The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948. Its members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most jurisdictions of the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malabar, the Old Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, most mainline Protestant churches and some evangelical Protestant churches. Notably, the Catholic Church is not a member, although it sends accredited observers to meetings. The WCC arose out of the ecumenical movement and has as its basis the following statement:
The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of churches which confess the Lord Jesus Christ as God and Savior according to the scriptures, and therefore seek to fulfill together their common calling to the glory of the one God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
It is a community of churches on the way to visible unity in one faith and one eucharistic fellowship, expressed in worship and in common life in Christ. It seeks to advance towards this unity, as Jesus prayed for his followers, "so that the world may believe."
The term "ecumenism" refers to efforts by Christians of different Church traditions to develop closer relationships and better understandings. The term is also often used to refer to efforts towards the visible and organic unity of different Christian denominations in some form.
The International Prison Chaplains' Association (IPCA) is an association of prison chaplains. It is divided into several sections like IPCA-Europe, IPCA Oceania etc. It is a non-governmental organization and has held Special Consultative Status to the United Nations Economic and Social Council since 2014.
Alison Elliot CBE FRSE is the Associate Director of the Centre for Theology and Public Issues at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. In 2004 she became the first woman ever to be elected Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. An elder and session clerk at Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh, she was also the first non-minister to hold this post since George Buchanan in 1567.
The Catholic Church in Europe, also known as Roman Catholic Church in Europe, is part of worldwide Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See in Rome, including represented Eastern Catholic missions. Demographically, Catholics are the largest religious group in Europe, while church attendance has declined in the past decades.
The Chapel of the Resurrection or Chapel for Europe is a Roman Catholic church with an ecumenical vocation located in the heart of the Brussels' European Quarter, next to the former Convent Van Maerlant. A precursor of this church, which dated back to the 15th century, was situated in the city centre, but demolished in the course of urban development in 1907. Instead, a replica, externally true to the original, was built at its present location. In 2001, after substantial renovation, the church received its present name and took on its present ecumenical character. The pastoral responsibility for the chapel has been entrusted to the Society of Jesus.
The Council of the Bishops' Conferences of Europe (CCEE) is a conference of the presidents of the 33 Roman Catholic episcopal conferences of Europe, the Archbishop of Luxembourg, the Archbishop of Monaco, Maronite Catholic Archeparch of Cyprus, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Chişinău, the Ruthenian Catholic Eparch of Mukacheve, and the Apostolic Administrator of Estonia.
The Eastern Orthodox Churches form a Christian denomination in Germany. With up to 2 million adherents, the Church is Germany's third-largest Christian denomination after Roman Catholicism and the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD). It has grown due to immigration from Eastern Europe, especially Romania, the former Soviet Union, and the former Yugoslavia.
Józef Michalik is a Polish Roman Catholic bishop, the diocesan Bishop of the Zielona Góra-Gorzów diocese in 1986-1993, Archbishop of Przemyśl in 1993-2016, and the President of the Polish Episcopal Conference in 2004-2014.
Latvian Bishops' Conference is the national Roman Catholic Bishops' Conference in Latvia. It is headquartered in Riga and is a member of the Council of European Episcopal Conferences (CCEE) and the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community (COMECE). It was founded as coordinator of the Latvian bishops on 15 November 1997, and held its inaugural meeting on 29 June 1998, starting off with a Pontifical High Mass in the Basilica of the Assumption in Aglona. Its first president was Cardinal Jānis Pujats, then archbishop of Riga.
The Albanian Bishops' Conference (KISH) is an episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in Albania. The conference is organized by Archbishop Angelo Massafra, Archbishop and Metropolitan of Shkodrë-Pult conducted. It is a member of the Council of European Episcopal Conferences (CCEE).
Episcopal Conference of Turkey is the committee meeting of the Catholic and Uniate bishops in Turkey. It is a member of the Council of European Episcopal Conferences (CCEE), and a guest member of the Southeast European Bishops' Conferences. For the Turkish state, the Turkish Catholic Bishops' Conference is "de jure" non-existent, so there is no mutual representative.
The Romanian Episcopal Conference is the permanent assembly of Catholic bishops in Romania. The Bishops 'Conference has its headquarters in Bucharest, it is a member of the Council of European Episcopal Conferences (CCEE) and sends a representative to the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community (COMECE). President of the Romanian Episcopal Conference is Archbishop Lucian Mureşan, head of the Romanian Church United with Rome.
The Austrian Bishops' Conference is the official assembly of the Roman Catholic bishops of Austria. It is the supreme authority of the Roman Catholic Church in Austria, established as a formal body under public law in 1849. Its members include the archbishops of Vienna and Salzburg, all diocesan and auxiliary bishops, as well as the abbot of immediate Wettingen-Mehrerau Abbey.
Lithuanian Bishops' Conference is the official meeting of Catholic bishops in Lithuania. It has its seat in Vilnius. The Episcopal Conference is a member of the Council of European Episcopal Conferences (CCEE) and the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community (COMECE).
The Bishops' Conference of Bosnia and Herzegovina is the permanent assembly of Catholic bishops in Bosnia and Herzegovina founded in 1994 by the Holy See. It is composed of the Assembley, the Permanent Council, councils, committees, the General Secretariat and offices. The seat of the General Secretariat is in Sarajevo.
Matthew Ross is a minister of the Church of Scotland, working for the World Council of Churches. He was General Secretary of Action of Churches Together in Scotland 2014-2018.
Antonios Varthalitis, AA was from 1962 to 2003 Roman Catholic Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Corfu, Zakynthos and Cephalonia.
