Under the same light” “

The European Conference of Churches (Cec) and the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences (Ccee) have written a letter to all the Churches and Bishops’ Conferences of Europe to announce the Third European Ecumenical Assembly, which will be held in Sibiu, in Romania, from 4 to 8 September 2007. The theme: “The Light of Christ shines upon all. Hope for Renewal and Unity in Europe”. “We are aware that the ecumenical journey, despite all the difficulties we know of, is a calling and a duty from which there can be no turning back”, says the letter, signed by the general secretaries of Cec and Ccee, respectively Keith Clements and Msgr. Aldo Giordano. The first European Ecumenical Assembly was held in Basel in 1989 and had as its title “Peace and Justice”. The second Assembly was held in Graz, in Austria, in1997; it chose as its theme “Reconciliation gift of God, source of new life”. THE OBJECTIVES. The Sibiu Assembly – write Keith Clements and Aldo Giordano – “follows, in a new way, the path of the European Ecumenical Assemblies which took place in Basel (1989) and Graz (1997). We are aware that the ecumenical journey, despite all the difficulties we know of, is a calling and a duty from which there can be no turning back. We are grateful for the invitation from the churches in Romania to hold the peak event in Sibiu, which will be the European Capital of Culture in 2007. It will be particularly meaningful and enriching to hold the event in a country with an Orthodox majority”. The Assembly – the letter continues – “shall be a place to celebrate and witness together the following of Jesus Christ and the communion which already exists among Christians in Europe, to deepen our knowledge and esteem for our different religious traditions, and to reinforce and expand our European ecumenical network”. At the same time, it will help “to rediscover the gift of light that Christ is for Europe today”. In particular, the Assembly “will tackle the great challenges set out by the European culture marked by secularization and by the need for spirituality, by religious pluralism, by the process of European unification, and by the responsibilities of our continent in the context of the world as a whole”. THE TITLE. “The Light of Christ shines upon all. Hope for Renewal and Unity in Europe” is the theme chosen for the Assembly by the Ccee/Cec Joint Committee. The title – say the promoters – “focuses on Christ (John 8:12) and refers to the symbol of light, which is particularly meaningful in both Eastern and Western Christian traditions. The sub-theme aims to emphasize the role Christianity can play in today’s Europe”. THE STAGES. EEA3 is conceived as an Assembly process in four stages. The first stage will take place in Rome from 24 to 27 January 2006. It will consist of a meeting between 110 delegates of Churches, Catholic Bishops’ Conferences, ecumenical bodies or movements, and church communities. The second stage will include national and/or regional meetings to be held in the second half of 2006 or early 2007. Their organization will be entrusted to the delegates of the Churches and Bishops’ Conferences of the country or region that host the meeting. The third stage will take place in Wittenberg-Lutherstadt, Germany, in January 2007 and comprise another meeting between the delegates of Churches, Catholic Bishops’ Conferences, ecumenical bodies or movements, and church communities. The fourth stage will be the EEA3 itself, taking place in Sibiu, Romania (4-8 September 2007) with some 3000 delegates of the Bishops’ Conferences and Churches of Europe. Simultaneously, several meetings between Christian faithful will be organized in all European cities wherever possible, including video-audio connections with Sibiu. THE TASKS. The joint Cec/Ccee letter ends with a request to the Churches and Bishops’ Conferences to identify “a delegate entrusted with the role of following the entire assembly process”, to support the implementation of national and regional ecumenical meetings, to establish the delegation that will participate in the work of the Sibiu Assembly, to arrange forms of financial support for the EEA3 and, finally, “to launch a great national network of prayer for the Assembly and the ecumenical journey in Europe involving the whole people of God”.