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Churches & Europea Reader

World Council of ChurchesConference of European Churches

3Churches & Europe: a Reader

CONTENTS

Map of the European Continent 4

Introduction 5

What is Europe? Myths & realities 6

Europe: some facts & figures 7

Political organizations & institutions in Europe 10

Churches & religions in Europe 12

The ecumenical movement & organizations in Europe 14

Churches, conflict, peace & reconciliation in Europe 16

Churches & mission in Europe 20

Churches, diakonia & solidarity in Europe 22

Churches, human rights & religious freedom in Europe 24

A heart & soul for Europe? 26

Sources & resources 28

Written and compiled by: Alexander Belopopsky (WCC), Mariette Grange (WCC) and Rüdiger Noll (CEC)Editing, design & layout by: Alexander Belopopsky Proof reading by: Dimitri OikonomouCover design by: Esther Hookway/Readywriters (www.readywriters.co.uk)Photos and images: WCC staff; Photo Oikumene/WCC Visual Arts

Originally produced by the WCC Europe Task Force with CEC as a background document for the WCC Central Committee in January 2001. Revised version: May 2002.

The opinions expressed in this document do not necessarily represent the official positions of the World Council of Churches or of the Conference of European Churches. Copies of this document may be obtained from WCC or on www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/europe.

Churches & Europea Reader

4 Churches & Europe: a Reader

Map of the European continent

from the Atlantic to the Urals - and beyond


Europe, more than ever in its long history, is today a contradictory and complex space: an ‘old’

continent which, during the last century, experienced some of its most dramatic episodes and radical

changes. Europe is an evolving entity, still in search of a ‘common European home’. Its history and

culture have been forged by the three great Christian traditions: Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant. And it is

in Europe that the ecumenical movement was born.

In this rapidly changing continent, the churches are faced with new challenges, which call for a renewal of

the ecumenical vision and commitment. The legacy of totalitarian regimes and the confrontations of the Cold

War have left profound scars and divided memories within Europe, which require new efforts by the

churches to highlight the age-old and contemporary Christian experience of reconciliation, truth and justice

in Europe.

The present background document, Churches & Europe: a Reader, includes selected overviews of European

experience, including political life, war, mission, and solidarity–as well as of the churches and the

ecumenical movement in the region. The purpose of this short document is to provide the reader with

relevant introductory documents that highlight significant information and references concerning the region.

The Reader surveys some of the most important aspects of church and ecumenical experience, particularly

during the most recent decades.

The document does not pretend to be complete or exhaustive; rather it seeks to provide a series of snapshots

or impressions which may stimulate further reflection and discussion by the general reader and among

churches in Europe. The compilers have drawn extensively on existing research, including ecumenical

documents and sources. Resources are also suggested for those interested in furthering their knowledge and

understanding.

In 1967, the first WCC General Secretary, Dr Visser’t Hooft, spoke at the CEC Assembly about particular

challenges and a vision for Europe. Reminding those gathered of the need for churches to show the world

‘the other face of Europe’, he said that, ‘Europe’s true calling is to proclaim among nations that God has

chosen to reign from a cross.’ His words remain a powerful appeal in today's Europe.

Introductionchurches & europe


What is Europe? Myths & realities

from the origins

All the continents are conceptualconstructs, but only Europe was notfirst perceived and then named byoutsiders. Europa was the namealready given to the region by theAncient Greeks.

Among the continents, Europe is ananomaly. Larger only than Australia,it is a small appendage of the greatlandmass that it shares with an Asiamore than four times its size. Yet thepeninsular and insular westernextremity of Eurasia, thrusting towardthe North Atlantic Ocean, provides—thanks to its latitude and its physicalgeography—a relatively congenialhuman habitat, and the long processesof human history came to mark offthe region as the home of a distinctivecivilization. In spite of its internaldiversity, Europe has thus functioned,from the time it first emerged in

The myth of Europa

According to mythology, Europe was

named after Europa, daughter of

Agenor, king of Phoenicia. One day,

while she was tending her father’s

flock near Tyre, a splendid, milk-

white bull appeared before her. The

beautiful Europa decked its horns

with flowers and, as she stroked it,

mounted its broad back. The bull

stood up and plunged with her into

the sea, then swam to the island of

Crete. The bull, who was none other

than Zeus himself, vanished and re-

appeared to Europa in his godlike

form. From their union was born

Minos, the civilizing king of Crete.

human consciousness, as a worldapart, concentrating—to borrow aphrase from Christopher Marlowe—‘infinite riches in a little room’.

The geographical divide known as theStrait of Bosphorus separates Europefrom Asia and divides Turkey. Turkeytoday is Muslim, but it also haswithin its borders the origins ofancient Greek and Byzantine cultureand it is a spiritual centre of theEastern Orthodox tradition ofChristianity.

Today, there are 52 recognized statesin Europe. Together with Turkey andRussia, Europe had in 1995 a totalpopulation of 791 million. Withoutthe Asian parts of Russia and Turkey,it has about 100 million less, that is tosay 690 million. Europe todaysustains only 13% of the worldpopulation.

This section makes use of extracts fromZetterberg’s lecture of 1996 (see Sourcesand Resources section)

ARMENIA

GEORGIA


It is said that European civilizationhas its historical roots in ideas fromAthens about reason, in ideas fromRome about the rule of law, and inideas from Jerusalem about charity.How does European civilization differfrom others? When this question isposed in the Third World, the answeris straightforward and hardlyflattering: ‘colonialism’, ‘racism’, and‘communism’. How does Europeancivilization differ from others? Whenasked this question, an ordinaryEuropean today normally answers:‘welfare,’ ‘technology,’ and‘democracy’. (Zetterberg 1996)

In 2000 the population of Europe wasover 700 million. Europe’s proportionof the world population was 21% inthe year 1800. It rose to 27% in 1900when Europe was at the peak of itspower. In the year 2100, Europe’spopulation will be about 7% of theworld total. Europe is the mosturbanized of all continents (three outof four people live in cities), and ithas very high populationconcentrations, especially in WesternEurope.

As the European population ages, itsbirth rate falls and people live longer.Life expectancy is increasing in theWest, and on average is 74 years inEurope, compared with 75 in NorthAmerica, 69 in South America, 52 inAfrica, and 63 in Asia. During the1990s, the health situation in EasternEurope worsened dramatically,bringing the average life expectancyof males down to 57 years in Russiain 1994.

Successive migrations and invasionshave provided Europe withremarkable linguistic and ethnicdiversity. There are reportedly 225living languages in Europe (3% of allliving languages in the world) ofwhich some 40 are used as main

national languages. Languages fromthe Indo-European family are spokenin most of Europe and in much ofSouth and Southwest Asia. Inaddition, languages from the Finno-Ugric family include Finnish,Hungarian and Estonian. Russian isthe most spoken first language,followed by German. In countriessuch as Belgium, Switzerland andFinland, several languages co-existofficially, whereas in other countriesvarious non-official languages anddialects are common. The Council ofEurope and the European Union (EU)declared the year 2001 ‘EuropeanYear of Languages’, in order tocelebrate Europe’s rich linguisticheritage.

It is estimated that from 1900 to 1995there were 31 million militarydeaths and 43 million civiliandeaths in Europe, either on thebattlefield or war-related. The total of74 million Europeans compares witha world total of 110 million fatalities.These figures refer only to war. Inaddition, civilian deaths in the USSRunder the communist regime mayamount to another 50 million deadbetween 1917 and 1953, notincluding the war losses of 1939-1945.

Of the 400 million people living inCentral and Eastern Europe, aboutone fifth are members of minoritygroups within their own country.There are one hundred cases in theseareas of Europe where a minoritynationality has a population in excessof 100,000 people, or 1% of the statepopulation. The Roma or Gypsycommunities of Central and EasternEurope, believed to total 6 millionpeople, constitute a small but con-spicuous minority in many countries.This is a culturally distinct,traditionally nomadic people, whoseplight is characterized by poverty,

Europesome facts & figures

a continent of paradoxes


low educational standards and socialexclusion.

The Treaty of Maastricht, which tookeffect in 1993, set up the EuropeanUnion (EU), as a successor to theEuropean Economic Community. TheEU consists of 15 member states andseeks strengthened political andeconomic co-operation on a Europeanscale and co-operation in the domainsof justice and internal affairs ofindividual states. EU enlargement inthe coming years may include up toten countries of Central and EasternEurope which could transform thenature of the Union.

The 15 major military spendingcountries of the world accounted for80% of the international defencespending total in 1999. The USAaccounted for 36%, followed byJapan and France with 7% each,Germany and the UK with 5 and 4%,respectively. The next threespenders—China, Italy and Russia—accounted for 3% each of the worldtotal. The US continues topermanently station 100,000 troops inEurope.

In 1999, 27 major armed conflicts in25 countries were reported in theworld. Of these, 11 were in Africa, 9in Asia, 3 in the Middle East, 2 inEurope and 2 in South America.There have been over ten armedconflicts in Europe since 1989,usually of an inter-ethnic andterritorial nature. The most serioushave been in the former Yugoslavia(200,000 victims), the NorthCaucasus (Chechnya andGeorgia/Abkhazia) and more recentlyin the Federal Republic ofYugoslavia/Kosovo, which resulted inthe controversial ‘humanitarianintervention’ of the North AtlanticTreaty Organization (NATO) forces.

European economic growth dependsincreasingly on services rather thanon agriculture or manufacturing. Theservice sector employs more than halfof the working population in WesternEurope. Europe’s economic andmonetary union was fullyoperational as of January 2002forming ‘Euroland’ (population:291m; GDP: 5,552bn Euros;unemployment: 10.9%; exportswithin EU: 950.5bn Euros; exportsworld-wide: 558.3bn Euros).

A series of recessions and economicchanges have created a rise in unem-ployment over the entire continent.Overall, the EU unemploymentaverage is 9.6%, while in EasternEurope, the rate can exceed 20%.

Standards of living vary greatlyacross the continent. An average Finnis 7.1 times wealthier than hisRussian neighbour; an average Swede10.9 times more than the peopleacross the Baltic. A German is 10.4times richer than a Pole, and 7.9times richer than a Czech. AnAustrian is 6.5 times richer than aHungarian, and an Italian is at least50 times richer than an Albanian.

No region in the world has sufferedsuch welfare reversals in the 1990sas have the countries of the formerSoviet Union and of Eastern Europe.There, the number of poor hasincreased by over 150 million (greaterthan the total combined population ofFrance, the United Kingdom, theNetherlands and Scandinavia). Nocountry in former Soviet Central Asiaor the Caucasus has a per capitaincome greater than US$ 3,000 (incomparable PPP terms). On averageprices rose in excess of 500% peryear between 1990-95. Nationalincomes and birth rates have declineddrastically, and income inequality hasincreased, within a context of an un-

precedented health crisis andinflation. The poorest country inEurope is considered to be Moldova,with a GDP of only US$380 in 1998,in comparison with Luxembourg withan average GDP of over US$45,000.The phenomenon of child povertyand street children in Europe is asignificant and growing problem. Onechild out of six—47 millionchildren—in the 29 Organization forEconomic Co-operation andDevelopment (OECD) membercountries lives in poverty. Severechild poverty rates are found in Italy(20.5%), the United Kingdom(19.8%) and Turkey (19.7%). In theNordic countries, low levels of childpoverty reflect the high levels ofinvestment in family policies. InRussia, 46% of all children live inpoverty.

