The Ecumenical Movement
...ere seen to be getting in the way of this, not only because people were often seen to be working ‘against’ each other but also because of the impression such divisions were giving to non-Christians. In 1948 the World Council of Churches (WCC) was founded in Amsterdam with representatives from the Orthodox and Protestant Churches. The WCC does not claim to be a ‘super-church’ but only a fellowship of churches ‘which confess the Lord Jesus Christ as God and Savour 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’. [3] The WCC leads and promotes united Christian action throughout the world in both spiritual and practical matters. Generally, the WCC works in 3 main areas: • Faith and Witness (spreading the Christian message) • Justice and Service (promoting peace and justice in the world) • Communication (promoting tolerance and understanding in the world) Although the Roman Catholic Church has not yet joined the WCC, the Second Vatican Council (a meeting of all Catholic Church leaders in 1962), recognised the need to move towards mutual understanding and sent observers to WCC meetings. There are some controversial areas which will not be easily resolved which come with Christian unity. Some of these include the Pope’s authority, women’s roles in the Church and the Eucharist. These areas are where deep divisions over belief and Church order remain, especially between Roman Catholic and Orthodox/Protestant groups. There were many attempts to reverse Protestantism separating into many independent divisions. During and after the reformation, many organisations were formed. Such organisations include the Evangelical Alliance in 1846, the Young Men’s Christian Association in 1881 and in 1908 the Federal Council of Churches in Christ. The Ecumenical Movement began with the World Missionary Conference in 1910 and this led to the establishment in 1921 of the International Missionary Council. This encouraged cooperation in mission activity and among the younger churches. Other milestones in the development in the Movement were the Universal Christian Conference in 1925, the World Conference on Faith and Order 1927 and the first assembly of the World Council of Churches in 1948. The World Council is now the leader of Ecumenicity as it has brought together Protestant, Orthodox Eastern and Old Catholic bodies. In 1961 it united with the International Missionary Council. The Vatican did not give formal recognition to the existence of the Ecumenical movement, until, in 1960, it established the Secretarial for Promoting Christian Un...