The Third European Ecumenical Assembly in Sibiu
At the end of 2007, the Swiss delegation at Sibiu, under the direction of the AGCK, set out some key areas for following up on the Sibiu assembly. These stress the importance of praying together, and of making the Charta Oecumenica more widely known, and putting it into practice.
Main Points
Charta Oecumenica
The Charta is not well known. Awareness needs to be raised and the Charta be discussed in all ACGK member churches at all levels.
Migration/Integration
Churches have a leading role to play in the question of migration, and should make it one of their priority areas.
The Swiss delegation at Sibiu therefore recommends that the right to vote in church matters be open to all, including foreigners.
Unity
The Orthodox churches should be explicitly invited to join local ecumenical councils.
Unity can be strengthened by churches working together from a theological, christocentric base, rather than from an ecclesiological base.
The (French-speaking) delegates recommend replacing the term ‘unité’ by ‘reconcilliation’.
Families which bridge denominations (mixed marriages) should be better supported in Switzerland. Address AFI-CH, Postfach 322, 1255 Veyrier. Contact person: Revd Lipp, jblipp@bluewin.ch
Spirituality
Terms like ‘prayer’, ‘devotions’, ‘(church) service’ need to be clearly defined so as to avoid misunderstandings between churches.
The delegation stressed the importance of holding monthly ecumenical prayers in every region, and also recommended joint pilgrimages.
Interfaith Dialogue
In Europe, the different religions tend to live parallel to, rather than with, one another. Islamophobia is widespread among Christians; these fears must be faced and addressed.
With regard to the Initiative to Ban Minarets (Minarett-Verbotsinitiative); all 10 member churches regarded the initiative as an inappropriate means of dealing with the current, very real, problems.
Churches should be more actively engaged in combatting antisemitism (schools, clothing, etc), as laid out in the Charta Oecumenica, chapter 10.
One area which remains to be clarified is: where the individual churches stand on interfaith dialogue, and how they view the question of proselytizing and conversions.
The AGCK is to take stock of the situation.
During the Week of Religions, churches should be active participants, for example, by offering information and church visits. ‘Open Church Nights’ could also be organised periodically, as has been done very successfully by the Zurich ecumenical council.
In interfaith dialogue, the position of women often presents enormous problems. This must always be taken into account in all interfaith dealings.
Bible and Ethics
In Sibiu, Metropolitan Kyrill laid stress on the moral values that can be taken directly from the Bible (e.g., with regard to the equality of women and men, homosexuality, etc.). However, in 'refomed' understanding ethical rules cannot be derived directly from the Bible. The western churches see a need here for discussion with the Orthodox.
Justice
Swiss churches clearly support the Millenium aims and want to see stronger moves towards their implementation.
