Rev. Prof. Dr Stephanie Dietrich (Church of Norway), moderator of the WCC Commission on Faith and Order, in conversation with His Eminence Bishop Abraham of the Coptic Orthodox Church at the Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order. Photo: WCC/A. Hillert
Faith and Order Commission moderator Rev. Dr Stephanie Dietrich reflects on outcomes of the Sixth World Conference
(LWI) - The first Faith and Order World Conference in the Middle East, the first to be held in the global south, the first hosted by an Orthodox church and the first to include such a broad spectrum of different Christian communities. The recent World Council of Churches (WCC) conference, held in Egypt from 24 to 28 October, marked a historic milestone for the ecumenical movement as participants gathered to explore the theme: ‘Where now for visible unity?’
The idea to hold a Sixth World Conference in 2025 to mark the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea took shape before the COVID-19 pandemic, recalls Prof. Dr Stephanie Dietrich, moderator of the WCC’s Faith and Order Commission. A Lutheran pastor and professor of diaconal studies in her home country, Norway, Dietrich has spent more than 20 years as a member of the international Lutheran-Orthodox dialogue, an experience which equipped her for the challenging role of preparing the conference in Wadi El-Natrun.
“At the beginning we looked at the location of Nicaea, but, as everyone knows, it is in modern day Turkey with no church, which also says a lot about the situation of many Christians in the Middle East today,” Dietrich said, as she reflected on the intense two year preparation process. The basilica where the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea is believed to have taken place is now underwater off the coast of Iznik in northwestern Turkey.
Pope Tawadros II, leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church. Photo: WCC/A. Hillert
Prof. Stephanie Dietrich (right) and Archbishop Emerita Antje Jackelén of the Church of Sweden (center) at the closing prayer service. Photo: LWFWCC/A. Hillert
Participants on the opening day of the World Council of Churches Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order in Wadi El Natrun, Egypt. Photo: WCC/A. Hillert
“But then we were so pleased to receive an invitation from the Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II to come to Egypt, to Wadi El-Natrun, which is closely connected to the history of the early church,” Dietrich continued. The venue, surrounded by three ancient monasteries in the desert between Cairo and Alexandria, provided an ideal location showcasing “a very ancient church, which is rooted in tradition but also very ecumenical and open to the world today,” she noted.
The conference brought together some 400 theologians, church leaders, and other participants from across the globe and across the ecumenical spectrum. The diversity of voices at this first Faith and Order conference since 1992 marked a significant change from previous gatherings and reflected “a clear understanding that you cannot do theology today without taking into account how the global church is developing,” Dietrich said. “This broadening of the table was something new and is very important in shaping the work of the Faith and Order Commission for the coming years.”
Among those attending were the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) General Secretary Rev. Dr Anne Burghardt and Assistant General Secretary for Ecumenical Relations, Prof. Dr Dirk Lange, who noted that the conference built on the work of key ecumenical documents like ‘Baptism, Eucharist, and Ministry’ and ‘The Church Towards a Common Vision’. “Participants were invited to set the direction of the work of Faith and Order for the years ahead,” he said, “while developing a Baptismal Ecclesiology was certainly a major impetus from the discussions.”
There is a growing interest in ecumenism among young people
Prof. Dr Stephanie Dietrich, moderator of the WCC’s Faith and Order Commission
The conference was preceded by a meeting of young students from the Global Ecumenical Theological Institute (GETI), which saw record numbers of applicants to be part of this historic gathering. “There is a growing interest in ecumenism among young people, who are not just wanting to travel for free, but who are really enthusiastic and engaged in the issues we are discussing,” Dietrich noted. The GETI participants issued a message to religious leaders, challenging them to close “the expanding gap between dialogue and praxis, manifested in the lack of robust reception of ecumenical texts.”
In their appeal, the students stressed that “visible unity cannot be achieved solely through institutional or doctrinal dialogue, asking: “What does it mean to be truly ecumenically and prophetically courageous in our world? We call Faith and Order to deepen its engagement with the lived theologies of people at the margins,” the message said.
Members of the WCC Commission on Faith and Order. Photo: WCC/A. Hillert
LWF General Secretary Rev. Dr Anne Burghardt in conversation with Archbishop Urmas Viilma from Estonia at the Faith and Order conference. Photo: WCC/A. Hillert
Rev. Prof. Dr Dirk G. Lange, LWF Assistant General Secretary for Ecumenical Relations at the WCC Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order. Photo: WCC/A. Hillert
Dietrich affirmed that “one of the main outcomes of the Sixth World Conference was an understanding that the search for visible unity has to build upon a broader and more holistic understanding of unity.” This includes “solid theological work on doctrine and ecclesiology, exploring how our churches relate to each other, but also realizing the need to be more inclusive of life and witness. I think acknowledging the need to combine these in a more holistic way was a major breakthrough of our encounter,” she said.
Another novelty was the amount of online material made available to those who were unable to attend the conference in person, Dietrich noted. “We know that post-COVID the world has changed and so we created a free six-part theological training course on Nicaea, as well as holding regional preparatory conferences and streaming all the major sessions from Egypt live,” she said. Webinars on the joint Lutheran-Orthodox statement on the ‘Filioque’ and another on the search for a common Christian date for Easter were among the highlights, attracting huge audiences and remain available online for further study.
Reflecting on the outcomes of the conference, Dietrich pointed to the Ecumenical Affirmation and shorter 'Call to all Christians’ issued by participants at the close of the meeting. “These are a call to all our churches to be inspired to work together, to express our faith together and continue to strive for unity in a divided and polarized world,” she said. “The world needs our witness: at a time when belief in multilateralism is increasingly rare, our Faith and Order Commission remains one of the few spaces where we affirm the importance of sitting together, offering an alternative vision of dialogue, discernment and hope.”