Women continue to be in theminority in all national parliaments,with an average of 13% worldwide in1999. The Nordic countries maintaina lead in the proportion of women inparliaments, averaging 36.4%.Sweden has the highest share ofwomen in the lower or single house:40.4%, according to a recent UNreport. Turkey ranks lowest amongCouncil of Europe countries, with2.36%. Reverse processes occurred inEastern Europe, where the percentageof women in parliament seriouslydeclined with the transformationtowards a market economy and freeparliamentary elections.

Reports on racism in Europe in 1999reveal that racial discrimination andviolence are severe problems with nocountry of the European Union beingimmune from it. In 1999 murder andattempted murder on racial, ethnic,religious or cultural grounds werereported in many countries. Xenopho-bia and anti-minority attitudes alsofostered violence in many Central and

Left: Albanian farmers till the land

Right: Commuters on the London Underground.Standards of living and access to technology inEurope vary greatly

Far Right: School children in London. Ethnicdiversity is a hallmark of many Europeancountries


Eastern European countries especiallyRomania, the Czech Republic and inSerbia—Kosovo, where Serb andRoma minorities are obliged to liveunder armed protection. Paradoxically, Western Europeaneconomies will become increasinglydependent on immigrant skilledworkers to compensate for their agingpopulations and declining work forces.

Some 2.5 million people migrated tothe West from Central and EasternEurope during the first half of the1990s. Between 1990 and 1997,around 2.7 million ethnic Russiansand other Russian speakers returnedto Russia proper from other parts ofthe CIS and the Baltic States. Most ofthe 11 million registered immigrantsliving in the EU live in Germany(over 5 million), France (2.25million), and the United Kingdom(over 1 million). The majority of non-EU nationals in Western Europe comefrom non-EU Mediterranean countriesand the former Yugoslavia.

There were 7.2 million refugees inEurope (including some internallydisplaced persons for which theUnited Nations High Commissionerfor Refugees-UNHCR has beenassigned a protection role) as of 1stJanuary 2000 (Africa: 6.2 million;Asia: 7.3 million; Latin America andCaribbean 90,000; North America: 1.2million; and Oceania: 80,000). Highlevels of population displacement andmigration have occurred especially inthe former USSR. According to theNGO United for Intercultural Action,more than 2,000 refugees andmigrants have died in and aroundEurope since 1993 as a result of EUrefugee policy. These deaths are oftenrelated to border militarisation,detention policies, deportations, andhigh levels of illegal trafficking inresponse to stricter asylum policies in‘Fortress Europe’.

Today, there are over 3 millionofficially registered voluntaryorganizations and 100,000 charitablefoundations in the 41 membercountries of the Council of Europe.Since 1952, 400 or so internationalNGOs have received ‘consultativestatus’ with the Council of Europe,and are concerned with many issuesof civil society in the new Europe,including human rights, North–Southsolidarity and dialogue, equalitybetween women and men, socialrights, the European Social Charter,and employment and social policies.

The ecological balance in Europeremains fragile. In Western, Centraland Eastern Europe, sulphur dioxideemissions were halved between 1985and 1994 but the continent stillproduces approximately one-third ofglobal greenhouse gases. Acid rainand related pollution are at highlevels in Central Europe. However,there has been significant progress,particularly in Western Europe, inimplementing cleaner productionprogrammes and in eco-labelling. Inthe European Union, green taxationand policies that mitigate against theadverse effects of subsidies areimportant priorities.

In Eastern Europe and the USSR,decades of forced industrialisation,intensive agriculture and militarydomination contributed to majorecological disasters. The drying ofthe Aral Sea is creating massivedesertification; the consequences ofatomic testing in Kazakhstan and inthe Kara Sea and the dumping ofnuclear waste in the Barents Sea arestill not fully measured. Theexplosion at the Chernobyl powerstation (Ukraine) in 1986 remains theworld’s worst nuclear accident. Itpolluted 40,000 sq. km, and hasaffected tens of thousands of peoplein Ukraine and Belarus.

A new language for Europe?

‘De Hoge Europantico Instituto für

Gutte Vakanzas, uno rapido curso

organize van Europanto konvesazie in

plurimos leisure argumentos.

Mit esto curso, los europantico

vakanzeros zallen in todo el wereld

habiles esse eine essenziale

konversazie in Europanto te performe

und manige novos encounters te

make.’

An example of ‘Europanto’, a humorous,non-official language invented by ItalianEU translator, Diego Marani.


The Europe that awoke in the daysfollowing the Liberation was in asorry state, torn apart by five years ofwar. States were determined to buildup their shattered economies, recovertheir influence and, above all, ensurethat such a tragedy could neverhappen again. Winston Churchill wasthe first to point to the solution. In hisspeech of 19 September 1946 inZurich, he said what was needed was‘a remedy which, as if by miracle,would transform the whole scene andin a few years make all Europe asfree and happy as Switzerland istoday. We must build a kind of UnitedStates of Europe’. Movements ofvarious persuasions, all of themdedicated to European unity, werespringing up everywhere at the time.

The Council of Europe, thecontinent’s oldest politicalorganization, was founded in 1949 byten European states. It now assembles41 countries, including 17 ex-communist countries, and hasreceived applications from 5 more(Bosnia and Herzegovina, FederalRepublic of Yugoslavia, Monaco,Armenia and Azerbaijan). It has alsogranted observer status to 5 othes (theHoly See, the United States ofAmerica, Canada, Japan and Mexico).

The Council’s objectives include:- defending human rights,parliamentary democracy and the ruleof law;- developing continent-wideagreements to standardize membercountries’ social and legal practices;- promoting awareness of a Europeanidentity based on shared values andacross different cultures.

Since 1989, its main job has become:- to act as a political anchor andhuman rights watchdog for Europe’spost-communist democracies;- to assist the countries of Central andEastern Europe in carrying out andconsolidating political, legal and

constitutional reform in parallel witheconomic reform;- to provide know-how in areas suchas local democracy, education, cultureand the environment.

In October 1997, the Heads of Stateand Government adopted an actionplan to strengthen the Council ofEurope’s work in four areas:democracy and human rights; socialcohesion; the security of citizens anddemocratic values; and culturaldiversity.

The Council of Europe’s main bodiesThe main constituent parts of theCouncil of Europe include: theCommittee of Ministers composed ofthe 41 foreign ministers or theirStrasbourg-based deputies, which isthe Organization’s decision-makingbody. The Parliamentary Assembly,which gathers 582 members (291 rep-resentatives and 291 substitutes) fromthe 41 national parliaments andSpecial Guest delegations from thethree parliaments of Eastern Europeannon-member states. The Congress ofLocal and Regional Authorities,which is composed of a Chamber ofLocal Authorities and a Chamber ofRegions.

Since its creation, the Council ofEurope has adopted 177 legally-binding European treaties orconventions, many of which are opento non-member states, on issuesincluding human rights, the fightagainst organized crime, theprevention of torture, data protectionand cultural co-operation.Of these, the European Conventionon Human Rights is probably themost important. Each membercountry has to sign and ratify it.Citizens of member countries havethe right to appeal to the EuropeanHuman Rights Court if they have norecourse in their national legalsystem.

Above: European co-operation focused oneconomic integration from the outset

Political organizations &institutions in Europe

searching for a ‘common European home’


Left: Since 1986 the flag adopted by theCouncil of Europe has also been used as theEuropean Union flag. It consists of a circle oftwelve gold stars on a blue background (twelvebeing a number that represents perfection andcompleteness)

Right: The emblem of the Council of Europe

Below: The OSCE logo

Many church-related organizationsare registered NGOs at the Council ofEurope, including CEC’s Church andSociety Commission which has anoffice in Strasbourg. This observerstatus allows churches and NGOs toaccess and influence decision-makingprocesses.

The European Union (EU) is theresult of a process of co-operation andintegration which began in 1951among six countries (Belgium,Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourgand the Netherlands). This co-operation began on issues related tosteel and coal, but it also intended toreinforce peace and reconciliationbetween France and Germany.

Nearly fifty years later, after fourwaves of accessions (1973: Denmark,Ireland and the United Kingdom;1981: Greece; 1986: Spain andPortugal; 1995: Austria, Finland andSweden), the EU today has fifteenMember States and is preparing for itsfifth enlargement, this time towardsEastern and Southern Europe.

The EU’s main objectives are: - to promote economic and socialprogress (a single market wasestablished in 1993; a single currencywas established in 2001); - to assert the identity of the EuropeanUnion on the international scene(through European humanitarian aidto non-EU countries, common foreignand security policy, action ininternational crises; and commonpositions within internationalorganizations); - to introduce European citizenship(which does not replace nationalcitizenship but complements it andconfers a number of civil and politicalrights on European citizens);- to develop an area of freedom,security and justice (linked to theoperation of the internal market andmore particularly the freedom ofmovement);

- to maintain and build uponestablished EU law (all legislationadopted by the European institutions,together with the founding treaties).

The European InstitutionsThere are five institutions involved inrunning the European Union: theEuropean Parliament (elected by thepeoples of the Member States), theCouncil (representing thegovernments of the Member States),the Commission (the executive andthe body having the right to initiatelegislation), the Court of Justice(ensuring compliance with the law),the Court of Auditors (responsible forauditing the accounts).

Churches also monitor and seek toinfluence decision-making processesin the European Union. This is donemainly through ecumenical bodiessuch as the CEC Church & SocietyCommission, APRODEV–theAssociation of World Council ofChurches related DevelopmentOrganizations in Europe; theChurches’ Commission for Migrantsin Europe, based in Brussels,Belgium; and a range of individualchurch representation offices.

The Organization for Security andCo-operation for Europe (OSCE)The OSCE was originally founded in1975 in Helsinki as the Conferencefor Security and Co-operation inEurope (CSCE), a multilateral forumfor dialogue and negotiation betweenEast and West.

All European States, the UnitedStates of America and Canada aremembers (Participating States). Todaythe OSCE consists of 55 Participating

States, including all successor statesof the Soviet Union.

The OSCE deals with three sets ofissues ('baskets'): security; economyand ecology; the human dimension(human rights). Commitments arepolitically, though not legally, bindingfor Participating States.

