has been given to issues around:
In particular with a focus on ecclesiology and ethics focusing on the churches/Church's 'prophetic witness and its service to those in need'. .
*economy<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/jpc/economy.html|title=JPC Concerns - economy|access-date=2015-07-09}}</ref>
*environment<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/jpc/ecology.html|title=World Council of Churches — World Council of Churches|access-date=2015-07-09}}</ref>
*Indigenous Peoples<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/jpc/indig.html|title=World Council of Churches — World Council of Churches|access-date=2015-07-09}}</ref>
*peace<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/jpc/peace.html|title=JPC Concerns - Peace|access-date=2015-07-09}}</ref>
*people with disabilities<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050502073921/http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/jpc/disabil.html |date=2 May 2005 }}. Wcc-coe.org (2013-08-04). Retrieved on 2013-08-09.</ref>
*]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/jpc/racism-e.html|title=World Council of Churches — World Council of Churches|access-date=2015-07-09}}</ref>
*women<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/jpc/women.html|title=World Council of Churches — World Council of Churches|access-date=2015-07-09}}</ref>
*youth<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/jpc/youth-e.html|title=World Council of Churches — World Council of Churches|access-date=2015-07-09}}</ref>


===Relations with the Roman Catholic Church===
Faith and Order is collaborating with ''Justice, Peace and Creation'' to answer the questions:
{{unreferenced section|date=March 2019}}
*'How can the search for unity be a source of renewal for both the Church and the world?
The largest Christian body, the ], is not a member of the WCC, but has worked closely with the council for more than three decades and sends observers to all major WCC conferences as well as to its Central Committee meetings and the Assemblies (cf. ]).
*'What does our increasing cooperation on issues of justice, peace and the creation teach us about the nature of the Church?
*'What is the relationship between ethnicity, nationalism, and church unity?


The ] also nominates 12 members to the WCC's ''Faith and Order Commission'' as full members. While not a member of the WCC, the Catholic Church is a member of some other ecumenical bodies at regional and national levels, for example, the ] and the National Council of Christian Churches in Brazil (CONIC).
Material for the ] is prepared annually with the Roman Catholic Church.


] stated in 1928, that the only means by which the world Christian community was to return to faith, was to return to Roman Catholic worship. In this regard, the Papacy rejected, to a great extent, the idea of the participation of the Catholic Church within the World Council of Churches.
Other work of the Commission includes facilitating the coordination of:
*results from international bilateral dialogues (the Bilateral Forum),
*movements towards local church unions.


Pius XI stated that the ‘One True Church’ was that of the Roman Catholic denomination, and therefore there was the implication that the Catholic Church was not permitted at this stage to engage with other denominations, which the Papacy considered to be irrelevant. A similar policy was followed by his successor, ]; the Catholic Church, therefore, did not attend the 1948 meeting of the WCC, in addition to the idea that all members of the Church were barred from attending WCC conferences.
===Justice, Peace and Creation Commission===
Justice, Peace and Creation has drawn many elements together with an ] focus. Its mandate is:


] took a different stance however, and in 1958 he was elected as the head of the Catholic Church. ] was a new element of Catholic ideology which had been permitted, which was signified to a great extent, when John XXIII met with the then Archbishop of Canterbury, ]. This was the first meeting between an Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Pope in the Vatican for 600 years. John XXIII later developed the office of the ]; which symbolised a dramatic shift in support for the ecumenical movement, from the Catholic Church, led from the Vatican. 1961 saw Catholic members attend the Delhi conference of the WCC, which marked a significant shift in attitude toward the WCC from the Papacy. There was the idea in addition to this, that the Pope invited non-Catholics to attend the Vatican II Council.<ref name="Harmon2010"/> This new approach to inter-denominational relations was marked within the '']'' decree.
:To analyze and reflect on justice, peace and creation ''in their interrelatedness'', to promote values and practices that make for a culture of peace, and to work towards a culture of solidarity with young people, women, Indigenous Peoples and racially and ethnically oppressed people.


This document marked several key reforms within the Catholic approach:
Focal issues have been '']'' and the emergence of ] (in terms of people ''bonding together'' in the struggle for justice, peace and the protection of creation).


I. ‘]’ was the new term for non-Catholics, as opposed to the previously used ‘heretics’ {{citation needed|date=February 2019}}
Attention has been given to issues around:

*economy
II. Both Catholic and non-Catholic elements are held responsible for ] {{citation needed|date=February 2019}}
*ecology

*Indigenous Peoples
III. Non-Catholics are recognised to the contributions that they make to Christian belief overall {{citation needed|date=February 2019}}
*peace

*people with disabilities
Further reforms have been enacted with regard to the nature of the Catholic Church on the world stage, for instance the 1965 union with the Patriarch of Constantinople, whereby the 1054 schism was undermined. In addition to this, ], the then Archbishop of Canterbury, received an ] in 1966; a mark of union which had not been seen since prior to the ]. Moreover, the Anglican, Roman Catholic International Committee was additionally established as a means of promoting communication and cohesion between the two denominations. This has since marked a new level of participation of the Catholic Faith in the aforementioned ecumenical movement, and therefore is the basis for increased participation from the faith, in the WCC.
*racism
*women
*youth


===Special Commission on Orthodox Participation in the WCC=== ===Special Commission on Orthodox Participation in the WCC===
A ''Special Commission'' was set up by the eighth Harare Assembly in December 1998 to address Orthodox concerns about WCC membership and the council's decision-making style, public statements, worship practices, and other issues. It issued its final report in 2006.<ref>{{cite web|last1=World Council of Churches|title=Final report of the Special Commission on Orthodox Participation in the WCC|url=http://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/documents/assembly/2006-porto-alegre/3-preparatory-and-background-documents/final-report-of-the-special-commission-on-orthodox-participation-in-the-wcc|website=World Council of Churches|access-date=2014-08-30|date=14 February 2006}}</ref> Specific issues that it clarified were that the WCC does not formulate doctrine, does not have authority to rule on moral issues, nor does it have any ecclesiastical authority. Such authority is entirely internal to each individual member church. It proposed that the WCC adopt a ] method of decision making. It proposed that Orthodox members be brought in parity with non-Orthodox members. It further proposed clarification that inter-confessional prayer at WCC events is not worship, particularly "it should avoid giving the impression of being the worship of a church", and confessional and inter-confessional prayer each be specifically identified as such at WCC events.
A ''Special Commission'' was set up by the eighth Harare Assembly in December 1998 to address Orthodox concerns about WCC membership and the Council's decision-making style, public statements, worship practices and other issues.


