towards the wholeness of the ecumenical movement

TOWARDS THE WHOLENESS OF THE ECUMENICAL MOVEMENT

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BISHOP JOHN SADIQ

A great moment had arrived in the life of the Ecumenical Movement when at the opening of the Third Assembly of the World Council of Churches at New Delhi on Sunday, November 19, 1961, the Integra- tion of the International Missionary Council and the World Council of Churches took place. In the moving and solemn ceremony the Presiding Officer said these words,

By the authority of the Assemblies of the International Missionary Council and the World Council of Churches, I declare that these two Councils are now united in one body with the name of the World Council of Churches. In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The following prayer committed to God the integrated Council: 0 Thou who art the author and perfecter of our faith, to whose grace

we owe every good resolve, accept, we beseech thee, to the praise of thy glory, this offering of our obedience. Let the best which the past years have held be carried into days of new and greater achievement for thy name’s sake. May the mind of Christ and the compassion of Christ so animate the life of this Council that in all its new relationships and under- takings he may have the pre-eminence. As we have been allowed of thee to be put in trust with the Gospel, so keep us faithful to the trust, witnesses in all the world to the saving power of Christ, constrained by his love to live not to ourselves. May the unity of thy Church be deepened by obedience to her mission and her mission be furthered in the unity that is of thy giving. So may the new resolves of this day be perfected in thy holy and blessed will, until all the ends of the earth shall see thy salvation and thy Kingdom shall come : through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with thee and the Holy Spirit, belongeth all power, love, magnificence and mercy, now and for ever. Amen.

The fact of Integration, however gratifying to our ecumenical conscience, should not occasion surprise. The mission of the Church for which the International Missionary Council has been an ecumenical symbol and the unity of the Church which is the ruison d’&tre of the World Council of Churches both together belong to the heart of the

TOWARDS THE WHOLENESS OF THE ECUMENICAL MOVEMENT 337

Gospel. The Joint Committee which was set up by the two Councils was born to die, and the task which mainly occupied it had “ensured its own extinction.” A century before ‘Edinburgh 1910’ William Carey had dreamed of “a general association of.al1 denominations of Christians from the four quarters of the world.” Many centuries before, the Lord of the Church himself had enshrined the divine principle of the inseparability of the Church’s unity and mission in his high-priestly prayer.

The Integration, however, is not the end but the beginning of the wholeness of the Ecumenical Movement. How do we proceed towards this wholeness is the subject of this article. The prayer quoted earlier gives us a clue to our task. Integration there is described as an “offering of our obedience.” How can we carry out this obedience so that it will be an offering reasonable and acceptable unto God?

Obedience to mission and unity is an essential part of Christian discipleship, and therefore must begin with individual persons. To far too great an extent the concerns of the Ecumenical Movement have been the magnificent obsession of a few “ecumaniacs.” The number of those who see in the Integration the symbol of the wholeness of the Church must be multiplied. This will involve a process of intensive education through conferences and through literature in a language intelligible and relevant. The greatest failing of the Ecumenical Move- ment perhaps lies on this level. As individuals are kindled, the fire will spread. In this process of education it is the simplicity of the “calling of the Church to mission and unity” which should be emphasized and not the complexity of a world organization. It is here, more than any where else, that the ministry of the laity can be put to the greatest use within the bounds of the Church. The New Delhi Assembly has helped tremendously in bringing home to many a man the true catholicity of the Ecumenical Movement.

As the Integration has brought together the two Councils with varying criteria of membership, its full implication and implementation will have to be worked out on different frontiers and different levels. It must also be recognized that while the International Missionary Council has been integrated with the World Council structure it is to maintain its identity and concerns through the Commission and Division on World Mission and Evangelism within the general framework of the World Council.

Let us therefore begin with the Commission and Division on World Mission and Evangelism with its constituencies. The main elements in

338 THE ECUMENICAL REVIEW

the membership of the IMC were Christian Councils-usually on a national level - made up of churches and missionary societies and other agencies (such as the Bible Societies) directly involved in the world missionary task. In regard to churches, confusion arises from the fact that in many countries there are separate Councils of Churches, and there are countries (such as India) where the Christian Council acts also as a Council of Churches. However, from the point of view of our subject this does not present any insuperable difficulty.

