Leader of SDA church in ecumenical union with Rome

Christian Unity   October 2019

The annual Conference of Secretaries of Christian World Communions (CS/CWC) took place from 8–10 October 2019 in Christiansfeld, Denmark. The meeting was hosted by the Moravian Church Unity Worldwide Board, represented by Reverend Dr Jørgen Bøytler. The Catholic Church was represented by Bishop Brian Farrell, Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

The CS/CWC was established in 1957, bringing together general secretaries from diverse Christian communions as well as representatives of some global ecumenical organisations. The Conference is a fraternal forum of Church leaders aiming at exchange of information on important events in their particular Communions as well as giving an update on the bilateral and multilateral dialogues in which their Communions are involved. The Conference does not pass resolutions and does not issue an official communiqué. Meeting without interruption for over sixty years, the Conference has significantly contributed to build trust and partnership among the Church leaders and between their respective traditions, and to foster the coherence of the ecumenical movement worldwide. The Conference is currently chaired by Reverend Dr Martin Junge, General Secretary of the Lutheran World Federation, who is seconded by the secretary, Dr Ganoune Diop, Director of Public Affairs and Religious Liberty for the worldwide Seventh–day Adventist Church.

Reports from the following Communions were received during this year’s Conference: the Armenian Apostolic Church (on behalf of the Oriental Orthodox Churches), the Anglican Communion, the Disciples Ecumenical Consultative Council, the Ecumenical Patriarchate (Orthodox Church of Constantinople), the Friends World Committee for Consultation, the General Conference of Seventh–day Adventists, Global Pentecostalism, the International Old Catholic Bishops’ Conference (Union of Utrecht), the Lutheran World Federation, the Mennonite World Conference, the Moravian Church Worldwide Unity Board, the Organisation of African Instituted Churches, the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (Roman Catholic Church), the Salvation Army, the World Convention of Churches of Christ, the World Communion of Reformed Churches, the World Methodist Council, the World Evangelical Alliance, and two ecumenical bodies: the World Council of Churches and the Global Christian Forum.

Participation in the opening prayer service led according to the Moravian tradition and in a traditional Moravian Lovefast, as well as the visit to the historic Moravian Settlement in Christiansfeld (UNESCO World Heritage), offered the participants an opportunity to gain more familiarity with this Church.