==Peace journalism==
The Special Commission on Orthodox Participation in the WCC represents the potential for fresh and creative high-level discussion about the structure and life of the Council, a discussion which is explicitly seen as continuing the foundations laid by the process and the policy document .
The WCC is also a prominent supporter and practitioning body for ]: journalism practice that aims to avoid a value bias in favor of violence that often characterizes coverage of conflict.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.overcomingviolence.org/en/peace-convocation/preparatory-process/living-letters-visits.html|title=Living Letters visits to churches|access-date=2015-07-09}}</ref>


==Spin-offs and related organizations==
==Controversy==
The ], bringing together over 100 church-backed relief and development organizations worldwide, was born out of the merger of ACT International (Action by Churches Together International) and ACT Development (]) in March 2010. Both ], established in 1995, and ] (2007) were created through the leadership of the World Council of Churches (WCC). The two bodies coordinated the work of agencies related to the member churches of the WCC and the Lutheran World Federation in the areas of humanitarian emergencies and ] respectively.<ref name="oikoumene">{{cite web|url=http://www.oikoumene.org/en/news/news-management/eng/a/article/1634/churches-launch-major-hum.html|publisher=oikoumene.org|title=WCC press release: Churches launch major humanitarian alliance (24/03/2010)|access-date=2017-07-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100716203534/http://www.oikoumene.org/en/news/news-management/eng/a/article/1634/churches-launch-major-hum.html|archive-date=2010-07-16|url-status=dead}}</ref>
There has been controversy within the WCC about its programs and actions. Orthodox and Evangelical member churches have sought to make clear the nature of their involvement and limits on the authority of the WCC to speak on their behalf. Many churches have opted to stay out of the WCC, accusing it of being dominated by liberals and (or) leftists.


The ] was officially founded in December 2000 at a meeting convened by the WCC. There are currently 73 churches and Christian organizations that are members of the Alliance, from Catholic, Evangelical, Orthodox and Protestant traditions. These members, representing a combined constituency of tens of millions of people around the world, are committed to working together in public witness and action for justice on defined issues of common concern. Current campaigns are on Food and on HIV and AIDS.<ref name="oikoumene2">{{cite web|url=http://www.oikoumene.org/en/news/news-management/eng/a/article/1634/christian-alliance-for-ad.html|publisher=oikoumene.org|title=WCC press release: Christian alliance for advocacy marks successes, future challenges (09/12/2010)|access-date=2017-07-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120405051959/http://www.oikoumene.org/en/news/news-management/eng/a/article/1634/christian-alliance-for-ad.html|archive-date=2012-04-05|url-status=dead}}</ref>
As a member based organization the WCC has needed to address the concerns raised by member churches and has done so, The Programme to Combat Racism has been changed and Orthodox concerns have been and are being addressed through the ''Special Commission''.


The Ecumenical Church Loan Fund (ECLOF) was founded in 1946 as one of the world's first international micro-credit institutions in the service of the poor. ], then general secretary of the "WCC in process of formation" played an important role in founding ECLOF. It was he who sketched the prospects and challenges for the proposed institution and gave specific ideas on potential sources of funds. His inspiration and teamwork marked the beginning of a long and fruitful cooperation between ECLOF and the WCC.<ref name="eclof">{{cite web|url=http://www.eclof.org/archiv/english/newhorizon/nheng20/wccbday.htm|publisher=eclof.org|title=ECLOF press release: Happy Birthday WCC! (Dec. 1998)|access-date=2017-07-15}}</ref>
===Accusations of Anti-Semitism===


The Ecumenical Development Cooperative Society U.A (now known as ]) was developed from discussions at the 1968 Uppsala 4th Assembly, regarding church divestment from financial institutions supporting apartheid-era South Africa and the war in Vietnam. After several years of planning, the cooperative society was founded in 1975 in the Netherlands to provide an alternative ethical investment vehicle to church institutions, by providing credit to productive enterprises serving economically disadvantaged populations. Originally organized for large institutional members of the WCC, by 1976 local congregations developed Support Associations to enable congregations as well as individuals to participate. EDCS became independent from the WCC in 1977.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oikocredit.coop/about-us/history|title=History of Oikocredit|author=Oikocredit|access-date=2015-07-09}}</ref>
The council has been described by some as taking ] positions in connection with its criticisms of Israeli policy. They believe the council has focused more on activities and publications criticizing Israel than on other human rights issues. The council members have been characterized by Israel's former Justice minister ] as anti-Semitic, saying "they just hate Israel."


] (ENI) was launched in 1994 as a global news service reporting on ecumenical developments and other news of the Christian churches, and giving religious perspectives on news developments worldwide. The joint sponsors of ENI, which was based at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland, were the World Council of Churches, the Lutheran World Federation, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, and the Conference of European Churches, which also had their headquarters at the Ecumenical Centre.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://eni.ch/information/introduction.shtml|title=eni.ch|access-date=2015-07-09}}</ref> A shortage of funds led to the suspension of the work of ENI in 2012.<ref name="christianpost">{{cite web|url=http://www.christianpost.com/news/ecumenical-news-international-suspends-operations-82587/|publisher=christianpost.com|title=Ecumenical News International Suspends Operations|date=2 October 2012|access-date=2017-07-15}}</ref> As of 2024 ENI remains closed.
The World Council of Churches has rejected this accusation. In 2005, the General Secretary of the WCC, Samuel Kobia, stated that anti-Semitism is a "sin against God and man" and "absolutely irreconcilable with the profession and practice of the Christian faith," quoting from the first assembly of the WCC in ] in 1948.


