To the
CEC MEMBER CHURCHES
and
EUROPEAN BISHOPS' CONFERENCES
Geneva/St Gallen, July 1999
Dear Friends,
Greetings in the name of our one Lord Jesus Christ.
On behalf of the Joint Committee of the Conference of European Churches (CEC) and the Council of European Bishops' Conferences (CCEE), it is our pleasure to invite the participation of your Church in what promises to be a most significant ecumenical development for Europe, at this critical time in the life of our continent and as we approach the new millennium.
With this letter you will find a copy of the draft of the proposed
CHARTA ECUMENICA FOR EUROPE.
We would like to explain fully to you the background to the CHARTA ECUMENICA, the process by which this draft has been prepared and the future stages of its formation in which your church is now invited to share.
Background
At the Second European Ecumenical Assembly in Graz, Austria, in 1997 on the theme 'Reconciliation - Gift of God and Source of New Life', the recommendations endorsed by the Assembly included:
"We recommend that the churches develop a common study document containing basic ecumenical duties and rights. From this a series of ecumenical guidelines, rules and criteria could be developed which would help the churches, those in positions of responsibility and all members, to distinguish between proselytism and Christian witness, as well as between fundamentalism and genuine faithfulness, and help to shape the relationships between majority and minority churches in an ecumenical spirit". (Recommendations for Action 1.2).
The rationale for this recommendation was that 'The ecumenical fellowship is currently in a difficult situation as a result of various factors. This requires conscious counter-strategies. It seems necessary to foster an ecumenical culture of living and working together, and to create a firm basis for it.'
Following the Graz Assembly, the idea of a 'Charta Ecumenica' along these lines was discussed in both CEC and CCEE circles, as a means of furthering the reconciliation between the churches of Europe for the sake of reconciliation with Europe itself. The CEC/CCEE Joint Committee, at its meeting in Rome in February 1998, resolved on a process to initiate the project. Accordingly in October 1998 a small working group appointed by both CEC and CCEE met at Cartigny, near Geneva and after intensive discussion prepared a preliminary draft. A larger group of some 40 persons, representative of the diverse confessional and geographical constituencies of the European churches, was then convened by CEC and CCEE and met in Graz at the end of April 1999. This group subjected the preliminary draft to rigorous examination and discussion. In the light of this discussion the working group revised the first draft, resulting in the document now sent to you.
The next stage
For the next stage, which will last just over a year, all the member churches of CEC and CCEE are invited to study and discuss this draft with a view to its further revision and development. Churches and Bishops' Conferences are encouraged to engage as many parishes, dioceses and church groups as possible in discussion of the Charta. It is hoped that it will not only be discussed within each church, but also between churches in each national context so that its bearing upon ecumenical life may be assessed.
Comments are invited especially in answer to the following questions:
- How acceptable would this document as a whole prove to be to your church, as an encouragement and a challenge towards deepening ecumenical life and to sharing with other churches in a common responsibility towards Europe?
- What particular points in the document should be revised, and in what way?
- What topics calling for commitment by the churches in their relations to one another and to Europe, not at present included, should be added?
- What practical value might such a document have, and how might it actually be used, in the promotion of ecumenical life in your context and at the Europe-wide level?
We ask that such responses be sent to reach us by 1 September 2000.
Responses from CEC member churches should be sent to the CEC General Secretariat in Geneva (KEK, P.O.Box 2100, 150 route de Ferney, CH - 1211 Geneva 2), and those from the European Roman Catholic Bishops' Conferences to the CCEE office in St Gallen (CCEE Secretariat, Gallusstrasse 24, CH - 9000 St. Gallen).
It is our hope that receiving and discussing this draft will stimulate further ecumenical discussion in your own context. To that end, CEC and CCEE will be very glad to assist that discussion in any way we can, for example by arranging team-visits to your church or country or sharing in events that you yourself may wish to organise on the Charta. We shall look forward to hearing any suggestions you may wish to make.
The final stages and presentation
After 1st September 2000, the working group will consider the responses received and in the light of them prepare a final text to be submitted to the CEC/CCEE Joint Committee early in 2001. If the committee considers that a text has been prepared which is likely to be welcomed by the European churches as a whole, this will be signed by the Presidents of CEC and CCEE, and presented by them to the European churches immediately after Easter 2001.The occasion will be a European Ecumenical Encounter currently being planned by CEC and CCEE to take place then.
This however will not be the end of the process but in a real sense its beginning. It is hoped that the Charta Ecumenica will be received and adopted by all churches as a declaration of their commitment to reconciliation towards one another, to common witness and service, and to peace and justice for the whole of Europe. In this way the Charta Ecumenica can provide a continuing means whereby th churches can measure their life, their growth in relationships to one another, and their common witness to the gospel of reconciliation.
May we then look forward to your cooperation in this enterprise, and in due course to receiving the response of your church.
With our prayers and good wishes,
Yours in Christ,
Metropolitan Jérémie Caligiorgis
President
Conference of European Churches |
Miloslav Cardinal Vlk
President
Council of European Bishops' Conferences |
CHARTA ŒCUMENICA
FOR THE CO-OPERATION
OF CHURCHES IN EUROPE
DRAFT
Geneva / St. Gallen, July 1999
_____________________________
Id.99ca8e
22 July 1999
Original: German
English translation
CHARTA OECUMENICA
INTRODUCTION
"Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit"
We give thanks to our God, the Three in One, whose Holy Spirit guides our steps towards an ever deeper fellowship. By listening together to God's word in the Holy Scriptures, by confessing our common faith in worship and in our search together for God's truth, we bear witness to the love and hope which is for all people. With this in mind, we are striving for a clearer and fuller unity of the church of Jesus Christ in this world. We are aware that it is only through our own inner conversion that we can reach the unity which God is working to bring about amidst the differences in the development and expression of our faith.