In the Charter of Paris for a NewEurope (1990) the CSCE was calledupon to contribute to managing thehistoric changes in Europe and torespond to the new challenges of thepost-Cold War period. In 1994, theCSCE was re-named Organization forSecurity and Co-operation in Europe(OSCE). It established a number ofpermanent offices: the GeneralSecretariat (Vienna); the Office forDemocratic Institutions and HumanRights (Warsaw); the HighCommissioner for National Minorities(The Hague); the Conflict PreventionCentre (Vienna); a Court ofConciliation and Arbitration; and theParliamentary Assembly(Copenhagen).

The OSCE has focused in recentyears on the Common andComprehensive Security Model,conflict prevention, peace keeping,and mediation. Human rights, the ruleof law and democracy as well aseconomic justice and social securityare seen as preconditions for conflictprevention. Currently, the OSCE isengaged in a number of missions incountries with internal conflicts, inprogrammes which attempt to assistnew democracies and in negotiatingcommon security agreements.Internationally, the churches monitorand lobby the OSCE through theChurches’ Human Rights Programme,a joint programme of the Conferenceof European Churches, the NationalCouncil of Churches of Christ in theUSA and the Canadian Council ofChurches.o s c e


The vast majority of Europeansidentify themselves as Christian, andEurope is a continent marked by thepresence and history of the threegreat Church traditions: RomanCatholicism with its centre at theVatican in Rome; Orthodoxy with itshistorical heart in the capital of theEastern Roman Empire,Constantinople (Istanbul);Reformation Protestantism, deeplyrooted in the countries of Central andNorthern Europe. European societiesstill continue to manifest differencesdirectly related to the greatconfessional fractures and religiouswars: between Eastern and WesternChristianity; and between thecountries of the Reform and thecounter-Reformation.

Religious affiliation is diverse andevolving. Today in Europe there areover 500 million Christians in a totalpopulation of 720 million, about halfof which are members of the RomanCatholic Church. There are around 75million members of various ProtestantReformed churches, and over 100million members of the Orthodoxchurches, mainly in Russia (themajority of Orthodox Christians are inEurope). In addition, there are over 30million European Muslims, eitherrecent immigrants (such as AsianMuslims in the UK and North Africansin France) or, in Eastern Europe,indigenous converts, from the time ofthe Tartar-Mongol incursions intoRussia, or from the Ottoman period(including Bosnian Slavs andAlbanians). Judaism has been anhistorically important component of theEuropean religious reality. Thegenocide by the Nazis (Holocaust)during WW II ended between 5 and 6million lives and virtually extinguishedthe Jewish presence in many parts ofthe continent. With about 2.5 millionadherents, Judaism continues to beinfluential in parts of Western Europe.

Some European countries may stillclaim quasi-homogeneity of religiousconfession: for example, France, Italy,Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Luxembourgand Ireland are predominantlyCatholic; Denmark, Norway andSweden are mainly Lutheran; andGreece and Romania are mostlyOrthodox. By contrast, countries suchas the Russian Federation (56%Orthodox, 23% Muslim), Switzerland(47% Catholic, 40% Protestant) andthe Czech Republic (40% of thepopulation are declared atheists and39% are Catholics) remain religiouslyvery pluralistic.

Religious practice declinedsignificantly almost everywhere inEurope after the Second World War.However, interest in religion remainsa powerful and evolving force inEurope. At the start of the 20thCentury, religious affiliation was oftenrelated to family or national tradition.At the end of the 20th Century,traditional religious institutions co-exist with a growing diversity ofbeliefs, especially in large cities. Thelower public visibility of traditionalinstitutions has been accompanied byan exodus from established churchesto evangelical and charismatic groups,as well as sects and Eastern faithssuch as Buddhism.

In many parts of Europe there aresigns of religious renewal. Oneexample is the widespread revival ofpilgrimage, such as to Compostella(Spain). Other religious gatheringscontinue to attract major publicinterest and participation: the annualGerman church Kirchentag of GermanProtestants; the Taizé ecumenicalcommunity in France and their annualyouth meetings; and the World YouthDays of the Roman Catholic Church.In Romania, the annual pilgrimage toIasi (Eastern Romania) can gather upto a million faithful.

Above: Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Moscow

Churches & religions inEurope

a diversity of traditions and beliefs


Roman Catholicism remains thedominant church in most of Westernand Southern Europe. The contempo-rary Catholic Church has been deeplymarked by the reforming council ofVatican II. Contemporary Catholicismis characterized by a diversity ofpractices, including a widespreadcharismatic revival (from the 1960s),the appearance of immigrant Catholiccommunities in European countries,and the re-emergence of vigorousEastern-rite Greek Catholic (Uniate)churches in parts of Eastern Europeafter years of communist repression.The collapse of communism, for someobservers accelerated by the PolishPope John Paul II, has been followedby a renewed call for evangelisationof the European continent. At theSpecial Assemblies for Europe of theSynod of Bishops in Rome in 1991and again in 1999, the CatholicChurch rejoiced in the new-foundfreedoms, and called for a ‘newevangelization’ of the continent,rooted in spirituality and holiness.

The majority of Orthodox Christianstoday live in European countries, andare organized in various localautocephalous (independent) orautonomous churches. The RussianOrthodox Church, with over 100million members, is clearly the largestnational church in the world. TheArmenian Apostolic Church is theonly Oriental Orthodox Churchlocated in Europe, and in 2001 it

celebrated the 1700th anniversary ofthe adoption of Christianity as thestate religion of Armenia. The 20thCentury was a period ofunprecedented martyrdom for theOrthodox churches. Christians in theBalkans suffered marginalization andwaves of persecution during theOttoman domination into the early1900s. Most Orthodox churchessubsequently experienced the terrorand manipulations of the communistregimes: in the Russian OrthodoxChurch alone over 200,000 membersof the clergy were executed between1917 and 1980. This catastrophe,combined with political or economicmigrations from traditionallyOrthodox countries such as Cyprus,led to the establishment of importantdiaspora communities in mostcountries of Western Europe. Facedwith the pressures of rapidly evolvingand pluralistic societies, many parts ofthe Orthodox constituency (as in otherchurches in Eastern Europe) aretempted by forms of doctrinal defen-siveness, anti-ecumenism andisolationism. However, in recent yearsthe Orthodox Church has shown signsof a significant theological andspiritual renewal, with remarkablereligious revivals in countries such asRussia and Albania.

Protestantism has its roots in Europe,and is characterized by a diversity oftraditions and practices. Protestantismdominates most of Northern Europe,

Christians in Europe: witness and martyrdom in the 20th Century

and Lutheranism is the official religionof several Nordic countries. Protestantchurches may constitute around halfthe populations of Germany and Swit-zerland, and maintain a central socialrole, especially in the health care andother diaconal work. Despite thedecline in regular religious practice inmany parts of Protestant-dominatedEurope, many will still declare theiraffiliation to the traditional churchesand most children are still baptized. AProtestant revival is observable in theformer Soviet countries of Estonia andLatvia, while Baptist churches form anumerically important minority amongchurches in Russia and Ukraine.Traditional churches in these countriesare joined by an array of newmissionary groups and evangelistsfrom abroad. Small but influentialhistorical Protestant communities existthroughout Southern Europe.Pentecostal and Evangelical churchesare experiencing a significant revivalin all parts of Europe. The AnglicanChurch has a unique place in theProtestant world, containing bothAnglo-Catholic and ReformedCalvinist streams. Protestantism hasexperienced a keen theological and layrevival in the 20th century, marked byfigures such as Karl Barth andDietrich Bonhoeffer. It is alsoexpressed in a forceful social andpolitical witness in many contexts.Leading Protestant figures were thedriving force behind the creation ofthe WCC.

The 20th Century was a period of unparalleled persecution and martyrdom for Christians in Europe. It has been estimated thatthere were more Christian martyrs under Stalin than during the great persecutions of the Roman Empire in the first threecenturies of the history of the Church. The Christians of the Balkans and Eastern Europe experienced the terror andmanipulations of the communist regimes. Churches were either forced underground or were completely destroyed, and tens ofthousands of believers were killed or exiled. Leaders of the Confessing Church in Germany paid a heavy price for theircondemnation of Nazism. The Roman Catholic Church commemorated a series of modern confessors of diverse origin duringits Jubilee Year. The Anglican Church has recently added ten statues of 20th-Century martyrs to Westminster Abbey. And at itsCouncil of Bishops in 2000, the Russian Orthodox Church canonized some of its many ‘new martyrs’, victims of communistrepression.

Left: Martin Luther transformed much ofWestern church thinking in Europe

Right: In 1998 statues of those who by theirdeaths testified to the cost of Christian faith inthe 20th Century were set up in WestminsterAbbey (London). Drawn from every continentof the world and from many denominations;and they include such well-know names asMartin Luther King, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, andGrand Duchess Elizabeth of Moscow


The ecumenical movement has itsroots in Europe. FollowingChristianity’s Great Schism (1054),there were many attempts at churchreunion and renewal. Efforts to bringthe Western (Catholic) and Eastern(Orthodox) churches together (e.g. theCouncil of Florence) were laterfollowed by post-Reformationinitiatives to bring the Lutheran,Reformed and Roman Catholicchurches closer. In the 18th and 19thCenturies ecumenical interest wasstimulated by the experiences ofcolonial missions, the formation ofChristian fellowships in many WesternEuropean countries, Bible societies,and the establishment of worldwidefellowships of churches (the Allianceof Reformed Churches first met in1875). The early ecumenicalconferences, and many of thepioneering leaders, were European.Early Christian women’s movements(eg the Anglican Mothers’ Union) and,more recently, the Ecumenical Forumof European Christian Women, havecontributed significantly to thepromotion of church unity in Europe.Youth movements such as the YMCAand YWCA, the World StudentChristian Federation and Syndesmos,the World Fellowship of OrthodoxYouth, were formative influences forgenerations of ecumenical leaders. In1920, the Orthodox EcumenicalPatriarchate, with jurisdictionthroughout much of South-EastEurope, became the first church toappeal publicly for a permanent organof fellowship and co-operation of ‘allthe churches’. Calling for the same inthe 1920s were Archbishop Söderblom(Sweden) and J. Oldham (UK).

The World Council of Churches(WCC) was formally constituted atits first Assembly in Amsterdam(1948). 147 churches from 44 countries(many from Europe) were representedat the inaugural gathering. The post-war divisions in Europe mean thatEastern European, and especiallyOrthodox, membership in the WCC

was delayed (many joined only in1961) and was strictly controlled bythe communist authorities. Althoughthe membership and agenda of theWCC shifted to the South insubsequent years, the WCC wasclosely involved in the formation ofthe Conference of European Churches(CEC) (providing part-time staff at thestart) and it continues to enjoy closeco-operation.

Following the political changes thattook place in 1989, the WCC renewedits relational and programmaticcommitments in the region, especiallywith churches in Central and EasternEurope. The focus has been to enablethe churches to respond to thetremendous challenges they face, andspecial efforts were made by the WCCin the fields of social diakonia (seedefinition on p.20), humanitarianassistance (through ACT International)and religious education. A WCCEastern Europe Office was establishedin 1994, and in 2000 the WCClaunched the South-East Europe Ecu-menical Partnership as the latest in itsefforts to promote peace andreconciliation in the conflict-riddenregion.