==Regional/national councils==
===Programme to Combat Racism during the 1970s===
The WCC has not sought the organic union of different Christian denominations, but it has, however, facilitated dialogue and supported local, national, and regional dialogue and cooperation.
There was controversy over the WCC's ''Programme to Combat Racism'' (PCR), the PCR during the 1970s. It funded a number of humanitarian programs of liberation movements while those groups were involved in violent struggle, examples include:


Membership in a regional or national council does not mean that the particular group is also a member of the WCC.
* In 1970, '']'' suggested that the PCR was contributing to fourteen groups involved in revolutionary guerrilla activities, some of which were Communist in ideology and receiving arms from the Soviet Union (Reader's Digest, October 1971).
*Africa
**]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aacc-ceta.org|title=All Africa Conference of Churches|access-date=2015-07-09}}</ref>
** ]<ref>{{cite web| url=https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/organizations/organization-of-african-instituted-churches|title= Organization of African Instituted Cburches|website=Berkley Centre for Religion, Peace and World Affairs|publisher= Georgetown University|access-date=2017-02-13}}</ref>
*Asia (including Australia and New Zealand)
**] (CCA),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cca.org.hk|title=Index<!-- Bot generated title -->|access-date=2015-07-09}}</ref> ]
**]
**]
*Caribbean
**]
*Europe
**],<ref name="cec-kek">{{cite web|url=http://www.cec-kek.org|publisher=cec-kek.org|title=www.cec-kek.org|access-date=2017-07-15|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050714081857/http://www.cec-kek.org/|archive-date=2005-07-14}}</ref> ]
**]
*Latin America
**]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.clailatino.org/|title=clailatino.org|access-date=2015-07-09|archive-date=14 November 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071114100124/http://www.clailatino.org/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*Middle East
**]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mec-churches.org|title=Middle East Council of Churches|access-date=2015-07-09}}</ref>
*North America
**]
**]
*Pacific
**],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pacificforum.com/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071010101315/http://www.pacificforum.com/|title=Pacificforum.com - Stay Tuned!|archive-date=2007-10-10|access-date=2015-07-09|url-status=dead}}</ref> ], ]


==Criticism==
* In 1977 "The Fraudulent Gospel" by Bernard Smith ISBN 0-89601-007-4 was published in the USA and Britain and carried a graphic photo on the front cover of 27 Black Rhodesians it said were "massacred by WCC-financed terrorists in Eastern Rhodesia in December 1976".
===Alleged neglect of suffering church in Eastern Europe===
{{POV|date=May 2020}}
Some historians, the U.S. State Department and former KGB officers themselves have alleged and provided corroborating evidence that the KGB's influence directly, or through lobbying by means of a front organization, the Christian Peace Conference, resulted in the WCC's failure to recognize or act on calls for help from persecuted East European Christians at the 1983 Vancouver General Assembly.<ref name= "active">{{cite web|url= http://jmw.typepad.com/files/state-department---a-report-on-active-measures-and-propaganda.pdf | title = Soviet Influences: A Report on Active Measures and Propaganda 1986-7 | work= US State Department Report | date= August 1987 | page= 12 |access-date=2015-02-27| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150227052417/http://jmw.typepad.com/files/state-department---a-report-on-active-measures-and-propaganda.pdf | archive-date= 2015-02-27}}</ref><ref name= "mitrokhin" />{{rp|647–8}}


===Claims of infiltration and influence by the KGB===
* Donating $85,000 to the ] (ZANU) in 1978, months after the group shot down an airliner, killing 38 of the 56 passengers on board. Members are reported to have killed 10 survivors (this was denied by the Front)
It is claimed the ] has infiltrated and influenced past WCC councils and policy.<ref name= andrew /> In 1992, Father ], a vice Chairman of a Russian parliamentary commission that investigated the activities of the KGB, citing verbatim KGB reports, claimed that its ] was actively involved in influencing WCC policy from 1967 to 1989.<ref name="active" /><ref name= "gleb">{{cite web|url= http://intellit.muskingum.edu/russia_folder/pcw_era/sect_16e.htm |last= Yakunin |first=Gleb |title= Soviet Active Measures in the "Post-Cold War" Era 1988-1991 | via = The United States House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations by the United States Information Agency |publication-date= June 1992 |issue= 1,1 |work =] |date=January 1992 |access-date= 2015-02-26}}</ref> For example, in the 1983 WCC General Assembly in Vancouver, one cited document described the presence and activities of 47 KGB agents to secure the election of an "acceptable" candidate as General Secretary.<ref name="gleb" /><ref>Polosin, Vyacheslav (Chair Russian Supreme Soviet's Committee on Denominations and Freedom of Religion), Megapolis Ekspress, January 21, 1992.</ref> The ] reveals more about the depth of the penetration and influence wielded by the KGB over the WCC.<ref name= "mitrokhin">{{Cite book |last1= Andrew |first1=Christopher |last2= Mitrokhin |first2= Vasili |title= The Mitrokhin Archive |publisher= Penguin |location=London |date=1999 |isbn=978-0-14028487-4}}</ref> ] was a KGB agent, codenamed SVYATOSLAV, who served as one of six WCC Presidents from 1975 until his death.<ref name= "mitrokhin" />{{rp|729}}<ref name= "besier">{{Cite book |last1= Besier |first1=Gerhard |last2=Boyens |first2= Armin |last3=Lindemann|first3=Gerhard |title=Nationaler Protestantismus und ökumenische Bewegung : kirchliches Handeln im Kalten Krieg (1945-1990) |publisher= Duncker & Humblot |location=Berlin |page=1074 |date=1999 |isbn= 978-342810032-3}}</ref> His earlier intervention had resulted in the WCC making no comment on the invasion of Czechoslovakia.<ref name= "mitrokhin" />{{rp |636}} As a result of his influence and that of other agents, it is claimed the USSR was rarely publicly criticised.<ref name="mitrokhin" />{{rp|637}} In 1989, copies of the KGB documents claim "the WCC executive and central committee adopted public statements (eight) and messages (three)" which corresponded to its own political direction.<ref name="mitrokhin" />{{rp |637}} Appeals from suffering dissidents both from within the Russian Orthodox Church and Protestants were ignored in 1983.<ref name="mitrokhin" />{{rp|647–8}} Metropolitan Aleksi Ridiger of Tallinn and Estonia was repeatedly alleged to be a KGB agent codenamed DROZDOV, who in 1988 was awarded an honorary citation for services to the KGB by its chairman.<ref name="mitrokhin" />{{rp |650}}<ref>{{Cite news| first = Felix | last = Corley |title= Patriarch Alexy II: Priest who stayed close to the Kremlin while guiding the Russian Orthodox Church into the post-Soviet era |url= https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/patriarch-alexy-ii-priest-who-stayed-close-to-the-kremlin-while-guiding-the-russian-orthodox-church-into-the-postsoviet-era-1054454.html|work=] |date=8 December 2008 |access-date=2008-12-06 |location= London|url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081207082812/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/patriarch-alexy-ii-priest-who-stayed-close-to-the-kremlin-while-guiding-the-russian-orthodox-church-into-the-postsoviet-era-1054454.html|archive-date=2008-12-07}}</ref><ref name="CWNrep">{{cite web |url=http://www.catholicculture.org/news/features/index.cfm?recnum=13868 |title=Confirmed: Russian Patriarch Worked with KGB | via = Catholic World News | publisher = Keston Institute |date=2000-09-22 |access-date= 2015-03-03 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150303223306/http://www.catholicculture.org/news/features/index.cfm?recnum=13868|archive-date=2015-03-03}}</ref> Despite official disavowals, ] described the evidence as "compelling".<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.theguardian.com/world/1999/feb/12/1 |title=Russian Patriarch "was KGB spy"] |work= ] |date=1999-02-12 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150303223655/http://www.theguardian.com/world/1999/feb/12/1 |archive-date= 2015-03-03}}</ref> In 1990 he became ], the 15th Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church. Upon his death in 2008, the WCC's official tribute, by its Council officers, described him as "courageous", "supportive and constructive" and the recipient of "abundant blessing", no reference was made to the allegations.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/documents/general-secretary/tributes |title=Tributes from the General Secretary |publisher= World Council of Churches |access-date=2015-02-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150227104653/http://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/documents/general-secretary/tributes |archive-date= 2015-02-27}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url= http://www.oikoumene.org/en/press-centre/news/patriarch-alexy-ii-a-powerful-voice-constructive-and-critical |title= Patriarch Alexy II: a powerful voice, constructive and critical |publisher=World Council of Churches |date= 2008-12-05 |access-date= 2015-02-28 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150227104730/http://www.oikoumene.org/en/press-centre/news/patriarch-alexy-ii-a-powerful-voice-constructive-and-critical |archive-date=2015-02-27}}</ref>


