“Promoting joint reflection among the Churches of Eastern Europe on evangelization and encouraging collaboration and common commitment in this field”: this was the objective of the seminar organized by the World Council of Churches (WCC) in collaboration with the Conference of the Churches of Europe (CEC-KEK), held in Warsaw in recent days. The meeting was attended by 25 representatives of the Eastern, Anglican, Evangelic, Baptist, Lutheran, Orthodox, Reformed and Greek-Catholic Churches with the aim of “exchanging views on how to live the missionary nature of the Churches”. In the final document, the delegates emphasise that after the collapse of the Communist regimes, the countries in this region of Europe have become the targets of an intensive and aggressive campaign of evangelization by many Churches of Western Europe, North America and the Far East, “causing a good deal of harm and creating many difficulties for the historical Churches”. The reflection was conducted on the basis of various experiences, in the consciousness that the call to unity between the Churches also takes place through mission. “Proselytism and freedom of religion as rights of the person” are the two extremes of a tension that is still strong in Europe. “It’s not always easy for the Christians of the various traditions to work together say the delegates in their final document . Nonetheless it’s even worse if they don’t work together; that’s why we need to continue in the effort to meet together, to listen and try to understand each other”. The WCC is meanwhile preparing a world conference on mission, due to be held in Athens in May 2005. It will have as its title: “Come Holy Spirit, heal and reconcile us. Called by Christ to be communities of reconciliation and healing”.
