WCC NEWS: The Ecumenical Review looks to 2025 anniversary of the Council of Nicaea

The latest issue of The Ecumenical Review, the quarterly journal of the World Council of Churches (WCC), focuses on the 1700th anniversary in 2025 of the first Ecumenical Council at Nicaea, a key moment in the history of Christian faith and for the ecumenical journey today Photo:Gloria Koymans/WCC 08 August 2023 The anniversary will be marked in 2025 by the WCC with a Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order as well as other thematic events and activities organized jointly with ecumenical partners, member churches, Christian world communions, and theological associations and institutions. “This issue of The Ecumenical Review delves into critical topics of importance for understanding the Council of Nicaea, appreciating its historical significance as well as its contemporary relevance in the ecumenical landscape,” said the director of the WCC’s Commission on Faith and Order, Dr Andrej Jeftić. “I am certain it will help prepare for the anniversary of the Nicene Council as an opportunity for the fellowship of churches in the WCC to reaffirm their commitment to live the apostolic faith together today, continuously calling one another to visible unity,” he added. World conferences on Faith and Order have been held at key moments in the history of the ecumenical movement, and in the article that opens the issue, Rev. Dr Odair Pedroso Mateus, Faith and Order director until December 2022, traces their history since the first such conference in 1927 in Lausanne, Switzerland. Rev. Dr Sandra Beardsall, who is chairing the Nicaea 2025 steering group of the WCC Faith and Order commission, sets out plans for 2025 where alongside the world conference, online activities will enhance the opportunities for encounter in a spirit of reconciliation. In her article, Rev. Dr Susan Durber, WCC president from Europe and past moderator of the Commission on Faith and Order, notes that some people question commemorating a gathering of male bishops 1,700 years ago, but suggests a more open approach and a positive understanding of Nicaea for today's church. In his article, Metropolitan Job of Pisidia, a newly elected Faith and Order commission member, focuses on the actuality of the Council of Nicaea for Christians today, inspiring them in their quest for visible unity, Articles by Dr Wolfram Kinzig and Faith and Order commission member Dr Maria Munkholt Christensen focus on the discussions at the Council of Nicaea, and the legacy of the council for theology today. Metropolitan Serapion and Fr Macarius Refela of the Coptic Orthodox Church examine the theological controversy that followed the Council of Nicaea, while Bishop Dr Michael Ipgrave considers the significance of the Council of Nicaea for the relationship between Christianity and Judaism. The Ecumenical Review is edited by Dr Stephen G. Brown and is published four times a year by Wiley on behalf of the WCC. Table of Contents of the latest issue Open Access articles in this issue of The Ecumenical Review: Wolfram Kinzig: The Creed of Nicaea - Old Questions, New Answers Maria Munkholt Christensen: “Light from Light” - A Nicene Phrase and its Use in the Early Church Subscribe to The Ecumenical Review More information about The Ecumenical Review See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 352 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches 150 route de Ferney Geneve 2 1211 Switzerland