===Attitude towards Israel===
This caused much controversy in the past among member churches. In a ] article entitled "Going Beyond Charity: Should Christian cash be given to terrorists?” (October 2, 1978). Further examination of WCC's political programme appeared in ''Amsterdam to Nairobi - The World Council of Churches and the Third World'' by Ernest W. Lefever (1979, Georgetown University, ISBN 0-89633-025-7 . Further criticism has also been cited by the ], for example in March 1983 issue of ] related ''Fundamentalist Journal'':
The World Council of Churches has been described as taking an adversarial position toward the state of Israel.<ref name= merkley>{{Cite book | last = Merkley | first = Paul | title = Christian Attitudes Towards the State of Israel | publisher = Mcgill Queens Univ Press | location = Montreal| page = 284 | date = March 1, 2007 | isbn = 9780773532557}}</ref> It has also been claimed the council has focused particularly on activities and publications criticizing Israel in comparison with other human rights issues.<ref name=vermaat>{{Citation | last = Vermaat | first = J.A.Emerson | title = The World Council of Churches, Israel and the PLO | journal = Mid-Stream | pages = 3–9 |date=November 1984}}</ref><ref name="Rottenberg">{{Cite book | last = Rottenberg | first = Isaac| title = The Turbulent Triangle: Christians-Jews-Israel: A Personal-Historical Account | publisher = Red Mountain Associates | location = Hawley, Pa. | pages = 61–2| date = 1989 | isbn =9780899627465}}</ref> It is similarly claimed that it downplayed appeals from Egyptian Copts about human rights abuses under Sadat and Mubarak, in order to focus on its neighbour.<ref name= merkley /> In 2009, the Council called for an international ] on goods produced in Israeli settlements, which it described as 'illegal, unjust' and 'incompatible with peace'.<ref name="BDS">{{cite web | url= http://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/documents/central-committee/2009/report-on-public-issues/statement-on-israeli-settlements-in-the-occupied-palestinian-territory | title = Statement on Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory | work= World Council of Churches website | date = 2009-09-02 | access-date= 2015-08-11| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150811210314/http://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/documents/central-committee/2009/report-on-public-issues/statement-on-israeli-settlements-in-the-occupied-palestinian-territory | archive-date= 2015-08-11}}</ref> In 2013, the General Secretary was reported to claim in Cairo, "We support the Palestinians. The WCC supports the Palestinians, because they are in the right."<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.worldbulletin.net/?aType=haber&ArticleID=107349 | title = World Council of Churches condemns Israeli occupation | work = World Bulletin | date = 2013-04-24 | access-date = 2015-02-20 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150220172800/http://www.worldbulletin.net/?aType=haber&ArticleID=107349 | archive-date = 2015-02-20 | url-status = dead }}</ref> The WCC's ] (EAPPI) has been criticised by the ] for promoting "an inflammatory and partisan programme at the expense of its interfaith relations".<ref name= JChron>{{cite web|url= http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/69714/board-deputies-statement-synod-eappi-vote |title= Board of Deputies statement on the Synod EAPPI vote | work= Jewish Chronicle |date= 2012-07-12 | access-date= 2014-08-02}}</ref> The WCC secretariat was involved in preparing and helped disseminate the ], which declares “the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land is a sin against God and humanity because it deprives the Palestinians of their basic human rights”, and in the view of one critic, its "authors want to see a single state".<ref name=lowe>{{cite web| last =Lowe| first =Malcolm| title =The Palestinian KairosDocument: A Behind-the-Scenes Analysis| work =New English Review. | date =April 2010| url =http://www.newenglishreview.org/Malcolm_Lowe/The_Palestinian_%22Kairos%22_Document%3A_A_Behind-the-Scenes_Analysis/| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150225035801/http://www.newenglishreview.org/Malcolm_Lowe/The_Palestinian_%22Kairos%22_Document%3A_A_Behind-the-Scenes_Analysis/|archive-date= 2015-02-25}}</ref>
On the other hand, the WCC claims "Antisemitism is sin against God and man".<ref name="oikoumene3">{{cite web|url=http://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/documents/general-secretary/messages-and-letters/rosh-ha-shanah-2015|publisher=oikoumene.org|title=Rosh Ha-Shanah greetings 2015 — World Council of Churches|access-date=2017-07-15}}</ref>