The role of the WCC in Europe has notbeen seen without criticism. Manyaccuse the WCC and other ecumenicalorganizations of relativizing humanrights abuses and of ignoring the plightof political and Christian dissidents inCentral and Eastern Europe during theCold War. The present WCC GeneralSecretary has called for a ‘criticalassessment’ of the role of ecumenicalorganizations in this period.

The movement for church unity hasenjoyed some notable successes inEurope in recent decades. Churchunions and agreements haveproliferated at the national and regionallevels, for example the LeuenbergAgreement (1973) between Lutheranand Reformed Churches in Europealong with the Union Churches which

The ecumenical movement& organizations in Europe

‘and so set up signs’

Above: Logo of the Conference of EuropeanChurches, the largest ecumenical organizationin Europe


Some of the numerous ecumenicalorganizations in Europe include:

APRODEV - Association of WCC-RelatedDevelopment Organizations in Europe

Church and Peace

Church Missionary Society

Churches' Committee for Migrants in Europe

Ecumenical Association of Academies andLaity Centres in Europe

Ecumenical Forum of European ChristianWomen

Ecumenical Youth Council in Europe

Europäischer Verband für Diakonie

European Forum of Christian Men

European Christian Environmental Network

European Conference of Deacons

European Contact Group on UrbanIndustrial Mission

European University Chaplains Association

Evangelische Arbeitsgemeinschaft fürErwachsenenbildung in Europa

Fédération Internationale de l'Action desChrétiens Pour l'Abolition de la Torture

International Prison Chaplains Association(Europe Section)

Kairos Europe

Konferenz der Europäischen Pfarrvereine

Leuenberg Church Fellowship

Society for Ecumenical Studies and Inter-Orthodox Relations

Work & Economy Network in the EuropeanChurches

World Student Christian Federation (Europeregion)

grew out of them, and the related pre-Reformation Waldensian Church andthe Church of the Czech Brethren‘affirmed together the common under-standing of the Gospel which enablesthem to declare and to realize churchfellowship’.

The Conference of EuropeanChurches (CEC) is the regionalecumenical body which links in fel-lowship some 125 churches and 25associated organizations in allcountries of the European continent.Together in CEC, Anglicans, Baptists,Methodists, Orthodox, Reformed, OldCatholics and Pentecostals arecommitted to live and witness in aspirit of ecumenism, sharing,understanding and mutual respect.Churches strive to promote the unity ofthe Church and to present a commonChristian witness to the people ofEurope.

The project of bringing the churches ofEurope into conversation with eachother developed from the deepdivisions and acute tensions in Europeafter the second world war. Establishedin 1959 in the era of the Cold War theCEC emerged into a fragmentedcontinent. As such, the churches inEurope felt one priority of their workto be ‘building bridges’. CECconsistently tried to do this over theyears, insisting that no Iron Curtainexisted among the churches. CEC hasalso tried to build bridges betweenminority and majority churches,between the generations, betweenwomen and men, and betweenChristians of different confessions.

While the Roman Catholic Church isnot a member of CEC, it sustains closerelationships. A number of ecumenicalencounters have taken place in Europejointly arranged by CEC and theCouncil of European Bishops'Conferences (CCEE). The most signifi-cant of these events were the EuropeanEcumenical Assemblies; 'Peace withJustice' (Basel, Switzerland, 1989), and

'Reconciliation, Gift of God andSource of New Life' (Graz, Austria,1997).

CEC considers and acts on manyconcerns in contemporary Europe.Chief among these is ecumenism inEurope. With the opening up of thecontinent's political barriers after 1989,the issue of common mission has beenadded to ecclesiology for study andaction.

In order to satisfy better the demandsof the continent on issues of churchand society, and in order to reflect thechanging situation with regard to theEuropean institutions, CEC and theEuropean Ecumenical Commission forChurch and Society (EECCS)integrated in 1999. The then newly-established Commission for Churchand Society with offices in Brussels,Strasbourg and Geneva representsCEC's member churches at theEuropean institutions, the Council ofEurope, the OSCE and the UN. Amongits current priorities are: the legislationof the European Union; bioethics;security issues; economic,environmental and social concerns;human rights and religious freedom;European integration; North-Southrelations.

Other contemporary concerns includecommunication and information, therole of women in society (especiallyviolence to and trafficking in women),and youth involvement in theecumenical movement. Together withCCEE, CEC reflects on the relation-ships with Islam in Europe. CECclosely co-operates with the Churches’Committee for Migrants in Europe onmigration, refugees, racism,xenophobia, and the Roma.

Following the Second EuropeanEcumenical Assembly (Graz 1997)CEC and CCEE are in the process ofdrafting a Charta Oecumenica, a set ofguidelines which seek to improverelationships among the churches ofEurope.

Right: the founding Assembly of the WCC,Amsterdam, 1948


A divided continentDuring the last days and immediatelyafter WW II, Churchill, Rooseveltthen Truman, and Stalin negotiated anew European order at conferences inTeheran, Yalta and Potsdam. Europewas divided, in effect, into twospheres of influence; the Berlin wallbecoming the main symbol ofdivision. Until the fall of communismin Eastern European in 1989-90,European politics were determined byan East-West confrontation and the‘Cold War’. The term ‘Cold War’denotes the ideological, political andeconomic struggles for powerbetween the two super-powers, theSoviet Union and the United States,each being the centre of a group ofallies.

The Cold WarWithin the Cold War era severalperiods can be distinguished in whichdifferent policies were applied. AfterWW II and until the late 1960s, thesuper-powers used ideological,political and economic means toestablish their spheres of influence.The 1970s saw a certain easing oftensions due to a détente policy andthe emergence of the concept of‘peaceful co-existence’. The 1980swere characterized by renewedtensions, the arms race and a re-enforced policy of deterrence.

Western European peace movementsorganized demonstrations in variouscapitals. Towards the end of thedecade, the Soviet leader MikhailGorbachev introduced his policies of‘glasnost’ and ‘perestroika’, andadvocated substantial arms reductions.

Absence of war, but no peaceThroughout the Cold War the UnitedStates and the Soviet Union avoideddirect military confrontation inEurope. They engaged in actualcombat only to keep allies fromdefecting to the ‘other side’ or tooverthrow them after they had doneso. Thus the Soviet Union sent troopsto preserve communist rule in EastGermany (1953), Hungary (1956),Czechoslovakia (1968), andAfghanistan (1979). For its part, theUnited States fought communistleaderships in Latin America, theCarribean and in South East Asia.

Effects on other world regions‘The Cold War was, for the most part,cold only in Europe and NorthAmerica. In many parts of thedeveloping world it was in fact veryhot [...] The Cold War meant thatweapons, the loans needed to financethe purchase of weapons, andideologies came from the North; theSouth contributed its environments,peoples, and national economies.’(Lederach, Building Peace).

The Cold War in Europe: some key dates

1943 Teheran Conference1945 Conferences of Yalta and PotsdamSovietisation of Satellite States1947 Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan1948/49 Berlin Blockade1949 Foundation of the Warsaw Pact and ofNATOFoundation of the two German States1955 Establishment of the Comecon1961 The Berlin Wall is erected1962 Cuban Crisis 1970 Treaty between West-Germany and theSoviet Union and Poland1969 Start of the SALT I negotiations1973 Treaty between the two German States1975 Helsinki Final Act1975-80 MBFR talks reach no agreement1980 US Congress blocks the ratification ofSALT II 1982 START talks reach no agreement1983 Positioning of Pershing II/CruiseMissiles as part of the NATO ‘twin-track’policy1985 Gorbachev elected General Secretary ofthe Communist Party 1988 Congress of the Communist Party of the USSR adopts Gorbachev’sreform1989/90 ‘Non-violent revolutions’ in EasternEurope and collapse of Communist regimes1990 German Unification1990 Paris Charter for a New Europe

Above: Churchill, Truman and Stalin negotiatethe administration of defeated Germany(Potsdam, July/August 1945)

Below: Europe in 1946 divided by the ‘IronCurtain’

Churches, conflict, peace &reconciliation in Europe

the churches and the cold war


The Stuttgart Declaration (1945)

‘With great pain do we say: through

us has endless suffering been

brought to many peoples and

countries. What we have often borne

witness to before our congregations

that we declare in the name of the

whole church.

True, we have struggled for many

years in the name of Jesus Christ

against the spirit which has found its

terrible expression in the National

Socialist régime of violence, but we

accuse ourselves for not witnessing

more courageously, for not praying

more faithfully, for not believing

more joyously and for not loving

more ardently. Now a new beginning

is to be made in our churches.’

The above extract comes from the

Stuttgart Declaration of the German

Protestant Churches (19 October

1945), a highly significant step

towards the re-integration of Germans

into the ecumenical movement.

Similar declarations were also made

by others: in Hungary deploring the

political errors of the church; and the

‘Darmstädter Wort’ of the leaders of

the Confessing Church in Germany

(1947). In 1948, anonymous voices in

Czechoslovakia blamed their

government for the expulsion of

Germans in 1945.

Churches and repentanceAfter 1945, Protestant church leadersin Germany confessed that Christianshad been implicated in the crimescommitted by the National Socialistgovernment before and during the war.

The Stuttgart Declaration (19October 1945) was a significant steptowards the re-integration of Germansinto the ecumenical communion. Similar declarations were made inHungary deploring the political errorsof the church, and the ‘DarmstädterWort’ of the leaders of the ConfessingChurch in Germany (1947). In 1948,anonymous voices in Czechoslovakiablamed the political impotence of thegovernment on the moral and spiritualweakness that had already beenmanifested in the expulsion ofGermans in 1945.

The devastating effects of WW II andthe East-West confrontation were verymuch at the heart of the foundingAssembly of the World Council ofChurches in Amsterdam (1948). Stillunder the shadow of the recent war,the Assembly rejected (though notunanimously) war as ‘contrary to thewill of God’. In response to capitalismon the one side and to communism onthe other, the Assembly adopted theconcept of the ‘responsible society’,which was not to be seen as an‘alternative social or political system’,but as ‘a criterion by which we judgeall existing social orders’ (WCC IIAssembly, Evanston).

Though there were different opinionsamong the churches, ranging fromChristian pacifism to those whobelieve that in certain circumstancesmilitary intervention was justifiable,the churches through the Commissionon International Affairs alwayssupported the disarmament efforts ofthe UN and raised their voices wherepeace was at stake. Of special concernwas the threat and proliferation of

nuclear weapons. It was not,however, until the VancouverAssembly in 1983 that the churchesagreed on an all-out rejection byaffirming that: ‘the production and de-velopment of nuclear weapons as wellas their use constitutes a crime againsthumanity.’

