Episcopal Press and News
World Council of Churches Prepares for Eighth Assembly -- and an Uncertain Future
Episcopal News Service. January 15, 1998 [98-2067]
(ENS) As it prepares for its eighth assembly in Zimbabwe in December, the World Council of Churches faces a major turning point in its history.
Continuing financial problems, lingering confusion over its identity and direction, and possible defections by Orthodox members would seem to guarantee that the assembly will be a defining moment as the WCC celebrates its 50th anniversary. And for all of its claims to be the most representative Christian organization in the world, with over 300 members, the WCC still represents less than half of the world's Christians.
In an address to a mid-December meeting in Chicago of U.S. member churches of the WCC, General Secretary Konrad Raiser said that the decision to go to Harare was "a conscious expression of solidarity with the churches and peoples of Africa at a time when they are engaged in reconstructing the conditions of their lives." He pointed out that conditions in Africa have "changed dramatically" since the WCC assembly in Nairobi in 1975.
Raiser said that the assembly theme, "Turn to God -- Rejoice in Hope," speaks directly to the present African situation since the African nations are "engaged in a process of turning away from the structures of dependency" towards a "new process of liberation, regaining self-confidence -- and in this process draws on the sources of the Christian faith of its people." Early in the next century, he observed, "Africa will be the continent with the largest Christian population."
The theme of hope "reflects the feeling of being liberated from the sense of fatalism and despair which characterizes so many analyses commenting on the African situation from the outside, " Raiser added.
Drawing on the table as "a symbol of community" in most cultures, Raiser observed that the table is extended when guests are expected, leading to "the occasion for a festive meal to celebrate the fellowship among friends or a particular moment in the life of a family."
When applied to "the present situation of the WCC and the organized ecumenical movement, the imagery draws attention to the fact that organized ecumenism is indeed an affair only of a minority among the different parts of world Christianity," confined largely to "the churches of historic Protestantism and of Orthodoxy." That means, Raiser pointed out, that the Pentecostal, Evangelical and Independent churches in Africa and Asia -- to say nothing of the Roman Catholics -- are not at the table.
The questions for Raiser are: Should the WCC seek to extend its membership, taking a "closer look at the barriers which its institutional structures may present to some potential member churches? Can the WCC maintain its role as the most representative and comprehensive ecumenical framework if, in fact, it only represents a minority among the world's Christian churches?" This anniversary meeting might be "the proper moment to consider whether steps should be taken to widen the circle of the ecumenical community," Raiser concluded.
The barrier to a common celebration of Holy Communion at WCC meetings raises the difficult issue of "Eucharistic fellowship and hospitality," Raiser said, pointing to "the contradictions in our present ecumenical reality." He asked, "Can we seriously consider extending the ecumenical table when in fact this table is seriously divided?" Delegates to the Canberra assembly in 1991 expressed "pain and disappointment" when they were barred from sharing communion in the Orthodox liturgy, leading to some resentment on both sides. "The doctrinal and canonical reasons are obviously in conflict with a rapidly evolving ecumenical situation and do not respond to the pastoral and spiritual needs of a new generation of active participants in the ecumenical movement," Raiser said. The Orthodox believe that sharing the Eucharist can only be considered as the sign of full church unity.
"The sharing of the Eucharist has become the central symbol for the unity we seek," Raiser said. This emphasis means that the barriers in sharing a common ecumenical table "has become a symbol of division." An alternative might be a return to the practice of the early Christian communities "of sharing a simple meal to affirm our ecumenical fellowship an act of a non-Eucharistic breaking of bread together," realistically acknowledging that "the orders of our churches do not yet allow full Eucharistic fellowship."
The Harare assembly, Raiser announced, "will include a festive sharing of food and drink to affirm our ecumenical fellowship." Yet he is convinced that "any consideration about extending the ecumenical table would not be honest as long as we have not addressed this basic contradiction in our present fellowship."
Talk of "widening the circle" and extending the table makes Orthodox members of the WCC quite nervous. They argue that they are an increasingly marginalized minority, leading to a broad reevaluation of their continued membership. "The Orthodox churches have increasingly expressed concern about the increase in the number of very small Protestant churches in WCC membership, while the number of Orthodox member churches has remained unchanged." In an effort to "redress the balance and secure a proper place for the large churches of the Orthodox tradition...the proposal has recently been advanced to reorganize the WCC according to families of churches, following the model developed in the Middle East Council of Churches," Raiser said.
The Orthodox have also been critical of what they perceive as the politically activist role of the WCC, at the expense of theological issues. Observers assume that they will raise the issue at Harare.
High on the agenda at the Harare assembly will be an attempt to resolve some of the more persistent identity issues. A policy statement, "Towards a Common Understanding and Vision of the WCC," is the result of more than eight years of study and consultation. "The rich, extensive and enthusiastic discussions that have gone into this text have attested to a profound ecumenical engagement and commitment to the WCC among member churches and partners," says the Preface to the statement. Yet it is also clear that the churches don't yet agree on some of the goals of the ecumenical movement and the "nature of the fellowship."
Suggestions that a global forum replace the assemblies have been embraced by many churches. Yet Prof. Janice Love of South Carolina, a United Methodist member of the WCC Central Committee, argued that the assembly is the only place where all members are represented and where they can "claim ownership" of the ecumenical agenda. "It is a remarkable array of Christendom gathered in one place...a dozen communities from a hundred countries." She called it "a marvelous, maddening family."
That family, facing some internal dissensions, will have an opportunity to reaffirm its allegiances, to each other and to common purposes. In doing so the WCC will be charting a course that will take it into the new millennium, with what its members clearly hope will be renewed energy and commitment.