=== Opposition to Christian Zionism ===
: There has been an 'enormous disturbance' in British churches, says one Executive Committee member. As for West Germany &mdash; which now provides 42 percent of the budget for the financially pressed WCC &mdash; official protests are muted, but one top churchman reports 'bitter reaction in our churches.'… In the U.S., important elements in such WCC member groups as the United Methodist Church, the United Church of Christ and the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese are upset.
], which has long represented a major thread of ],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wesley-fellowship.org.uk/Zionist_Hymn.html |title=''A Wesley 'Zionist' Hymn?'' Charles Wesley's hymn, published in 1762 and included by John Wesley in his 1780 hymn-book, A Collection of Hymns for the use of the People called Methodists |work=The Wesley Fellowship |date=2010-07-01 |access-date=2014-07-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140717011126/http://wesley-fellowship.org.uk/Zionist_Hymn.html |archive-date=2014-07-17 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=lewis>{{cite book | last = Lewis | first = Donald | title = The Origins of Christian Zionism: Lord Shaftesbury And Evangelical Support For A Jewish Homeland | publisher = Cambridge University Press | date = 2 January 2014 | location = Cambridge | page = 380 | isbn =9781107631960}}</ref> is characterised as a view which "distort(s) the interpretation of the Word of God" and "damage(s) intra-Christian relations".<ref name="mnd2">{{cite web | url= http://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/documents/wcc-programmes/public-witness-addressing-power-affirming-peace/middle-east-peace/statement-on-christian-presence-and-witness-in-the-middle-east | title= Statement on Christian presence and witness in the Middle East | work= World Council of Churches and The Middle East Council of Churches International | date= 2013-05-25 | access-date= 2015-02-21 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150207040331/http://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/documents/wcc-programmes/public-witness-addressing-power-affirming-peace/middle-east-peace/statement-on-christian-presence-and-witness-in-the-middle-east/ | archive-date= 2015-02-07 | url-status= dead }}</ref>


{{Blockquote|text=In this context, what is a source of concern is that Islamic fundamentalisms are giving rise to a counter reaction of other religious fundamentalisms, the most dangerous of which is Jewish fundamentalism which exploits the Islamic fundamentalist phenomenon to justify before western societies the distasteful aberrations of Zionism in Palestine. |author=WCC working paper, Lebanon, May 2013<ref name="mnd">{{cite web | url = http://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/documents/wcc-programmes/public-witness-addressing-power-affirming-peace/middle-east-peace/ME_conference_working_paper.pdf | title = Middle East Council of Churches International & Ecumenical Conference "Christians in the Middle East: Presence and Witness" | work = World Council of Churches | date = 25 May 2013 | access-date = 2015-02-20 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150924091644/http://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/documents/wcc-programmes/public-witness-addressing-power-affirming-peace/middle-east-peace/ME_conference_working_paper.pdf | archive-date = 2015-09-24 | url-status = dead}}</ref>}}
==Successes==
Some of the notable successes of the World Council of Churches are in the area of increased understanding and acceptance between Christian groups and denominations. Mutual understanding has developed through the ''Faith and Order'' related activities; the ''Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry'' process has been positive.


Frank Chikane, moderator of the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA) of the World Council of Churches (WCC), was criticised for using the term 'demons' to describe advocacy for Zionism in 2021.<ref name= "alg">{{cite web | url = https://www.algemeiner.com/2021/02/10/church-official-declares-war-on-israel-and-its-supporters/| title = Church Official Declares War on Israel and Its Supporters | work = The Algemeiner | date = 10 February 2021 | access-date = 2021-02-17}}</ref>
The WCC has not sought the organic union of different Christian denominations &mdash; it has however facilitated dialogue and supported local, national, and regional dialogue and cooperation.


On January 4, 2023, World Council of Churches general secretary ] joined the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem and all the churches of the Holy Land in condemning the desecration of the historic Protestant cemetery on Mount Zion.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.oikoumene.org/news/wcc-condemns-desecration-of-historic-protestant-cemetery-in-jerusalem |title=WCC condemns desecration of historic Protestant cemetery in Jerusalem |work=World Council of Churches |date=4 January 2023 |access-date=2023-01-04}}</ref>
==Regional/national councils==
It should be noted that membership in a regional or national council does not mean that the particular group is also a member of the WCC.
*Africa - All Africa Conference of Churches
*Asia (including Australia and New Zealand) - ] , ]
**]
*Caribbean - Caribbean Conference of Churches
*Europe - ] , ]
*Latin America - Latin American Council of Churches
*Middle East - ]
*North America
**]
**]
*Pacific - Pacific Conference of Churches , ], ]


==See also== ==See also==
{{Christian denominations in the English-speaking world}}
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==References== == References ==
=== Citations ===
{{reflist}}
{{Reflist|32em}}

=== Sources ===
{{refbegin}}
* World Council of Churches. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130115003951/http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches.html |date=15 January 2013 }} Retrieved 2010-03-31.
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
* ], ''The Genesis of the World Council of Churches'', in: ''A History of The Ecumenical Movement 1517–1948'', R. Rose, S. Ch. Neill (ed.), London: SPCK 1967, second edition with revised bibliography, pp.&nbsp;697–724.


==External links== ==External links==
* official website * {{Official website|http://www.oikoumene.org}}
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* set up by the eighth assembly in December 1998
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* at the Assembly in Porto Alegre in February 2006
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Latest revision as of 15:57, 25 December 2024

Inter-church organization

World Council of Churches
World Council of Churches logo
AbbreviationWCC
General secretaryJerry Pillay
RegionInternational
Origin1948; 77 years ago (1948)
Members352 (member churches)
Official websitewww.oikoumene.org
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The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most jurisdictions of the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Union of Utrecht, the Lutheran World Federation, the Anglican Communion, the Mennonite churches, the World Methodist Council, the Baptist World Alliance, the World Communion of Reformed Churches, the Pentecostal churches, the Moravian Church and the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church. Notably, the Catholic Church is not a full member, although it sends delegates who have observer status to meetings.

The WCC describes itself as "a worldwide fellowship of 352 global, regional and sub-regional, national and local churches seeking unity, a common witness and Christian service". It has no head office as such, but its administrative centre is at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland. The organization's members include denominations which claim to collectively represent over 500 million people across the world in more than 110 countries.