From its early days, the WCC hadalways underlined the connectionbetween the use of violence and theroot causes of conflict. As more andmore churches from the southernhemisphere joined the council, theissues of violence and deterrence,formerly discussed in the frameworkof East-West confrontation, was nowalso raised in the context of thestruggle for justice on a global scaleand the North-South dimensionbecame an emphasis on the WCCagenda.

The foundation in 1975 of theConference for Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE)provided a new platform to addressEast-West issues, especially related tohuman rights and to security. TheWorld Council of Churches as well asthe Conference of European Churcheshad supported the establishment of theCSCE from the very beginning.Following the Nairobi Assembly in1975, the WCC asked the Conferenceof European Churches, the NationalCouncil of Churches of Christ in theUSA and the Canadian Council ofChurches to take the lead inmonitoring and lobbying the CSCE onbehalf of the churches. This gave birthto the formation of the Churches’Human Rights Programme (CHRP),which still exists today.

The ecumenical organizations wereoften attacked for failing to engageduring the Cold War in protectinghuman rights in communistcountries. John C. Bennett writes inan article for the Ecumenical

Right: The Berlin Wall, symbol of Europe’sdivisions


Dictionary: ‘Official criticism ofcommunism was indeed muted - in theinterest of preserving freedom forChristians in communist countries andof ensuring their continued ecumenicalparticipation.’ Since files have nowbecome available from someintelligence service archives, the issuehas met with renewed interest and newresearch projects have been launched.

At the time of the WCC VancouverAssembly (1983), the East-Westconfrontation and the policy ofdeterrence had reached a new climax.The delegates of the GDR who cameto the Assembly asked that a councilfor peace be convened. Linking thestruggle for peace with the struggle forjustice and the new awareness ofenvironmental threats, the Assemblylaunched a ‘conciliar process of mutualcommitment (covenant) for justice,peace and the integrity of creation’. InEurope, this process was particularlytaken up by churches in German-speaking countries. Nationalassemblies and preparations for theEuropean Ecumenical Assembly inBasel (May 1989) and the WCC WorldConvocation in Seoul (1990) coincidedwith the ‘non-violent’ people’srevolutions in Eastern Europe, whichfinally led to the fall of communism.

1989: Hopes for a New EuropeIn 1989, people all over Europerejoiced at the radical changes that hadoccurred on the continent. As theSecond European EcumenicalAssembly worded it some eight yearslater: ‘We rejoice in the gift offreedom and mobility; we welcome thenew possibilities we have to get tounderstand one another, to serve oneanother, and to live together. Duringthese days, we are full of joy above allbecause, as the people of God, wetread the pilgrim path in our yearningfor unity.’

Soon after the revolutionary changes in

Central and Eastern Europe, the headsof states and governments of Europesigned the Charter of Paris for a NewEurope (1990). It is this Charter thatsymbolised the end of the Cold Warand the beginning of a new era. In thisCharter, political leaders paint apicture of a new Europe and committhemselves to the implementation ofhuman rights, democracy and the ruleof law. In the words of the Charter:

‘We, the Heads of State orGovernment of the States participatingin the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe, have assembledin Paris at a time of profound changeand historic expectations. The era ofconfrontation and division of Europehas ended. We declare that henceforthour relations will be founded onrespect and co-operation. Europe isliberating itself from the legacy of thepast. The courage of men and women,the strength of the will of the peoplesand the power of the ideas of theHelsinki Final Act have opened a newera of democracy, peace and unity inEurope. Ours is a time for fulfillingthe hopes and expectations our peopleshave cherished for decades: steadfastcommitment to democracy based onhuman rights and fundamentalfreedoms; prosperity througheconomic liberty and social justice;and equal security for all our countries[...] We undertake to build, consolidateand strengthen democracy as the onlysystem of government of our nations[...] Democratic government is basedon the will of the people, expressedregularly through free and fairelections. Democracy has as itsfoundation respect for the humanperson and the rule of law. Democracyis the best safeguard of freedom ofexpression, tolerance of all groups ofsociety, and equality of opportunity foreach person.’

Only a few months before the dramaticdevelopments in Europe, the churches

had expressed their vision of Europe inthe final document of the EuropeanEcumenical Assembly in Basel:

‘Recently, the thinking about Europe’sfuture has been stimulated by theimage of a common European house[...] In a common house there arecommon responsibilities. It is notacceptable that some of its parts are indeterioration, while others shine inluxury. In a common house, life isguided by the spirit of co-operation,not confrontation. It is also importantthat the vision of a common Europeanhouse implies criticism of all walls,barriers and ditches which makecommunication impossible. The imageexpresses that we must learn to livewith many people on a smallcontinent. There is limited space;resources are scarce. Some basic‘house rules’ are needed to make thispossible. Such rules would include:- the principle of equality of all wholive there, whether strong or weak;- the recognition of such values asfreedom, justice, tolerance, solidarity,participation;- a positive attitude towards adherentsof different religions, cultures andworld views;- open doors, open windows: in otherwords: many personal contacts;exchange of ideas; dialogue instead ofresolving conflicts through violence.The European house should be an‘open house’, a place of refuge andprotection, a place of welcome, a placeof hospitality where guests are not dis-criminated against but treated asmembers of the family. In this housenobody should fear to speak the truth.Within the European house, those wholive there should work against theinequalities of rich and poor withinEurope, against the division of Northand South within Europe, ofdiscriminatory treatment of non-citizens, of the injustice of mass unem-ployment, of the neglect of youth andthe abandonment of the elderly. The

Left: Soviet infantry charge in WW II. Warshave killed an estimated 74 million people inEurope during the 20th Century


‘The Cold War was over. The WarsawPact ceased to exist. New statesemerged. The euphoria of the firstperiod of reforms in many post-totalitarian states has proved to beunjustified. The material condition ofthe majority of the population hasdeteriorated considerably, while hopehas given way to hopelessness andeven despair. Bloody inter-ethnic,interstate and civil conflicts haveflared up. They have led to the loss ofmany lives among both combatantsand peaceful civilians, provoked massmigration and produced a large flowof refugees. Major factors in the waypeople's quality of life has fallen havebeen growing unemployment and anunprecedented spread of crime and ofall manifestations of immorality [...]It would seem that with the end of theCold War and the ideological andpolitical divisions of our continent, itshould have become a fellowship ofprosperous nations and states.Reality, however, has proved other-wise. In place of the old, newdivisions and new problems haveemerged. While integration inWestern Europe continues, EasternEurope is disintegrating. Theeconomic gap between countries inthe East and West of our continent isdeveloping and deepening. There is areal threat that the old 'iron curtain'will be replaced by a new 'silvercurtain' drawing a dividing line notonly between states, but also withinstates.’

Patriarch Alexis II of Moscow and All Russia, addresses theSecond European EcumenicalAssembly, Graz 1997 (extracts).

Right: New divisions in Europe. The ‘GreenLine’ which divides the Greek and Turkish-controlled zones in Cyprus. With the fall of theBerlin Wall, Cyprus remains the only dividedEuropean country

“daily bread” should be fairly sharedamong all persons.’

New tensionsHowever, as Patriarch Alexis II ofMoscow and All Russia indicated atthe Second European EcumenicalAssembly in Graz (see sidebar), not allof the hopes of 1989-90 materialized.A few facts demonstrate unreconciledrealities in Europe:- while the processes of integrationhave continued in Western Europe,Eastern Europe has often experienceddisintegration;- after 1989, war and armed conflictsurfaced again in Europe;- most armed conflicts are nowinternal rather than inter-state wars;- religion has increasingly become anelement of conflict; - ethnic tension is increasing;- racism and xenophobia arespreading;- trafficking in women from East toWest has become a major issue; - unemployment has increased;- the recent Human DevelopmentReport (published by UNDP) indicatesthat human development has decreasedin Central and Eastern Europe,although the transition process towardsmarket economies is well under way;- the gap between rich and poor inWestern societies is widening;- many have lost their trust ininstitutions and politics;- floods, the frequency of avalanchesand the poisoning of rivers by minecompanies are only some of theindicators of an endangeredenvironment;- many speak of an ecumenical crisisin Europe.

On the basis of these developments theConference of European Churchestogether with its Roman-Catholiccounterpart, the Council of EuropeanBishops Conferences, called for aSecond European EcumenicalAssembly in 1997 with the title:

‘Reconciliation - Gift of God andSource of New Life’. About 12,000participants came from all over Europeto the Austrian city of Graz in order toshare experiences, hopes and concreteexamples of reconciliation. TheChurch delegates adoptedrecommendations for the continuingprocess of reconciliation in Europeand the churches’ role in it.

As a follow-up to the 1997Ecumenical Assembly, the churches inEurope are now engaged in drafting aCharta Oecumenica. Its objective isto establish guidelines for good rela-tionships and common witness. AEuropean Christian EnvironmentalNetwork was founded, and aChurches’ Reconciliation Commission,which is meant to mediate in situationsof conflict, especially with a religiousdimension, is under consideration.

Over the years, churches, church-related agencies and individualChristians made significantcontributions to reconciliation, as inthe following diverse examples:- In 1995 the Church of the CzechBrethren adopted a declarationexpressing guilt concerning theexpulsion of Germans fromCzechoslovakia after WW II.- The Roman Catholic Churchapologized for the sentence of deathimposed by the Council of Constanceon the Czech Reformer Jan Hus.- The member churches of the PolishEcumenical Council, the EKD, and thechurches in Ukraine and Belarus areengaged in a long-term process ofdialogue and reconciliation, addressinghistorical as well as contemporarydivisions.- Christians, Jews and Muslims haveformed an Inter-religious Council inBosnia-Herzegovina in order to restorerelations and jointly to propose draftsfor new religious legislation.


Mission has always been afundamental characteristic of the lifeand work of the churches in Europe. StPaul, other Apostles and later theirfollowers evangelized Europe fromSouth to North. It was from the MiddleEast and Europe that Christianityspread throughout the world. It is alsofrom Europe that deep denominationaldivisions have been exported.

Most Western church historiansconsider the 19th Century to be the‘great century’ of Protestant andCatholic missions. In world history thisperiod is also pre-eminently theEuropean century, for, during it,Europe was able to impose much of itsinterest, ideas and power on a largeportion of the inhabited world. Theeconomic and imperial supremacy ofEurope was joined by an unexpectedChristian pietistic revival, whichaffected almost every denominationand church in every Western country.Before the 19th Century, the USA haditself been a mission field rather than aprovider of overseas missionaries. Itlater evolved to become one of world’sgreat Christian powers.

The revival among Protestants led to aproliferation of home and foreignmissionary societies before 1914. Themotivation behind and understandingof mission for the members andsupporters of these societies werehighly diverse. Overseas missionarywork of the European RomanCatholics was undertaken by religiouscommunities and ordained leaders. Asin other Western churches, Catholicmissionary societies experienced arevival in the mid-19th Century. Morerecently, the Pope and other Catholicleaders have called for a ‘re-evangelization’ of the Europeancontinent. The ‘great captivity’ of theOrthodox churches under the Islamicrule of the Ottoman Empire meant thatmodern missionary initiatives werelargely confined to the RussianOrthodox Church, especially among

the native peoples of Siberia andAlaska. In the 20th Century a revivalof missionary theology and outreachhas been led by the Greek churches.

