On Sunday 23 January, with a solemn ecumenical liturgy, the member Churches of the “Community of Work of the Christian Churches in Switzerland” will sign the “Charta Oecumenica”, the ecumenical charter presented by the CCEE and CEC in Strasbourg containing guidelines for the ecumenical commitment of Christians in Europe. The signing of the document by the Swiss Churches is intended as a sign “for the ecumenical process” of that country. “Christians says a joint communiqué live and act animated by a shared hope. The Churches are committed to changing their view: they should no longer have to justify their common actions, but on the contrary explain their position whenever they seek to act alone”. In the view of Bishop Kurt Koch of Basel, “the signing of the Charter represents a stage on the way to achieving an ecumenical community in Switzerland, even though we are still far from the final objective, which is the visible unity of Christians; but the Christian Churches are renewing their commitment to act in this direction”. The Swiss Ecumenical Committee says it is “convinced” that the Charta Oecumenica “will give new impulse to ecumenical dialogue and action”. Bishop Heinrich Bolleter of the Methodist Church points out, for his part, that ecumenism in Switzerland is perceived by people as a matter that only concerns the two main national Churches, i.e. the Reformed Church and the Catholic Church. The scale of the diversity that on the contrary now characterises the religious context in the country represents “a strong incentive”, and “in this context, cooperation between the Churches demands a high level of openness and respect for the other Churches, especially the minority ones. “The Community of Work of the Christian Churches in Switzerland” was founded in 1971 and currently comprises ten member churches.
