June 6, 2009

An upcoming meeting of 120 theologians from nearly all Christian traditions will be looking at what churches consider to be their mission in the world and how they come to decisions on theological, ecumenical or moral questions.

The Faith and Order Plenary Commissionof the World Council of Churches (WCC) will meet at the Orthodox Academy in Kolympari, Crete, Greece from 7 to 14 October 2009.

The event promises to become "a landmark in ecumenical dialogue," the WCC director of Faith and Order Canon Dr John Gibaut said in an interview, which can be listened to at http://www.oikoumene.org/crete2009/.

Known as the world's most representative forum for theological dialogue, the 120-strong plenary commission will discuss three main topics:

What it means to be church – One outcome of the commission's work during recent years, the study on The Nature and Mission of the Churchhas the potential to become an ecumenical landmark. After having received comments from the churches, it is now time to make decisions on the continuation of the work.

Sources of authority – By looking at how churches use sources of authority, the commission will take a new approach to the old debate around "Scripture versus Tradition," moving it from a theoretical discussion towards a sharing of experiences.

Moral discernment – Through the examination of case studies – some of them on controversial issues like proselytism, homosexuality and stem-cell research – the commission will critically look at how churches arrive at their positions on moral issues. The goal is to begin the process of developing an ecumenically recognized set of steps for the churches' moral discernment.

Faith and Orderis the historical branch of the World Council of Churches dealing with theological aspects of the churches search for visible unity. With a membership wider than that of the WCC, the commission includes the Roman Catholic Church as a full member, as well as Pentecostal and Evangelical churches. The plenary commission meets once between WCC assemblies, which take place every seven or eight years.

Speaking on what the commission hopes to achieve with its studies on moral discernment, Gibaut expressed two hopes: "One is that it might enable the churches to come to a common mind on moral questions – we believe that's possible. And if that's not possible, is it then a possibility that Christians might say to each other: ‘I disagree with your conclusion, but I respect the way you got there.'"

Read more and listen to the interview: http://www.oikoumene.org/crete2009.

WCC Faith and Order Commission: http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=3606.

World Council of Churches