After 1900, mission truly became anecumenical priority and the centurybegan with two far-reaching events.The first was a meeting of the SouthIndia missionary conference in Madras(1900). The second was an ecumenicalmissionary conference in New York(1900). Both events heralded a newmissionary consciousness whichrecognized mission as essential to thelife of the church. They called forchurches to act together inevangelization. There were alsoappeals for an international body to co-ordinate and promote mission to theworld. The vision began to findconcrete expression at the EdinburghWorld Missionary Conference(1910), one of the foundational eventsof the modern ecumenical movement.It was followed by the creation of theInternational Review of Missions(1912) and the InternationalMissionary Council (IMC)(1921).

Missionary leaders played major rolesin the establishment of the WCC in1948. In 1961 the IMC was re-namedthe Division on World Mission andEvangelism, thereby affirming thecentral importance for the churches ‘tomanifest in and to the world thefellowship and unity which is inChrist’ (WCC Central Committee1964). Thereafter, the WCC, and laterits sister organization the Conferenceof European Churches (CEC), havedevoted utmost attention to reflectionand action on critical mission issues.From the 1950s to the 1990s, study anddialogue on ‘common witness andproselytism’ were dealt with in theWCC and in the Joint Working Groupwith the Roman Catholic Church on aninter-continental level. This hadparticularly important implications fora common understanding of mission inEurope.

‘Mission is at the very heart of thechurch. If there is no mission, there is nochurch.’

Living the Story of Christ–Mission inEurope Today, 26-31 October 1999,Amersfoort, Netherlands

‘In order to fulfil their task credibly, theChurches should not develop theirmission in competition with one another,but rather in co-operation, as a commonwitness for the world.’

Towards Reconciliation in a CommonMission in Secularized Europe: SomeGuidelines, CEC

Above: Eucharist during the annual Kirchentagof the German churches, 1997

Churches & mission in Europe

witness and evangelization


Landmark international ecumenicalconferences and study processes onmission and evangelism in Europeinclude:

1954: Willingen, InternationalMissionary Council; the conferencepublicized the idea to refer missionback to God’s Mission, the missio Deiconcept.1960s: the WCC study on the‘Missionary Structure of theCongregation’ had a significant impacton Western Europe.1974: Lausanne; prepared by the BillyGraham Association, gave birth to theLausanne Committee for WorldEvangelization and the Lausannemovement.1980s: CEC’s study process on‘Mission of the Churches in aSecularized Europe’ (cf. Linn,Gerhard: Hear what the Spirit says tothe churches. Towards missionarycongregations in Europe, WCC 1994).1986: IX CEC Assembly, Stirling,Scotland (identified mission in asecularized Europe as a priority).1997: Second European EcumenicalAssembly in Graz, (CEC and CCEE).1999: Amersfoort (co-organized bythe Dutch Mission Council on behalfof the European mission councils,CEC, European Evangelical Allianceand the CWM European region).

In contemporary Christian churchesand the ecumenical movement ingeneral, mission is once more on theagenda. The new freedom of churches

in Central and Eastern Europe offersnew possibilities and significantchallenges to local churches as well asto foreign missionaries. Networks onUrban and Industrial Mission in theProtestant and Catholic Churches, orthe annual informal meeting ofEuropean mission councils concernedwith European mission co-operationwith other continents, are othermanifestations of renewed interest andapproaches to mission. Other newdevelopments influencing missionthinking include relations between thehistoric churches and ethnic immigrantcommunities. Europe is also a priorityof the evangelical movement. TheEurope Lausanne Committee, andother groups, have all madeevangelism in Europe their priority.

CEC, in addition to working with tradi-tional partners, has engaged in activedialogue with other actors and hasorganized consultations with churchleaders, academics and missiologists(including Baptist and Pentecostalchurch representatives), and a CECmission consultancy is being estab-lished. More recent mission docu-ments, written from various perspec-tives, still struggle with the same ques-tion: what does mission mean in a sec-ularized, post-modern and pluralistEurope? The vital question withrespect to mission in Europe today ishow can the churches carry out a com-mon mission? A positive sign for CECis the ‘rapprochement’ of churches inmore than one European country and

the contribution made by multi-lateraland bi-lateral dialogues between thechurches.

Many of these new situations andconcerns were summarized during aCEC consultation on the theme ‘Givingan Account of Hope - the CommonCalling of the European Churches toMission’ (March 2000, Germany).The consultation made the followingrecommendations to CEC and tochurches in Europe:-to give mission a higher priority intheir work, in co-operation withnational mission councils, missionagencies and missionary societies;- to move forward towards a commonmission. Every church already hassome institutions, initiatives andresources which will be helpful indoing this. These must be made widelyknown and accessible through anetwork;- to make missionary studies a part oftheological training, and to develop ajoint missionary programme among thevarious confessional faculties andinstitutions;- that effective mission be always donein relation to a context. That meansthat missionary work should takeseriously the cultural, political andeconomic situation of Europe today asthe context;- that there be mutual respect andmutual esteem among churches andreligious communities, which is also apart of mission.

Mission or proselytism? New ecumenical challenges

Traditionally, proselytism meant the coerced conversion of a person to another faith. Ecumenically, the term has acquired anegative connotation: the perversion of witness through improper persuasion or force. Proselytism became a critical inter-church problem through Western missionary work conducted in countries where other Christians were already present, and withthe formation of Greek Catholic (Uniate) churches among historically Orthodox populations. The debate has become moreacute with the renewed freedoms of churches in Central and Eastern Europe, with competing church claims and with the influxof foreign missionaries to the ‘canonical territories’ or traditional homes of other churches. If wide ecumenical consensuscondemning proselytism has in principle been achieved, the distinctions between mission and proselytism have not alwaysbeen easy in practice, and not all groups have upheld international agreements.

Right: an Orthodox baptism in Russia.Church baptisms are declining in manyWestern European countries, wheareas thereare signs of a religious revival in EasternEurope


Diakonia, the ‘responsible service ofthe gospel by deeds and by wordsperformed by Christians in responseto the needs of people’, is rooted inand modelled on Christ’s service andteachings. Old Testament law providesa variety of ways to alleviate thesuffering of the poor. In certainperiods of Christian history, Christiancare and solidarity have beenexemplary and pioneering. In morerecent centuries, religious orders (inthe Catholic Church), brotherhoodsand sisterhoods (in the OrthodoxChurch) and renewed forms of thediaconate (Protestant churches) havecontributed to a specialization and toan institutionalization of socialdiakonia. Secular ‘humanitarian’movements and professional workersalso emerged during the 19th Century.

The involvement of the ecumenicalmovement, and especially of the WCCand CEC, has been central in thereflection and formulation of arenewed theology and practice ofChristian solidarity. The second worldwar and its aftermath providedunprecedented challenges tophilanthropic agencies and relieforganizations in Europe. WCCconsultations, such as that inSwanwick (UK, 1966) added to theprevailing concept of social relief andservice the idea of social advancementand action. Service to refugeesdeveloped into inter-church aid. TheWCC first began to help co-ordinateand subsequently to channelassistance from a range of Europeanand other Christian organizations tothose in need.

In Western Europe during the 1960s tothe 1980s various governmentsassumed more responsibility for socialsecurity, and some churches had leftdiakonia in the hands of the socialservices and welfare and saw theirrole as mainly one of ‘plugging thegaps’. Christian socialism found itselfin dialogue (or locked into combat)with many other forms of socialism.

Some churches established ‘boards ofsocial responsibility’ which tried toinfluence government policy andthereby engage in prophetic diakonia.In Eastern Europe, where churcheswere forcefully prevented from havingany social or political role, and also inWestern Europe, Christians werereflecting seriously about the newroles and challenges facing churchesunder the communist and capitalistsystems.

Urban/industrial missionAfter 1945, Western Europeanchurches, while realizing the need toaccompany working life inindustrialized societies, had noinstrument to do so. They saw thebenefit of building up networks and ofcollaborating with self-organizedgroups. More recently,urban/industrial mission has had totackle the consequences ofderegulated work, increased poverty,women’s employment (especially‘homework’), trafficking in womenand children, uprootedness, long-termunemployment (e.g. closure of coaland steel industries), and competitiveglobalization models. An increasingnumber of churches have opened foodkitchens to assist marginalized andexcluded people in countries wheresuch a need had disappeared decadesago. Immigration also poses newchallenges to urban mission. There arenew experiences with people of otherfaiths in joint urban/rural mission incombatting the upsurge of nationalismand racism. At the institutional level,European churches have initiatedstudies on the relationship betweenthe churches and the economy.Diakonia is required to respond to theneed for a renewal of values in society. Europe cannot work in isolation from other regions.

In the 1980s, WCC’s CICARWS(Commission on Inter-Church Aid,Refugees and World Service) sawEurope as a new mission field in needof spiritual help from the Third World.

Above: Refugees from Kosovo in Albaniaduring 1999 conflict

Churches, diakonia &solidarity in Europe

Christian response to poverty and exclusion


It sponsored a number of ecumenicalconsultations, in particular the worldconsultation, Diakonia 2000: Calledto be neighbours, in Larnaca in 1986,when churches recognized the needfor a more comprehensive, holisticand liberating diakonia aimed attransformation on all levels, andtaking into account other, sometimesless obvious, forms of aid than thepurely material kind.

Today, individual churches varygreatly in their expression of diakonia.In some countries like Germany,church tax supports extensiveindependent Protestant and Catholicdiaconal institutions, and in manycountries of Northern Europe thechurches have significant aid agenciesresponsible for international relief anddevelopment programmes. In the UK,there has been a significant growth oflocal church-based community workprojects in recent years. Specializedlobbying instruments such asAPRODEV in Brussels have beenestablished by church agencies toinfluence European Uniondevelopment policy. In 1996, theWCC and the Lutheran WorldFederation founded ACTInternational-Action by ChurchesTogether to facilitate an internationalprofessional co-ordination ofecumenical humanitarian relief.

An extraordinary revival of churchand ecumenical diaconal initiativesdeveloped after 1989 with the changesand new possibilities in EasternEurope. The period of the 1990s wasmarked by health and welfare crises inthe ‘transition economies’ of the ‘NewEurope’. The WCC established anEastern Europe Office in 1994 tofocus on diaconal work in the region.

