April 6, 2005

The Presidium of the Conference of European Churches (CEC) is meeting today until Sunday 10 April in Västerås, Sweden, upon invitation of the CEC Deputy Vice-President, the Very Rev. Margarethe Isberg, Lutheran Dean of Västerås. The 10-member Presidium serves as the executive committee of the Central Committee of CEC.

The major task of this session will be to review the implementation of the decisions made by Central Committee last September in the different areas of CEC's work, and to prepare for the next Central Committee meeting which is scheduled for 4-10 June in Crete, Greece. Among other items, the Presidium will receive reports on the reconfiguration of CEC offices and commissions and on the preparations for the third European Ecumenical Assembly.

Presidium member, His Eminence Metropolitan Daniel of Moldavia and Bucovina (Romanian Orthodox Church) will not attend the meeting, as he will represent CEC at the funeral of His Holiness Pope John Paul II in Rome.

Members of the CEC Presidium:

• President: Rev. Jean-Arnold de Clermont, Reformed Church of France, President of the French Protestant Federation;

• Vice-President: Archbishop Dr Anastasios (Yannoulatos), Orthodox Church of Albania;

• Deputy Vice-President: Dean Margarethe Isberg, Church of Sweden (Lutheran);

• Metropolitan Dr Daniel (Ciobotea) of Moldavia and Bucovina, Romanian Orthodox Church;

• Metropolitan Dr Gennadios (Limouris) of Sassima, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople;

• Oberkirchenrätin (Church official) Rev. Antje Heider-Rottwilm, Director of the Europe Department of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD);

• Rev. Dr Susan Helen Jones, Church in Wales (Anglican), United Kingdom;

• Archbishop Longin (Talypin) of Klin, representative of the Russian Orthodox Church in Germany;

• Dr Mariella Mihailova, United Methodist Church in Bulgaria;

• Rev. Thomas Wipf, President of the Council of the Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches.

The Conference of European Churches (CEC) is a fellowship of some 125 Orthodox, Protestant, Anglican and Old Catholic Churches from all countries of Europe, plus 40 associated organisations. CEC was founded in 1959. It has offices in Geneva, Brussels and Strasbourg.