Any one who has seen the document “International Missionary Council - Report to the Assemblies of the International Missionary Council and the World Council of Churches, New Delhi 1961” cannot but give thanks to God for the history and service of this great ecumenical organization. Whether it is in the field of consultation and mutual assistance, or in the sphere of national and regional co-operation, or operations in the field of study, research and publications, or collaboration in special tasks such as surveys of theological education and assistance to theological institutions, help in setting up centres for the study of non-Christian religions, and strengthening the Christian home and family life movement, the services of the Council are legion. This does not take into account such enterprises, done in collaboration with other agencies, such as the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs, the Committee on the Christian approach to the Jews, and more recently the production and publication of the well-known World Christian Books.

Even in this brief listing of the IMC concerns, it is clear that the basic underlying principle was co-operation. But the romance of co- operation is fast disappearing. The Rules of Comity which bzcame operative in many of the lands of the so-called younger churches, have, though helpful for a time, widened the gulf between churches. In recent years fundamentalism in its bad sense has invaded with a vengeance the churches in the areas hitherto served by the IMC. If the Division of World Mission and Evangelism is to be true to its claim to serve the Gospel, it must take the concerns of Christian unity more seriously. It is true that it cannot legislate for the churches, but unless the churches served are helped towards unity, we shall be striking at the root of the Church’s mission. It is recognized, of course, that ecumenical tact must be employed in all dealings, but tact cannot be employed at the cost of the principle which it is trying tactfully to maintain ! The scandal of division is doing more harm to the missionary cause than is realized.


Two instances from the Indian scene to illustrate this point may not be out of place. In 1935 the “depressed class” people under the chairman- ship of their leader, the late Dr. Ambedkar, openly declared their intention to leave the Hindu fold and embrace some other religion. When the claims of Christianity were presented, the leader frankly pointed out that conversion to Christianity would divide them and spoil their solidarity. Today the same people are in thousands embracing the Buddhist faith. Again, soon after the adoption of our Constitution in 1950 many erst- while native states, where the preaching of the Gospel had been prohibited, opened their doors, but this also opened the door to competing Christian bodies to create a situation which in one area led to the setting up of a committee to inquire into the activities of foreign missionaries ! This latter illustration makes it clear that the role of the foreign missionary and therefore of the sending societies, boards and churches must radically alter if the mission of the Church is to bs carried out in unity. The era of denominational missions has come to an end. This is bcing increa- singly recognized in India. This principle will have to be carried to the level of the regional councils and local councils where they exist.

In connection with the areas of land and life formerly served by the IMC and now by the new Division, I dare to make a few practical sugges- tions :

a ) The Assembly Document on Unity should be used and interpreted through the Christian Councils affiliated to the Division of World Mission and Evangelism. It should be unashamedly declared a document which the Division can commend to its constituencies for study and appropriate action.

b) The Division on World Mission and Evangelism should undertake to publish as soon as possible a brochure for public consumption which will clearly describe its concerns and service in the perspective of its new status within the World Council of Churches.

c) At the next meeting of the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism, where the theme is to be related to the work of the Holy Spirit within the context of the Trinitarian confession, the 17th chapter of St. John might well be made the subject of ecumenical meditation. A booklet on the lines of “Jesus Christ -The Light of the World” containing at its heart a series of Bible studies on the chapter, should prove most helpful.

d ) Within the complex organization of the World Council the various divisions and committees which are concerned with the Church’s


missionary task must be brought into clearer and more fruitful rela- tionship with the Division of World Mission and Evangelism.

I must now turn to the remaining part of the life of the World Council of Churches. It is not necessary to list the various concerns of the Council. Integration, like charity, should begin at home, and it must lead to simplicity and not complexity of organization. Therefore the decision taken at New Delhi to look into the organizational structure of the World Council is to be greatly welcomed. As the effectiveness of the World Council as an instrument of God’s reconciling, redeeming and recreative work will depend on three levels of the Church‘s local, confessional and ecumenical life, it is on these levels that we must look for the realization of the goal of Integration.

G. K. Chesterton said on one occasion that if we wish to make anything vital, it must be made local. The Assembly document on the Section “Unity” says these words, “The place where the common life in Christ is most clearly tested is the local situation, where believers live and work. There the achivements and frustrations are most deeply felt : but there too the challenge is most often avoided.” On this level, as on all levels, what is needed is not the explanation of Integration but its implementation in simple ways. The Lund 1952 dictum that Christians ought always to seek to do together everything which conscience does not compel them to do separately must be translated into action by every possible effort. Local Christian Councils are perhaps the best way of achieving this. No effort is too costly to further this cause. Between now and the next Assembly a concerted effort is needed on the part of the World Council staff and related agencies to encourage these local efforts. (For the purpose of organizational clarity a distinction might still be made between a local Christian Council and the local Council of Churches. The former can more conveniently be related to the Division of World Mission and Evangelism.)

