The World Council of Churches
- The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of 349 churches, denominations and church fellowships in 110 countries, which confess the Lord Jesus Christ as God and Saviour according to the scriptures, and therefore seek to fulfil together their common calling to the glory of the one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
It is a community of churches on the way to visible unity in one faith and one eucharistic fellowship, expressed in worship and in common life in Christ. It seeks to advance towards this unity, as Jesus prayed for his followers, "so that the world may believe." (John 17:21)
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The Conference of European Churches
- The Conference of European Churches (CEC) is a fellowship of 126 Orthodox, Protestant, Anglican and Old Catholic Churches along with 43 associated organisations from all countries on the European continent. CEC was founded in 1959 and has offices in Geneva, Brussels and Strasbourg.
Although the Roman Catholic Church is not a member, it has a close relationship with CEC. A number of ecumenical encounters have taken place in Europe jointly arranged by CEC and the Council of European Bishops' Conferences (CCEE). The most significant events were the two European Ecumenical Assemblies; EEA1 - "Peace with Justice", Basel, Switzerland, 1989, and EEA2 - "Reconciliation, Gift of God and Source of New Life", Graz, Austria, 1997, which the two organisations co-sponsored.
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The Community of Protestant Churches in Europe (formerly the Leuenberg Church Fellowship)
- "Unity in reconciled diversity." Almost all Protestant churches in Europe are member churches of the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe. Its basic document is the Leuenberg Agreement of 1973 which marks the end of the over 450 years of the church division between the Lutheran and Reformed churches. On the basis of the common understanding of the Gospel, the signatory churches grant one another a pulpit and table fellowship and commit themselves to common witness and service at local, regional and European levels, and the continuing theological work.
Up to now 105 Churches across Europe belong to the CPCE. These churches are, besides classical Reformation churches, pre-Reformation churches such as the Waldensian Church and the Church of the Czech Brethren, plus five South American Protestant churches emanating from the earlier immigration churches. The seven Methodist churches in Europe joined it on the basis of a "Joint Declaration of Church Fellowship". (taken from the CPCE website)
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The Charta Œcumenica
- Following the Second European Ecumenical Assembly in Graz 1997, the Churches of Europe, especially the smaller minority churches (such as France's Église Réformée), felt in need of ecumenical guidelines. In 1999 the Council of European Bishops' Conferences (CCEE, representing the Roman Catholic Church) and the Conference of European Churches (CEC, representing Protestant, Orthodox and Anglican Churches) agreed a draft text of The Charta Oecumenica. Launched in Geneva in July 1999, it was widely distributed and discussed throughout European churches. As a result of these many discussions and responses, a Final Text was prepared, and signed in Strasbourg at Easter 2001.
The Charta has not become widely significant in the UK. Read this essay for one view as to why this should be.
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