New challenges in the regionFor the first time after World War II,European churches met in Bratislavafor an ‘All European DiakoniaConsultation’ (October 1994) at theinvitation of CEC, in collaboration

with WCC Unit IV, Eurodiakonia andthe European Federation for Diakonia.Churches made a diagnosis inresponse to changes in Europe,acknowledging that Europe could notbe seen in isolation from othercontinents. The presence of migrantsand refugees from all over the worldin local communities in Europe madevisible the oppression, injustice andwar affecting many countries, andrepresented a major concern fordiakonia. The consultation also notedthat in the new Europe, some doorsfor mobility were opened, whileothers were closing, preventing thefree movement of people and alsosplitting families. The BratislavaDeclaration affirmed that theintention to work with rather than forpeople was central to diakonia aimingfor empowerment and transformation.

In recent years, European churcheshave become increasingly preoccupiedwith the consequences of economicglobalisation. For example, theWCC/Work and Economy NetworkConsultation on Globalization(Malaga, 1998), maderecommendations in response to thenew economic, political and culturalchallenges. It raised sharply the needto value and support active networks,to develop an ecumenical agenda onwork, activity and employment and todevelop ecumenical reflection andaction on the nature of democracy andits implementation.

A second all-European forum onchurch diakonia, took place in 2001,to review the Bratislava Declaration inthe face of growing poverty, economicinsecurity, rising racism, xenophobia,threats posed by transitions to marketeconomy, and the incapacity of statesto respond to supra-national actors.

Churches and the UprootedThe plight of refugees has been on theagenda of the WCC from the outset.During WW II, when the WCC wasstill ‘in the process of creation’,

Jewish and other refugees in Europereceived ecumenical assistance toescape Nazi persecution. Theecumenical refugee programmedeveloped into WCC’s single largestoperation in the area of solidarity. Insubsequent years responsibilities weregradually transferred to local churchesand specialized networks. Theemphasis now shifted to theprotection and assistance of allforcibly ‘uprooted people’—refugees,migrants and internally displacedpeople. The Churches’ Committee onMigrant Workers in Western Europe,launched in 1963, supplied continuousinformation to the churches, andsupported or initiated actions toeliminate problems. It continues todayas the Churches Commission forMigrants in Europe with offices inBrussels. Similarly, the EuropeanChurches’ Working Group on Asylumand Refugees was formed in 1983 as ajoint effort of CICARWS and CEC.Its task was to provide a forum forjoint analyses and actions on behalf ofrefugees and asylum seekers inEurope. Later, it focused on thepossible consequences of the 1995Single European Act, on strategies forincreasing parish involvement withrefugees, and on the changingsituation in Eastern and CentralEurope.

Diakonia and solidarity continue tostand as major preoccupations for thechurches. How does one reconcilelocal participation withprofessionalization? When someChristians speak of diakonia as‘reconciliation and healing’, do theynot run the risk of reducing the otheraspects of the Christian faith? Canchurches do more together to servethose in need? How can local parishoutreach and internationalprofessional and institutional diakoniabe more carefully balanced?

Left: Romanian Orthodox nun assists anelderly man. A tremendous revival in diakoniahas taken place in Eastern Europe in recentyears


Interest in and support for humanrights issues by the ecumenicalmovement is demonstrated in theearly contributions of the Commissionof the Churches on InternationalAffairs (CCIA), which took a majorrole in drafting the article on religiousliberty in the United NationsUniversal Declaration on HumanRights and also actively supportedprovisions in the UN Charter for acommission on human rights. Thechurches’ commitment to humanrights issues took a more definiteshape in the 1960s and 1970s whenlocal churches in Eastern Europeintroduced different insights fromthose of Western Europe. A landmarkconsultation entitled ‘Human Rightsand Christian Responsibility’, whichconvened in St Pölten, Austria in1974, was preceded by regionalmeetings. Until then, human rightsrelated ecumenical documents focusedon the ‘Third World’ with a discoursecentered on liberation. However, inthe following year, ecumenical bodies(WCC, CEC, LWF) and severalchurches of Europe played an activepart in the efforts which led to theHelsinki Agreement on Security andCo-operation in Europe.

Central & Eastern EuropeIn an important statement issued bythe Nairobi Assembly, the WCCexpressed how difficult it was tomaintain a balance between upholdinghuman rights and the need to respectthe often difficult situations affectingthe churches, especially in Central andEastern Europe: ‘The Assemblyrecognizes that churches in differentparts of Europe are living andworking under very differentconditions and traditions. Politicalsystems, constitutions, andadministrative practices vary fromnation to nation [...] In spite of thesedifferences, Christians in both parts ofEurope, and indeed throughout the

whole world, are one in Christ. Thesolidarity which results from faith inour common Lord permits the mutualsharing of joys and sufferings andrequires mutual correction. Christiansdare not remain silent when othermembers of the Body of Christ faceproblems in any part of the world. Butwhatever is said and done must bepreceded by consultation and must bean expression of Christian love.’(Statement of the WCC NairobiAssembly on the Helsinki Accord).

Ecumenical policy on human rightsA global review of ecumenical policyand practice on human rights wasundertaken at the request of the WCCCentral Committee in 1994. Withinthis framework, a European Meetingjointly convened by WCC and CECtook place in Geneva in June 1996.Participants affirmed that ‘the meeting[…] made them aware of the fact thatEuropeans, East and West, are deeplyaffected by recent history. Althoughwe recognize and affirm that Europeis one continent,’ they said, ‘we werealso made to realize that there is atremendous diversity of cultural,political, social and economiccontexts resulting from history.’ Theyalso confirmed for themselves suchrights as religious freedom, and theneed for continuing dialogue on issuessuch as proselytism and mission. Theyacknowledged that ‘ecumenical bodiescould play a unique role in confidencebuilding initiatives among churches inconflict’ and that ‘reconciliation isoften painful and the healing processtakes a long time, since it requiresworking through post-conflictmemories. The ecumenicalcommunity often gives significantsupport to local initiatives, even whenthe church leadership fails to do so. Inthe process of human action, churchesand ecumenical bodies have to besensitive to the question of differencesbetween East and West in

Above: An Orthodox nun surveys one of themany churches destroyed by ongoing inter-ethnic conflicts in Kosovo (1999). WCC hasintervened in favour of both Albanian and Serbvictims of violence

Churches, human rights &religious freedom in Europe

the churches and fundamental freedoms


understanding the language anddefinitions of human rights concepts.’

The current human rights concernsamong churches of Europe stronglyreflect the indivisibility of civil andpolitical as well as economic, socialand cultural rights. They includeconscientious objection to militaryservice, debt cancellation, the effectsof large-scale financial transactions ininternational markets, currency tax ontransactions, ethical issues related todevelopments in technology (bio-ethics), environmental issues, freedomof religion or belief, issues related tomigration, ethnic minorities anddisarmament.

Christian women in EuropeThe struggle for women’s rights hasbeen strongly associated with themovement for human rights. ManyChristian women’s movements werefounded in Europe during the 18thand 19th Centuries. In the second halfof the 20th Century a newphenomenon emerged, the Christianfeminist movement with its feministtheology. It included the EcumenicalForum of European Christian Women,first raised in Brussels in 1978, whichseeks to link together both traditionaland radical Christian women andChristian women’s organizationsthroughout Europe. Its members comefrom all European churches, includingthe Roman Catholic. It seeks to bringabout the greater participation ofwomen in church and society and alsoto promote the unity of the churchesand the unity and peace of Europe.The third assembly of the Forum washeld in York, England (July 1990)with the theme ‘From Division toVision’.

Religious FreedomThe years following 1989 again saw awidespread and heated debate amongreligious communities, governments

and human rights organizations aboutthe implementation of religiousfreedom. After the fall of communism,all major legal provisions in Centraland Eastern Europe had to be revised,including those which had an impacton religious freedom. The debate,however, was by no means limited toEastern Europe. It was also arevitalized debate in the West, owingto the emergence of new religiousmovements, secularization and otherdevelopments in Western society.

While religious freedom of theindividual seems to be well protectedin almost all European Constitutionsand official legal documents, therights and duties of religiouscommunities and their institutionsrequire further discussion.

Many countries rank their religiouscommunities into different categories,granting particular rights to traditionalor majority confessional groups. Inmany instances this has given rise tomajor concerns. In International Law(e.g. Art. 18 of the InternationalCovenant on Civil and PoliticalRights; Art. 9 of the European HumanRights Convention) there is noprohibition of multi-tier systems, butthese may not lead to discriminationagainst minority beliefs or non-believers. The question has beenraised whether or not there should beany registration for religiouscommunities at all, and if so, how toestablish the criteria for doing so.

This concern escalated in importancewith the emergence of new religiousmovements, often referred to as'sects'. However, debates in theEuropean Parliament and in theParliamentary Assembly of theCouncil of Europe have not produceda definition of the term 'sect'. In somecountries, governments haveestablished observatories and

published lists of so-called 'sects',resulting in protests. These listsdemonstrate that it is very difficult todraw a dividing line between 'sects'and recognized religious communities.

European governments have alsoexpressed concern about the rise offundamentalism, and the increasedrole of religion as a factor in conflictsituations. The Council of Europe andthe OSCE have organized a series ofconferences and discussions onreligion and democracy and onreligion and conflict. Moreover, theOSCE has established an advisorypanel of experts, to counsel the OSCEand participating states on legalmatters, conflict prevention, mediationand education for tolerance.

In the process of Europeanintegration, several churches havefought for the European Union torecognize the diverse patterns ofchurch-state relations in Europeancountries. In addition to the EU’sAmsterdam Treaty (not legallybinding) a new declaration has takenup this concern. The year 2000 EU Charter onFundamental Rights states:

‘Conscious of its spiritual and moralheritage, the Union is founded on theindivisible, universal values of humandignity, freedom, equality andsolidarity; it is based on the principlesof democracy and the rule of law. Itplaces the individual at the heart of itsactivities.’

The Charter recognizes freedom ofconscience, religion and belief for theindividual, using the European HumanRights Convention as a model.However, attempts to include areference to the rights of religiouscommunities have so far failed to beincluded.

Left: Hungarian refugees fleeing the Sovietinvasion. Advocacy with uprooted people hasbeen one of the primary concerns of the WCC

Right: The rights of women and children havereceived increased attention in recent years


The Orthodox ChurchExtracts from the address byEcumenical Patriarch Bartholomew Ito the Special European Parliamentsession, Strasbourg, April 1994:

‘Orthodoxy and the EcumenicalPatriarchate constitute axes ofreference and unity in Europe, unityfor which we have been wagingstruggles for centuries [...] Despiteuniversal changes in European history,Old and New Rome (Constantinople)remain as axes of reference and unityfor European civilisation [...] Theunification of Europe, to which youhave devoted your strength, is a taskalready known and familiar to theEcumenical Patriarchate: We havebeen officiating over a tradition of 17centuries of care and struggles for thesalvation and unity of Europeancivilisation. On the path of Europeand beyond the confines of the present12-nation European Community, lieother populous nations following inunison, the majority of which upholdOrthodox canonical traditions. Allowus just to express the hope that thosepeoples will be called soon toparticipate in the life and institutionsof a United Europe.’

