February 7, 2005

GENEVA / ST. GALLEN – "The light of Christ shines upon all. Hope for renewal and unity in Europe": this is the theme of the 3rd European Ecumenical Assembly (EEA3), put forward by the Joint Committee of the Conference of European Churches (CEC) and the Council of European Bishops' Conferences (CCEE), which met in Chartres, France, from 3-6 February 2005. It will be an "assembly in stages," which will reach its peak at the gathering in Sibiu, Romania, from 4-8 September 2007. A common process will build-up to this event, and will take place at national and regional levels, in order to develop the common ecumenical commitment of the churches in Europe. In the coming months the proposal of the Joint Committee will undergo final approval on the part of the respective governing bodies.

The stages will be:

• a European meeting of the delegates of Churches, Bishops' Conferences, ecumenical bodies and movements, which should take place in Rome from 24-26 January 2006;

• a series of meetings at regional and national levels throughout 2006;

• a second European gathering at the beginning of 2007, possibly in Wittenberg, the city of Luther in Germany;

• the final stage in Sibiu, Romania, with the participation of 3,000 delegates, the first time in a country with a majority Orthodox tradition.

The assembly process, therefore, represents a sort of "pilgrimage" to enable encounters with the various Christian traditions of Europe, to listen together to the Word of Christ, and to respond to the need for spirituality. The assembly will also address the search for meaning and the expectations of the men and women of today, particularly that of the younger generations.

During the assembly process current issues, which the churches face today in Europe, will be dealt with. These are outlined in the "Charta Oecumenica," signed by CEC and CCEE in 2001: from the visible unity of the church; the contribution of Christians to the construction of Europe; the reconciliation between peoples and cultures; safeguarding creation; to the dialogue with other religions and philosophical viewpoints starting with Judaism and Islam.

Furthermore, the Joint Committee has adopted a series of recommendations on the mandate and methodology of the new CEC-CCEE Committee for Relations with Muslims in Europe, which replaces the previous "Islam in Europe" Committee. Among the objectives of the new working group are the development of contacts with Muslims and reflection on the European integration process from an inter-religious perspective.

During the meeting the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community (ComECE) and the Church and Society Commission of CEC reported on the outlook for the application of article 52 of the new European Constitutional Treaty. This article explicitly recognises the contribution of churches to the European public debate, and entails an "open, transparent and regular dialogue" with the churches and other religious communities.

ComECE and the Church and Society Commission are closely monitoring Turkey's application to join the European Union, underlining that its joining does not represent a religious problem as such, but rather one of respect for human rights and religious freedom.

After a long debate on the ecumenical situation in Europe, the Joint Committee has asked CEC and CCEE to collect data on the situation of "mixed marriages" and to reflect on how best to integrate the contribution of the associations of interchurch families in the ecumenical life.

The Joint Committee has also called for a visit of a CEC-CCEE delegation to the churches of the Middle East. At the beginning of the meeting the co-chairs, Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor and Rev. Jean-Arnold de Clermont, sent a message of good wishes to Pope John Paul II, expressing on behalf of all the participants their gratitude for his service for reconciliation among Christians.

The meeting at Chartres was enriched by an encounter with various local ecumenical groups and by common prayer in the historic Cathedral.

The next meeting of the Joint Committee will take place in Rome from 25-26 January 2006.

Participants at the Chartres meeting were:

CCEE – H.E. Card. Josip Bozanic, Archbishop of Zagreb, CCEE Vice-President, Croatia; H.E. Card. Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, Archbishop of Westminster, CCEE Vice-President, U.K.; H.E. Mgr. Bernard N. Aubertin, Bishop of Chartres, France; H.E. Mgr. Virgil Bercea, Bishop of Oradea Mare, Romania; Mgr. Noël Treanor, COMECE General Secretary, Belgium; Mgr. Andrew Sommersgill, General Secretary of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales; Mgr. Aldo Giordano, General Secretary, Switzerland; Mgr. Peter Fleetwood, Deputy General Secretary; Mr Thierry Bonaventura, Press Officer, Switzerland; Ms Sarah Numico, Consultant, Italy.

CEC – Rev. Jean-Arnold de Clermont, CEC President, Reformed, France; H.E. Bishop Athanasios of Achaia, Orthodox, Greece; The Very Rev. Dean Margarethe Isberg, CEC Deputy ; Vice-President, Lutheran, Sweden; The Right Rev. Richard Chartres, Bishop of London, Anglican, U.K.; H.E. Metropolitan Daniel of Moldavia and Bucovina, Orthodox, Romania; H.E. Metropolitan Emmanuel of France, Orthodox, France; OKRin Dr. Hannelore Reiner, Lutheran, Austria; Rev. Dr. Keith Clements, General Secretary, Switzerland; Prof. Viorel Ionita, Study Secretary, Switzerland; Rev. Luca Negro, Secretary for Communications, Switzerland.

Conference of European Churches