On the confessional level through the appropriate bodies such as synods the concerns of the World Council should be communicated through relevant literature and more especially through visits of the staff. This is a stupendous undertaking, but during the intervening years between the third and fourth Assembly it is worth attempting. With so many schemes and plans of Church Union in almost all parts of the world, there is an opportunity here for help, assistance and education without interfering with the autonomy of the Churches concerned. This takes us immediately on to the ecumenical level.


The report of the Assembly Section on Unity, already referred to, says, “Our deepest responsibility in the Ecumenical Movement is faithful prayer for the unity of Christ’s Church as and when he wills it.” There is no doubt that the observance of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and the Letter addressed to the churches annually at Whitsuntide by the Presidents of the World Council have done much to make the Council known and appreciated. I would humbly suggest that both occasions might from now on be used to emphasize the unity as well as mission of the Church, so that the specific contribution of the former IMC and the former WCC, now integrated, may be presented in their relatedness. This might mean that the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity would become a Week of Prayer for the Church‘s Unity and Mission. This may present some difficulties as the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is observed by the Roman Catholic Church as well. But with the setting up of a Secretariat for Christian Unity by the Vatican, consultation on this matter may now be possible and fruitful. Whitsuntide marks the missionary birth of the Church, but the renewal which the Holy Spirit brought embraces the whole nature of the Church-its unity and its mission.

Perhaps the most precious outcome of the Third Assembly is the report of the Sections on Unity, Witness and Service, received by the Assembly and commended to the member churches for study and appropriate action. To my mind the most distinctive contribution of the New Delhi Assembly is the clear and reasoned claim of diakonia as an essential mark of the Catholic Church. A part of the report on the Section on Service says :

Christian service, as distinct from the world’s concept of philanthropy, springs from and is nourished by God’s costly love as revealed by Jesus Christ.. . The measure of God’s love for men is to be seen in the fact that his Son was willing to die for them.. . In serving him and them, we follow the Christ who deliberately refused the way of force and chose the role of a servant. . . As Christ took the form of a servant and gave himself for the redemption and reconciliation of the whole world, Christians are called to take their part in his suffering and victorious ministry as servants of the Servant-Lord. The power for service is given by the Holy Spirit who uses the Church as his instrument in manifesting the Kingdom of God and the Lordship of Jesus Christ in all human relations and all social struc- tures. Service is thus a part of adoration of God and witnesses to his love for all men.

This concept of service is itself a fruit of growing Integration in the


life of the Ecumenical Movement. I make bold to suggest that unity, witness and service are reflections of the Triune God and therefore should be visibly manifested in the life of the Church in its health and wholeness.

These three essential marks of the Christian Church must also become the marks of the Ecumenical Movement a t all levels. The Assembly documents on these subjects are by no means perfect, but they provide the raw material on which in coming years the Ecumenical Movement can build itself constructively and fruitfully. I therefore suggest that the subjects in their tog2therness should be made the theme of as many conferences, consultations, study and literature as possible. If due attention is given to them in the coming years, I believe, under God, the Church may experience a renewal which will reveal the significance of the Integration on a deeper and more comprehensive level. Bishop Lesslie Newbigin in “A Faith for this One World” says at the end :

If we intend to maintain contact with that (non-Christian) world- whether in East or in West - we shall be forced again and again to ask “What is the fellowship into which I am inviting men to come ?,’ The attempt to answer that question honestly will lead to a deep self-questioning and penitence in the life of our churches. We are here at a much deeper level than mere administration and policy. We are concerned with the nature of the Church itself, with the visible form and texture of that fellowship into which God wills to draw all men through Jesus Christ. Here we are in a region where we need above all humility, openness, and obedience. None of us has a full understanding of what the restoration of the Church‘s unity would mean. It must certainly be costly - for our churches as corporate bodies and for each of us as individuals. But nothing is more central to the missionary task of the Church today than this- that there should be such a recovery of the visible unity of Christians that men of every race and culture may be able to recognize in the Church the authentic lineaments of the household of God, the home in which every man is invited to be reborn as a child of the one Father and a brother of the Son.

The same question as posed in the preceding paragraph is put to the Ecumenical Movement by Integration. The booklet “Why Integration ?” talking of the International Missionary Council and the World Council of Churches before Integration used these words : “They exist to help the churches to witness to the wholeness of the Gospel and must, therefore, seek to express that wholeness in their own life.” The Inte- gration has begun the process. May God who has begun a good work in the Ecumenical Movement perfect it unto the day of Jesus Christ.

towards the wholeness of the ecumenical movement

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