Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Geneva (Fides Service) - The Conference of European Churches (CEC) and the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE) have written a letter to all European Churches and Bishops’ Conferences announcing the 3rd European Ecumenical Assembly (EEA3). This letter sets out the process of the EEA3 which will culminate in Sibiu, Romania, from 4 to 8 September 2007.
The letter is signed by the General Secretaries of CEC and CCEE, Rev. Dr Keith Clements and Mgr Aldo Giordano, respectively.
The letter states that the EEA3 follows, in a new way, the path of the European Ecumenical Assemblies which took place in Basel, Switzerland (1989) and Graz, Austria (1997). ‘The Light of Christ shines upon all. Hope for Renewal and Unity in Europe’ is the theme chosen for the Assembly by the CCEE/CEC Joint Committee. If focuses on Christ (John 8,12) and refers to the symbol of light, which is particularly meaningful in both Eastern and Western Christian traditions. The sub-theme aims to emphasise the role Christianity can play in today’s Europe.
The Assembly, the letter states, "shall be a place to celebrate and witness together the following of Jesus Christ and the communion which already exists among Christians in Europe, to deepen our knowledge and esteem for our different religious traditions, and to reinforce and expand our European ecumenical network". At the same time, the EEA3 will help "to rediscover the gift of light that Christ is for Europe today. The Assembly will tackle the great challenges set out by the European culture marked by secularisation and by a need for spirituality, by religious pluralism, by the process of European unification, and by the responsibilities of our continent in the context of the world as a whole".
The EEA3 is conceived as an Assembly process in four stages. The first stage will take place in Rome, 24-27 January 2006, with a meeting between 110 delegates of Churches, Catholic Bishops’ Conferences, ecumenical bodies or movements, and church communities. The second stage will include national and/or regional meetings to be held in the second half of 2006 or at the beginning of 2007. The organisation of such meetings shall be entrusted to the delegates of the Churches and Bishops’ Conferences of the country or region which host the meeting. The third stage will take place at Wittenberg-Lutherstadt, Germany, in January 2007, with another meeting between the delegates of Churches, Bishops’ Conferences, ecumenical bodies or movements, and church communities. The fourth stage will be the EEA3 itself, taking place in Sibiu, Romania (4 to 8 September 2007) with approximately 3,000 delegates of the Churches and the Bishops’ Conferences of Europe. Simultaneously, several meetings between Christian faithful will be organised in all European cities wherever possible, including video-audio connections with Sibiu.
The letter ends by asking the Churches and the Bishops' Conferences to "launch a great network of prayer for the Assembly and the ecumenical journey in Europe involving the whole people of God". (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 4/5/2005, righe 36, parole 497)
