Round table

THE ROLE OF THE WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES (WCC) IN THE 21ST CENTURY
AND THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH

On Wednesday, May 4, 2022, at 7.00 pm (Athens time), the next online event of the series "Time for Action" will take place. It is a round table on "The Role of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in the 21^st Century and the Contribution of the Orthodox Church", co-organized by Volos Academy of Theological Studies (Greece) and the Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies, Cambridge (UK).

The link for the webinar :  https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85200463296

The event is organized on the occasion of the 11^th General Assembly of the WCC, which will take place in Karlsruhe, Germany, from August 31 to September 8, 2022 with the topic "Christ’s love moves the world to reconciliation and unity." This is a historic event, as the WCC supreme body of directors meets for the first time on European soil in 54 years, at a critical point marked by the ongoing Covid pandemic and the tragedy of the war in Ukraine. In particular, the conflict in UKraine raises crucial questions about the attitude of certain Orthodox Churches and its compatibility with the ethos of the Ecumenical Movement. What is the role and how is the responsibility of the WCC outlined confronting the challenges of the 21^st century? How does Orthodoxy perceive, in the variety of traditions of its autocephalous Churches, the unity of Christians, and what steps does it consider necessary for its realization and further experience? How can it contribute fruitfully to the Ecumenical Movement, given the strong intra-Orthodox tensions, the strong presence of anti-ecumenical tendencies within it, but also the new situation defined by the Ukrainian crisis and the stance of the Russian Orthodox Church towards it?

The participants in the event are the following:

His Eminence Job (Getcha), Most Reverend Archbishop of Telmessos, Permanent Representative of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the WCC, Professor at the Institute of Postgraduate Studies in Orthodox Theology in Chambésy, Geneva (Switzerland and France)

Archimandrite Jack Khalil, Dean of Balamand Theological Seminary, member of the Central Committee of the WCC (Lebanon)

Dr. Kateřina Kočandrle Bauer, Researcher and Lecturer at the Ecumenical Institute of the Protestant Theological School of Charles University in Prague (Czech Republic)

Dr. Razvan Porumb, Lecturer at the Institute of Orthodox Christian Studies, Cambridge (UK)

The discussion will be moderated by George Vlantis, Associate of Volos Academy, Director of the Council of Churches of Bavaria (Germany and Greece).

The event will be held in English, with interpretation into Greek.