The Patriarch reminded theEurodeputies of the centre ofOrthodoxy’s special character andtradition, a tradition which is remotefrom political and other institutions ofpower which have been created in theWest. Referring to present-daycivilisation, he underlined two majorproblems: unemployment andecology. ‘It is obvious that neithermoral admonitions nor fragmentaryfiscal policy measures are adequate tocope with unemployment,’ thePatriarch said, adding that ‘from thebeginning we should place undercritique manifest priorities in ourcivilisation, the priority of so-calledgrowth conceived only in terms of“economic magnitudes”. We are

enslaved by a tyrannical necessity toincrease production continuously and,consequently, by the continuouscreation of new and more consumerneeds.’

Commenting on the world ecologicalproblem, the Patriarch observed thatit, ‘requires radical revision of oursense of the universe, a differentinterpretation of matter and the worldand attitude toward nature by people,a different interpretation of theconcept and use of material goods [...]A lack of theological tenets liesbehind present-day stalemates inEuropean life.’

The Reformed ChurchReport by the General Synod of theNetherlands Reformed Church,approved by the Synod of theNetherlands Reformed Church inMarch 1996 (extracts).

‘The moral impulse which arose fromthe bitter experiences of war andsocial misery was transposed inpolitical and economic efforts toregulate in a new way the relationsbetween the countries of WesternEurope. These moral motivationswhich underlaid the limited WestEuropean endeavour at integration ofthe period after the Second World Warare still relevant. And they acquire anew content when we look at Europein its totality now. In other words, thecall to reconciliation and justice isnow the driving force to strive for theintegration of Europe as a whole: Eastand West, North and South. The majorproblems of Europe today in the areaof justice, peace and the integrity ofcreation demand an approach whichtranscends the national borders, as dothese problems.

The contribution of the churches toEurope—and this will be also ananswer to the question of PresidentDelors about “a heart and a soul for

Above: The Hospitality of Abraham depictingthe Holy Trinity, by icon painter St. AndreyRublev, Russia (c.1420)

Address to the churches (1992)

‘If in the ten years ahead of us we do

not succeed in giving Europe its soul,

a spiritual dimension, true

significance, then we will have been

wasting our time. That is the lesson of

my experience; Europe cannot live by

legal argument and economic know-

how alone. The potential of the

Maastricht Treaty will not be realized

without some form of inspiration.’

Summary address of European

Commission President Delors to the

European Protestant Churches (1992).

Since 1994, the Conference of

European Churches, together with

other religious and humanist organi-

zations, has been involved in a

‘Common Programme: Giving a Soul

to Europe’.

A heart & soul for Europe?churches’ theological response to the region


Europe”—shall indeed be in theproclamation of the Good News, fromwhich we (the churches) derive ourvery existence.’

The Roman Catholic ChurchExtracts from the speech of Pope JohnPaul II during his apostolic visitationto Germany, at the Angelus prayer inBerlin, on 23 June 1996:

‘From this famous city, which in avery special way has experienced thefate of European history in thiscentury, I would like to announce tothe whole Church my intention toconvoke a Second Assembly forEurope of the Synod of Bishops [...]This must be done in such a way thatthe immense spiritual reserves of thiscontinent can fully develop in allareas, and conditions can be createdfor an era of true rebirth at thereligious, economic and social levels[...] The events of 1989, initiallyhaving received an immediate andenthusiastic response, gave theimpression that in one stroke manysocial, cultural and spiritual criseswere resolved; in reality these eventsonly opened a door unexpectedly ontoa vast area where different peoplesfound themselves without notice inpossession of age-old prerogativeswhich had been repressed for a longtime. These same people also foundthemselves in a process of pursuingpaths of their own choosing. Thiswidespread movement of a new-foundfreedom could not, by its very nature,be contained in the territory where itfirst began; in some way, its effectswere felt in the rest of Europe, placingother nations before the same newconditions which, from that timeonwards, could no longer be hiddenwithin the forced confines of anoppressive regime. Geographically,Europe found itself open, dramaticallyexposed to a grave series of demandsas well as 'new dangers and newthreats,' especially that of nationalism

[...] These new events are also seen inrelation to other phenomena which bynow have become a part of the entirecontinent of Europe: materialism,agnostic indifference, a new mentalityin countries which have emerged fromtotalitarian oppression, the complexcharacter of society with itsoccurrences of religious subjectivismand relativistic individualism, thenorm of truth in pluralism, the over-valuing of subjectivity and tolerance,and the temptation of gnosticism inculture, particularly throughmovements characterized bypantheism. In a positive sense, othernew elements must also be noted inthe European experience, e.g., thedialogue with European culturefounded on the fact that the doctrineof creation, redemption andcommunion with God is higher thanrelativism or pantheism; thecatechumenate of adults; the searchfor spirituality in civil life and in theinteraction of peoples; the newawareness of the importance of thefamily; and the protection of humanlife in all its stages and aspects. Theseelements provide avenues for hopeand permit a glimpse into the future ofthe continent [...] It is a question of aproclamation to be accomplished witha renewed spirit of mission on acontinent which is deeply anddistinctly marked by signs calling foran active obedient response to whatthe Holy Spirit is saying to the Churchthrough the experiences of eachparticular Church on the Europeancontinent, in this period approachingthe beginning of the Third Millenniumafter Christ.’

The Anglican ChurchExtracts from the address by theArchbishop of Canterbury, Dr GeorgeCarey, Karlsruhe, Germany, March1999:‘Let me turn now to the notion ofEurope's soul. As I indicated amoment ago, this to me is all about

values—values that transcend us asindividuals while providing theessential oxygen of living, breathing,healthy communities. At this vitaljuncture in the history of our continentI believe that we must make thenurturing of the soul of Europe a toppriority. And I believe that religion ingeneral, and Christianity in particular,have a crucial role in that project. Ihold that to be true for believers andnon-believers alike. For believers, astestimony to the transcendentalmeaning and purpose of life; for thosewho have not found God, as a sourceof moral strength and orientation, tounderpin human endeavour and give itthe best chance of prospering [...]There is no room for complacency,but there is I believe a courageous andhopeful spirit at work that offersgrounds for confidence. Despite that,some will argue, of course, that thereligious quest is a transitional, almostan evolutionary process—with therather patronizing implication thatonce people reach a sufficient level ofmaturity they will cease to need thatparticular crutch to lean on. I mustconfess, I have little time for theargument or the conclusion. To theextent that we in Europe have lost asense of the vitality, of the centralityof religion—and of a spiritualdimension in our lives—the progressthat some claim is a profound loss.We have not put aside childishthings—in the words of the gospel—rather we are in danger of abandoningthings that are vital to our adultmaturity, as individuals and as acivilisation. Reclaiming that spiritualdimension and vision, and applying itin future in a way that revitalises ourcollective endeavour is I believe thebest way of giving meaning andstrength to the millennium and thesoul of Europe.’

• Lecture by Hans L Zetterberg, Professor ofSociology, University of Stockholm(www.cityuniv.se/kurs/europeanHouse/fls/401-2e)

• BBC Online Network, Euro Facts

• European Monitoring Centre on Racismand Xenophobia, Annual Report 1999

• IFRC, World Disasters Report 2000

• UNICEF; The Progress of Nations 2000

• World Migration Report 2000, InternationalOrganization for Migration, Geneva

• United Nations, Report of the Secretary-General, Review and Appraisal of theImplementation of the Beijing Platform forAction, 2000

• United Nations Development Programme,Regional Bureau for Europe and the CIS,Poverty in Transition, 1988

• Le Monde Diplomatique

• Diego Marani, Las Adventures desinspector Cabillot, the first book inEuropanto; Editions Mazarine, 1999

CHURCHES & ECUMENISM

• World Council of Churches: www.wcc-coe.org

• Conference of European Churches: www.cec-kek.org

• Baptists: www.bwanet.org

• Lutherans: www.lutheranworld.org

• Methodists: www.worldmethodistcouncil.org

• Old Catholics: www.old-catholic.org

• Orthodox churches:www.oca.org/pages/orth_chri/Orthodox-Churches/

• Pentecostals: www.pentecostalworldconf.org

• Reformed churches: www.reformiert-online.net

• Roman Catholic Church:www.vatican.va

• Council of European Bishops’ Conferences: www.kath.ch/ccee/

• Leuenberg Church Fellowship: www.leuenberg.net

INSTITUTIONS

• Council of Europe:www.coe.int

• European Union:www.europa.eu.int

• Organization for Security & Co-operation in

Europe:www.osce.org

OTHER SITES

• European Christian Internet Conference: www.ecic.org

• NGO and humanitarian portal:www.europaworld.org

• General European information portal:www.euroguide.org

• Detailed and authoritative Country Studies:http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs

• Redrawing the map of Europe: comprehensive and original interactive resourcewww.nirvanet.com/en/understand/europe/

• Dictionary of the Ecumenical Movement,WCC Publications, Geneva, 1991

• Charter of Paris for a New Europe, Paris,1990

• Peace with Justice. The official documen-tation of the European EcumenicalAssembly, Basel, Switzerland, 15-21 May1989, Conference of European Churches,Geneva 1989

• Europe on the Move: Documentation froma Special Meeting of European ChurchLeaders, CEC, Geneva, 1990

• Europe 1992: Promise and Challenge,WCC-CIA, Geneva 1992

• Reconciliation - Gift of God and Source ofNew Life. Documents from the SecondEuropean Ecumenical Assembly in Graz,Verlag Styria, Graz, Köln, Wien, 1998

• Pocket Europe in Figures, The Economist,2000

• The Green Guide: Europe, Michelin, 2000

• Histoire des Réligions en Europe,Hachette, 1999

• E. Korthals Altes, Heart and Soul forEurope: An Essay on Spiritual Renewal, VanGorcum Comp., Assen, 1999

• M. Emerson, Redrawing the Map ofEurope, Macmillan Press, 1998

• J.M. Roberts, The Penguin History ofEurope, Penguin, 1996

• J. Lederach, Building Peace - SustainableReconciliation in Divided Societies, UnitedStates Institute for Peace, Washington DC,1999

• R. Lodwick, Remembering the Future: theChallenge of the Churches in Europe,Friendship Press, 1995

• W.A. Visser't Hooft, Memoires, WCCPublications, Geneva, 1973

USEFUL ADDRESSES

World Council of ChurchesPO Box 2100,150, route de Ferney, CH-1211 Geneva 2Tel: +41 22 791 61 11Fax: +41 22 788 0067E-mail: [email protected]

Conference of European ChurchesPO Box 2100,150, route de Ferney, CH-1211 Geneva 2Tel: +41 22 791 61 11Fax: +41 22 791 62 27E-mail: [email protected]

RECOMMENDED READING INTERNET RESOURCESPRIMARY SOURCES USED (See recommended reading for other general

sources used or quoted in the document)

Sources & resourcesselected bibliography and websites