Many regional affiliates of the World Council of Churches, such as the Middle East Council of Churches and National Council of Churches in Australia, work for the cause of Christian unity at the domestic level, with member denominations including the Oriental Orthodox Churches, Lutheran churches, Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox churches, Methodist churches, Anglican Communion, Reformed churches, among others.

History

The Ecumenical Movement met with initial successes in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including the Edinburgh Missionary Conference of 1910 (chaired by future WCC Honorary President John R. Mott). In 1920, the former Patriarch of Constantinople, Germanus V, wrote a letter "addressed 'To all the Churches of Christ, wherever they may be', urging closer co-operation among separated Christians, and suggesting a 'League of Churches', parallel to the newly founded League of Nations". Church leaders agreed in 1937 to establish a World Council of Churches, based on a merger of the Faith and Order Movement (under Charles Brent of the Episcopal Church of the United States) and Life and Work Movement (under Nathan Söderblom of the Lutheran Church of Sweden) organisations.

Its official establishment was deferred with the outbreak of World War II until 23 August 1948. Delegates of 147 churches assembled in Amsterdam to merge the Faith and Order Movement and Life and Work Movement. This was consolidated by a second meeting at Lund in 1950, for which the British Methodist Robert Newton Flew edited an influential volume of studies, The Nature of the Church. Subsequent mergers were with the International Missionary Council in 1961 and the World Council of Christian Education, with its roots in the 18th century Sunday School movement, in 1971.

WCC member churches include the Assyrian Church of the East and the Oriental Orthodox Churches, almost all of the Eastern Orthodox Churches and Lutheran Churches; the Moravian Church; the Anglican Communion; some Old Catholic Churches; the Methodist churches; the Presbyterian and other Reformed churches, a sampling of united and independent churches, and some Baptist and Pentecostal churches.

Many churches who refused to join the WCC joined to form the World Evangelical Alliance.

Neither the WCC nor the U.S.-based National Council of Churches (NCC) include denominations such as Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, The Church of Scientology, and other groups which have historically refused to affirm biblical Christianity and the widely accepted creeds of Christendom (for example, the Holy Trinity as canonized by the Nicene Creed).

President John F. Kennedy with World Council of Churches Delegation. Bp. G. Brook Mosely, Sec. State Dean Rusk, Dr. Kenneth L. Maxwell, Dr. Frederick Nolde, President Kennedy, Archbishop Iakovos of America, Dr. Franklin Clark Fry, Bp. B. Julian Smith, Bp. John Wesley Lord, Judge James M. Tunnell Jr., Dr. Roswell Parkhurst Barnes. White House, Cabinet Room in 1962.

Delegates sent from the member churches meet every seven or eight years in an Assembly, which elects a Central Committee that governs between Assemblies. A variety of other committees and commissions answer to the Central Committee and its staff. Assemblies have been held since 1948.

1951 Greek special passport for Italy & Switzerland and used to participate in the work of the "World Council of Churches".

The "human rights abuses in communist countries evoked grave concern among the leaders of the World Council of Churches." However, historian Christopher Andrew claims that, during the Cold War, a number of important WCC representatives of the Orthodox Church in Eastern Europe had been working for the KGB, and that they influenced the policy of the WCC. From 1955 to 1958, Robert S. Bilheimer co-chaired a WCC international commission to prepare a document addressing the threat of nuclear warfare during the Cold War.

At the 1961 conference, a 32-year-old Russian Orthodox Bishop named Aleksey Ridiger was sent as delegate to the assembly, and then appointed to the WCC's central committee. He was later elected as Russian patriarch in 1990 as Alexei II.

The ninth assembly took place in Porto Alegre, Brazil in February 2006, under the theme "God, in your grace, transform the world". During the first Assemblies, theologians Vasileios Ioannidis and Amilkas Alivizatos contributed significantly to the debates that led to the drafting of the "Toronto Statement", a foundational document which facilitated Eastern Orthodox participation in the organization and today it constitutes its ecclesiological charter.

The 10th Assembly was held in Busan, Republic of Korea, from 30 October to 8 November 2013.

In 2013 Dr. Agnes Abuom of Nairobi, from the Anglican Church of Kenya, was elected as moderator of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches; she is the first woman and the first African to hold this position.

The 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches took place in Karlsruhe, Germany, from 31 August to 8 September 2022, under the theme "Christ's love moves the world to reconciliation and unity".

Events and presidents

Assemblies

The World Council of Churches has held 11 Assemblies to date, starting with the founding assembly in 1948:

  1. Amsterdam, Netherlands, 22 August – 4 September 1948
  2. Evanston, Illinois, United States, 15–31 August 1954
  3. New Delhi, India, 19 November – 5 December 1961
  4. Uppsala, Sweden, 4–20 July 1968
  5. Nairobi, Kenya, 23 November – 10 December 1975
  6. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada 24 July – 10 August 1983
  7. Canberra, ACT, Australia, 7–21 February 1991
  8. Harare, Zimbabwe, 3–14 December 1998
  9. Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, 14–23 February 2006
  10. Busan, South Korea, 30 October – 8 November 2013
  11. Karlsruhe, Germany, 31 August – 8 September 2022

Presidents

Presidents elected at the 11th Assembly are:

Former presidents of the World Council of Churches include:

General secretaries

Since the World Council of Churches was officially founded in 1948, the following men have served as general secretary:

Years Name Churches Nationality
1948–1966 W. A. Visser 't Hooft Dutch Reformed Church/Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches, Geneva Netherlands
1966–1972 Eugene Carson Blake United Presbyterian Church (USA) United States
1972–1984 Philip A. Potter Methodist Church Dominica
1985–1992 Emilio Castro Evangelical Methodist Church of Uruguay Uruguay
1993–2003 Konrad Raiser Protestant Church in Germany (EKD) Germany
2004–2009 Samuel Kobia Methodist Church in Kenya Kenya
2010–2020 Olav Fykse Tveit Church of Norway Norway
2020–2022 Ioan Sauca Romanian Orthodox Church Romania
2023– Jerry Pillay Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa South Africa

Commissions and teams

There are two complementary approaches to ecumenism: dialogue and action. The Faith and Order Movement and Life and Work Movement represent these approaches. These approaches are reflected in the work of the WCC in its commissions, these being:

  • Echos – Commission on Youth (ages 18–30)
  • Commission of the Churches on Diakonia and Development
  • Commission on Education and Ecumenical Formation
  • Commission of the Churches on International Affairs
  • Commission on Justice, Peace and Creation
  • Commission on World Mission and Evangelism
  • Faith and Order Plenary Commission and the Faith and Order Standing Commission
  • Joint Consultative Group with Pentecostals
  • Joint Working Group WCC – Catholic Church (Vatican)
  • Reference Group on the Decade to Overcome Violence
  • Reference Group on Inter-Religious Relations
  • Special Commission on Orthodox Participation in the WCC

Diakonia and development and international relations commissions

The WCC acts through both its member churches and other religious and social organizations to coordinate ecumenical, evangelical, and social action.

