There are two complementary approaches to ecumenism: dialogue and action. The
Faith and Order Movement and
Life and Work Movement represent these approaches. These approaches are reflected in the work of the WCC in its commissions, these being: • Echos – Commission on Youth (ages 18–30) • Commission of the Churches on Diakonia and Development • Commission on Education and Ecumenical Formation • Commission of the Churches on International Affairs • Commission on Justice, Peace and Creation • Commission on World Mission and Evangelism • Faith and Order Plenary Commission and the Faith and Order Standing Commission • Joint Consultative Group with Pentecostals • Joint Working Group WCC – Catholic Church (Vatican) • Reference Group on the Decade to Overcome Violence • Reference Group on Inter-Religious Relations • Special Commission on Orthodox Participation in the WCC
Diakonia and development and international relations commissions The WCC acts through both its member churches and other religious and social organizations to coordinate ecumenical, evangelical, and social action. Current WCC programs include a
Decade to Overcome Violence, an international campaign to combat
AIDS/HIV in
Africa and the
Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) initiative.
Faith and Order Commission WCC's
Faith and Order Commission has been successful in working toward consensus on
Baptism,
Eucharist, and
Ministry, on the date of
Easter, on the nature and purpose of the
church (
ecclesiology), and on ecumenical
hermeneutics.
Texts •
Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry (Faith and Order Paper No. 111, the "Lima Text"; 1982) •
The Churchː Towards a Common Vision (Faith and Order Paper no. 214; 2013) after
The Nature and Mission of the Church – A Stage on the Way to a Common Statement (Faith and Order Paper no. 198; 2005) and
The Nature and Purpose of the Church (Faith and Order Paper no. 181; 1998) •
Towards a Common Date of Easter Justice, Peace and Creation Commission Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) has drawn many elements together with an
environmental focus. Its mandate is: Focal issues have been
globalization and the emergence of
new social movements (in terms of people
bonding together in the struggle for justice, peace, and the protection of creation). Attention has been given to issues around: • economy • environment • Indigenous Peoples • peace • people with disabilities •
racism • women • youth
Relations with the Roman Catholic Church The largest Christian body, the
Roman Catholic Church, is not a member of the WCC, but has worked closely with the council for more than three decades and sends observers to all major WCC conferences as well as to its Central Committee meetings and the Assemblies (cf.
Joint Working Group). The
Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity also nominates 12 members to the WCC's
Faith and Order Commission as full members. While not a member of the WCC, the Catholic Church is a member of some other ecumenical bodies at regional and national levels, for example, the
National Council of Churches in Australia and the National Council of Christian Churches in Brazil (CONIC).
Pope Pius XI stated in 1928, that the only means by which the world Christian community was to return to faith, was to return to Roman Catholic worship. In this regard, the Papacy rejected, to a great extent, the idea of the participation of the Catholic Church within the World Council of Churches. Pius XI stated that the ‘One True Church’ was that of the Roman Catholic denomination, and therefore there was the implication that the Catholic Church was not permitted at this stage to engage with other denominations, which the Papacy considered to be irrelevant. A similar policy was followed by his successor,
Pope Pius XII; the Catholic Church, therefore, did not attend the 1948 meeting of the WCC, in addition to the idea that all members of the Church were barred from attending WCC conferences.
Pope John XXIII took a different stance however, and in 1958 he was elected as the head of the Catholic Church.
Ecumenism was a new element of Catholic ideology which had been permitted, which was signified to a great extent, when John XXIII met with the then Archbishop of Canterbury,
Geoffrey Fisher. This was the first meeting between an Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Pope in the Vatican for 600 years. John XXIII later developed the office of the
Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity; which symbolised a dramatic shift in support for the ecumenical movement, from the Catholic Church, led from the Vatican. 1961 saw Catholic members attend the Delhi conference of the WCC, which marked a significant shift in attitude toward the WCC from the Papacy. There was the idea in addition to this, that the Pope invited non-Catholics to attend the Vatican II Council. II. Both Catholic and non-Catholic elements are held responsible for
the schism between Catholicism and the Protestant movement III. Non-Catholics are recognised to the contributions that they make to Christian belief overall Further reforms have been enacted with regard to the nature of the Catholic Church on the world stage, for instance the 1965 union with the Patriarch of Constantinople, whereby the 1054 schism was undermined. In addition to this,
Michael Ramsay, the then Archbishop of Canterbury, received an
episcopal ring in 1966; a mark of union which had not been seen since prior to the
Reformation. Moreover, the Anglican, Roman Catholic International Committee was additionally established as a means of promoting communication and cohesion between the two denominations. This has since marked a new level of participation of the Catholic Faith in the aforementioned ecumenical movement, and therefore is the basis for increased participation from the faith, in the WCC.
Special Commission on Orthodox Participation in the WCC A
Special Commission was set up by the eighth Harare Assembly in December 1998 to address Orthodox concerns about WCC membership and the council's decision-making style, public statements, worship practices, and other issues. It issued its final report in 2006. Specific issues that it clarified were that the WCC does not formulate doctrine, does not have authority to rule on moral issues, nor does it have any ecclesiastical authority. Such authority is entirely internal to each individual member church. It proposed that the WCC adopt a
consensus method of decision making. It proposed that Orthodox members be brought in parity with non-Orthodox members. It further proposed clarification that inter-confessional prayer at WCC events is not worship, particularly "it should avoid giving the impression of being the worship of a church", and confessional and inter-confessional prayer each be specifically identified as such at WCC events. ==Peace journalism==