Current WCC programs include a Decade to Overcome Violence, an international campaign to combat AIDS/HIV in Africa and the Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) initiative.

Faith and Order Commission

Main article: Faith and Order Commission

WCC's Faith and Order Commission has been successful in working toward consensus on Baptism, Eucharist, and Ministry, on the date of Easter, on the nature and purpose of the church (ecclesiology), and on ecumenical hermeneutics.

Texts

  • Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry (Faith and Order Paper No. 111, the “Lima Text”; 1982)
  • The Churchː Towards a Common Vision (Faith and Order Paper no. 214; 2013) after The Nature and Mission of the Church – A Stage on the Way to a Common Statement (Faith and Order Paper no. 198; 2005) and The Nature and Purpose of the Church (Faith and Order Paper no. 181; 1998)
  • Towards a Common Date of Easter

Justice, Peace and Creation Commission

Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) has drawn many elements together with an environmental focus. Its mandate is:

To analyze and reflect on justice, peace and creation in their interrelatedness, to promote values and practices that make for a culture of peace, and to work towards a culture of solidarity with young people, women, Indigenous Peoples and racially and ethnically oppressed people.

Focal issues have been globalization and the emergence of new social movements (in terms of people bonding together in the struggle for justice, peace, and the protection of creation).

Attention has been given to issues around:

  • economy
  • environment
  • Indigenous Peoples
  • peace
  • people with disabilities
  • racism
  • women
  • youth

Relations with the Roman Catholic Church

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The largest Christian body, the Roman Catholic Church, is not a member of the WCC, but has worked closely with the council for more than three decades and sends observers to all major WCC conferences as well as to its Central Committee meetings and the Assemblies (cf. Joint Working Group).

The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity also nominates 12 members to the WCC's Faith and Order Commission as full members. While not a member of the WCC, the Catholic Church is a member of some other ecumenical bodies at regional and national levels, for example, the National Council of Churches in Australia and the National Council of Christian Churches in Brazil (CONIC).

Pope Pius XI stated in 1928, that the only means by which the world Christian community was to return to faith, was to return to Roman Catholic worship. In this regard, the Papacy rejected, to a great extent, the idea of the participation of the Catholic Church within the World Council of Churches.

Pius XI stated that the ‘One True Church’ was that of the Roman Catholic denomination, and therefore there was the implication that the Catholic Church was not permitted at this stage to engage with other denominations, which the Papacy considered to be irrelevant. A similar policy was followed by his successor, Pope Pius XII; the Catholic Church, therefore, did not attend the 1948 meeting of the WCC, in addition to the idea that all members of the Church were barred from attending WCC conferences.

Pope John XXIII took a different stance however, and in 1958 he was elected as the head of the Catholic Church. Ecumenism was a new element of Catholic ideology which had been permitted, which was signified to a great extent, when John XXIII met with the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Geoffrey Fisher. This was the first meeting between an Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Pope in the Vatican for 600 years. John XXIII later developed the office of the Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity; which symbolised a dramatic shift in support for the ecumenical movement, from the Catholic Church, led from the Vatican. 1961 saw Catholic members attend the Delhi conference of the WCC, which marked a significant shift in attitude toward the WCC from the Papacy. There was the idea in addition to this, that the Pope invited non-Catholics to attend the Vatican II Council. This new approach to inter-denominational relations was marked within the Unitatis Redintegratio decree.

This document marked several key reforms within the Catholic approach:

I. ‘Separated brethren’ was the new term for non-Catholics, as opposed to the previously used ‘heretics’

II. Both Catholic and non-Catholic elements are held responsible for the schism between Catholicism and the Protestant movement

III. Non-Catholics are recognised to the contributions that they make to Christian belief overall

Further reforms have been enacted with regard to the nature of the Catholic Church on the world stage, for instance the 1965 union with the Patriarch of Constantinople, whereby the 1054 schism was undermined. In addition to this, Michael Ramsay, the then Archbishop of Canterbury, received an episcopal ring in 1966; a mark of union which had not been seen since prior to the Reformation. Moreover, the Anglican, Roman Catholic International Committee was additionally established as a means of promoting communication and cohesion between the two denominations. This has since marked a new level of participation of the Catholic Faith in the aforementioned ecumenical movement, and therefore is the basis for increased participation from the faith, in the WCC.

Special Commission on Orthodox Participation in the WCC

A Special Commission was set up by the eighth Harare Assembly in December 1998 to address Orthodox concerns about WCC membership and the council's decision-making style, public statements, worship practices, and other issues. It issued its final report in 2006. Specific issues that it clarified were that the WCC does not formulate doctrine, does not have authority to rule on moral issues, nor does it have any ecclesiastical authority. Such authority is entirely internal to each individual member church. It proposed that the WCC adopt a consensus method of decision making. It proposed that Orthodox members be brought in parity with non-Orthodox members. It further proposed clarification that inter-confessional prayer at WCC events is not worship, particularly "it should avoid giving the impression of being the worship of a church", and confessional and inter-confessional prayer each be specifically identified as such at WCC events.

Peace journalism

The WCC is also a prominent supporter and practitioning body for Peace journalism: journalism practice that aims to avoid a value bias in favor of violence that often characterizes coverage of conflict.

Spin-offs and related organizations

The ACT Alliance, bringing together over 100 church-backed relief and development organizations worldwide, was born out of the merger of ACT International (Action by Churches Together International) and ACT Development (Action by Churches Together for Development) in March 2010. Both ACT International, established in 1995, and ACT Development (2007) were created through the leadership of the World Council of Churches (WCC). The two bodies coordinated the work of agencies related to the member churches of the WCC and the Lutheran World Federation in the areas of humanitarian emergencies and poverty reduction respectively.

The Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance was officially founded in December 2000 at a meeting convened by the WCC. There are currently 73 churches and Christian organizations that are members of the Alliance, from Catholic, Evangelical, Orthodox and Protestant traditions. These members, representing a combined constituency of tens of millions of people around the world, are committed to working together in public witness and action for justice on defined issues of common concern. Current campaigns are on Food and on HIV and AIDS.

The Ecumenical Church Loan Fund (ECLOF) was founded in 1946 as one of the world's first international micro-credit institutions in the service of the poor. Willem Visser 't Hooft, then general secretary of the "WCC in process of formation" played an important role in founding ECLOF. It was he who sketched the prospects and challenges for the proposed institution and gave specific ideas on potential sources of funds. His inspiration and teamwork marked the beginning of a long and fruitful cooperation between ECLOF and the WCC.

The Ecumenical Development Cooperative Society U.A (now known as Oikocredit) was developed from discussions at the 1968 Uppsala 4th Assembly, regarding church divestment from financial institutions supporting apartheid-era South Africa and the war in Vietnam. After several years of planning, the cooperative society was founded in 1975 in the Netherlands to provide an alternative ethical investment vehicle to church institutions, by providing credit to productive enterprises serving economically disadvantaged populations. Originally organized for large institutional members of the WCC, by 1976 local congregations developed Support Associations to enable congregations as well as individuals to participate. EDCS became independent from the WCC in 1977.

Ecumenical News International (ENI) was launched in 1994 as a global news service reporting on ecumenical developments and other news of the Christian churches, and giving religious perspectives on news developments worldwide. The joint sponsors of ENI, which was based at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland, were the World Council of Churches, the Lutheran World Federation, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, and the Conference of European Churches, which also had their headquarters at the Ecumenical Centre. A shortage of funds led to the suspension of the work of ENI in 2012. As of 2024 ENI remains closed.

Regional/national councils

The WCC has not sought the organic union of different Christian denominations, but it has, however, facilitated dialogue and supported local, national, and regional dialogue and cooperation.

Membership in a regional or national council does not mean that the particular group is also a member of the WCC.

Criticism

Alleged neglect of suffering church in Eastern Europe

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Some historians, the U.S. State Department and former KGB officers themselves have alleged and provided corroborating evidence that the KGB's influence directly, or through lobbying by means of a front organization, the Christian Peace Conference, resulted in the WCC's failure to recognize or act on calls for help from persecuted East European Christians at the 1983 Vancouver General Assembly.

Claims of infiltration and influence by the KGB

It is claimed the KGB has infiltrated and influenced past WCC councils and policy. In 1992, Father Gleb Yakunin, a vice Chairman of a Russian parliamentary commission that investigated the activities of the KGB, citing verbatim KGB reports, claimed that its Fifth Directorate was actively involved in influencing WCC policy from 1967 to 1989. For example, in the 1983 WCC General Assembly in Vancouver, one cited document described the presence and activities of 47 KGB agents to secure the election of an "acceptable" candidate as General Secretary. The Mitrokhin Archive reveals more about the depth of the penetration and influence wielded by the KGB over the WCC. Metropolitan Nikodim was a KGB agent, codenamed SVYATOSLAV, who served as one of six WCC Presidents from 1975 until his death. His earlier intervention had resulted in the WCC making no comment on the invasion of Czechoslovakia. As a result of his influence and that of other agents, it is claimed the USSR was rarely publicly criticised. In 1989, copies of the KGB documents claim "the WCC executive and central committee adopted public statements (eight) and messages (three)" which corresponded to its own political direction. Appeals from suffering dissidents both from within the Russian Orthodox Church and Protestants were ignored in 1983. Metropolitan Aleksi Ridiger of Tallinn and Estonia was repeatedly alleged to be a KGB agent codenamed DROZDOV, who in 1988 was awarded an honorary citation for services to the KGB by its chairman. Despite official disavowals, The Guardian described the evidence as "compelling". In 1990 he became Alexius II, the 15th Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church. Upon his death in 2008, the WCC's official tribute, by its Council officers, described him as "courageous", "supportive and constructive" and the recipient of "abundant blessing", no reference was made to the allegations.

Attitude towards Israel

The World Council of Churches has been described as taking an adversarial position toward the state of Israel. It has also been claimed the council has focused particularly on activities and publications criticizing Israel in comparison with other human rights issues. It is similarly claimed that it downplayed appeals from Egyptian Copts about human rights abuses under Sadat and Mubarak, in order to focus on its neighbour. In 2009, the Council called for an international boycott on goods produced in Israeli settlements, which it described as 'illegal, unjust' and 'incompatible with peace'. In 2013, the General Secretary was reported to claim in Cairo, "We support the Palestinians. The WCC supports the Palestinians, because they are in the right." The WCC's Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) has been criticised by the Board of Deputies of British Jews for promoting "an inflammatory and partisan programme at the expense of its interfaith relations". The WCC secretariat was involved in preparing and helped disseminate the Kairos Palestine Document, which declares “the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land is a sin against God and humanity because it deprives the Palestinians of their basic human rights”, and in the view of one critic, its "authors want to see a single state". On the other hand, the WCC claims "Antisemitism is sin against God and man".

Opposition to Christian Zionism

Christian Zionism, which has long represented a major thread of historic and contemporary Protestants, is characterised as a view which "distort(s) the interpretation of the Word of God" and "damage(s) intra-Christian relations".

In this context, what is a source of concern is that Islamic fundamentalisms are giving rise to a counter reaction of other religious fundamentalisms, the most dangerous of which is Jewish fundamentalism which exploits the Islamic fundamentalist phenomenon to justify before western societies the distasteful aberrations of Zionism in Palestine.

— WCC working paper, Lebanon, May 2013

Frank Chikane, moderator of the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA) of the World Council of Churches (WCC), was criticised for using the term 'demons' to describe advocacy for Zionism in 2021.

On January 4, 2023, World Council of Churches general secretary Jerry Pillay joined the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem and all the churches of the Holy Land in condemning the desecration of the historic Protestant cemetery on Mount Zion.

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References

Citations

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Sources

Further reading

  • W. A. Visser 't Hooft, The Genesis of the World Council of Churches, in: A History of The Ecumenical Movement 1517–1948, R. Rose, S. Ch. Neill (ed.), London: SPCK 1967, second edition with revised bibliography, pp. 697–724.

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