We know that the scandal of the turmoil among us prevents our witness from being credible. This means also that we recognise our responsibility for the divisions of the church, and seek to take away the shadows which darken the face of the church of Jesus Christ and cause misunderstandings and offenses in the world. There is no alternative to reconciliation and ecumenism. We therefore commit ourselves, as member churches of the Conference of European Churches and as Catholic Bishops' Conferences of Europe, in the spirit of the Messages from the two European Ecumenical Assemblies of Basel 1989 and Graz 1997, to preserve and continue to develop the ecumenical fellowship which has grown up among us.
I. IT IS GOD WHO CALLS US TO UNITY
"...that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me."
(John 17.21)
1. We are called to follow Christ into unity in faith, love for God and our neighbours, and the hope of perfection in God. For us as Christians the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the heart and soul of all our ecumenical efforts. We confess and affirm together the ecumenical Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed (of 381).
We commit ourselves
- to announce and witness to the saving works of Christ, especially the mystery of his death and resurrection, as hope for all people and for the whole world.
- hearing together the word of God, in the service of the Gospel and in prayer for and with one another, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to make visible the unity of the one faith and the one baptism, expressed in worship and the shared life in Christ.
II. ON THE WAY TO VISIBLE FELLOWSHIP AMONG THE CHURCHES IN EUROPE
"By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
(John 13.35)
2. Coming to meet one another
Ecumenism in Europe begins, for Christians, with the renewal of our hearts and readiness for repentance and conversion. The history of the Christian churches has been full of divisions, enmities and even armed conflicts. Because of differences over questions of faith, but also because of human weakness and sin, the fellowship of the one church of Jesus Christ has been broken. These divisions, moreover, have spread throughout the world. However, the lack of credibility which this has caused for the Christian witness has been reduced in this century by the ecumenical movement, and has given way to reconciliation among Christians.
We commit ourselves
- in the spirit of the Gospel and the love of God, humbly to reappraise the history of our churches' guilt and ask one another's forgiveness;
- to ban self-satisfaction and do away with prejudice;
- to recognise the spiritual riches of the different Christian traditions, to learn from one another and thus receive these gifts;
- to seek encounters with one another, to be there for one another, and to work together in every way possible;
- to promote ecumenical learning in Christian education and in theological training and further education.
3. Praying together is the heart of ecumenism
The ecumenical movement lives because we hear God's word and let the Holy Spirit work in us and through us. By the power of the grace we thereby receive, there are today many and diverse efforts, through prayer and worship, to reach the unity which Jesus Christ wants for his church. Christians' prayer together is therefore the heart of ecumenism. Our ecumenical spirituality is marked by many shared liturgical prayers and hymns, and by many and diverse new experiences of spiritual fellowship.
We commit ourselves
- to pray for and with one another, since the unity of the church of Jesus Christ is ultimately a gift of God;
- to hold ecumenical worship services regularly, and to promote prayers and prayer services for the unity of Christians;
- in the search for a common ecumenical spirituality, to learn to know and appreciate the worship and other forms of spirituality of one another's churches.
4. Witnessing together to our faith
In the face of the advancing secularisation and ebbing of Christianity in Europe, we resolve to strengthen one another in a common Christian witness to our faith, to a common evangelisation and mission in Europe. For this it is indispensable to restore trust and agreement among the churches, in order to avoid hurtful competition and the danger of new divisions. It is important here to distinguish between church communities and sects.
We commit ourselves
- to discuss our mission and evangelisation work with the other churches;
- not to induce people to change their church membership, and never to use physical force, moral constraint, psychological pressure or material incentives to motivate people to conversion;
- to support the conversion of the churches, and to make it possible for them to have open contacts with one another.
5. There is no alternative to dialogue
The belonging together in Christ which we already experience is of fundamental importance in relation to our differing theological and ethical positions. Differences in belief, in teaching and in dealing with moral issues account for the divisions among the churches. In order to increase our ecumenical fellowship, efforts towards a consensus based on belief must be continued, for communion among churches can have its theological basis only in agreement with the fundamental truths of our faith. Therefore dialogues must be conscientiously and intensively pursued at the various levels of church life.
We commit ourselves
- to cultivate and deepen a culture of dialogue within and among the churches;
- to make sure the results of theological conversations among our churches are received at all levels of church life, and to take the consequences of such results;
- in cases of controversy, especially with regard to ethical questions which threaten to split the ecumenical fellowship, to continue our dialogue together.
III. THE ECUMENICAL COMMUNITY IN SERVICE TO EUROPE
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God."
(Matthew 5.9)
6. Acting Together
Until we reach the goal of full church communion, we intend to act together in all matters in which no deep differences of conviction compel us to act separately. This principle shall be valid for all levels of the life of the churches in Europe.
We commit ourselves
- to strengthen the co-operation between the Conference of European Churches (CEC) and the Council of European Bishops' Conferences (CCEE) in Europe;
- to hold European Ecumenical Assemblies;
- to clarify, at local, regional, national and international levels, in bilateral and multilateral conversations, on which statements of principles agreement is indispensable, and in which issues difference need not lead to division and can be mutually tolerated;
- to help resolve conflicts between churches and bring about peace;
- to defend the rights of minorities and help to reduce misunderstandings and prejudice;
- to make sure that all the churches in each of our countries have the opportunity for public activities.
7. A soul for Europe
The churches are in favour of European unity. Ecumenism means, for Europe, that the process of European integration is not limited to politics and economics. Thus, on the basis of our common faith, we seek to preserve "Europe's soul" by standing for values such as justice, freedom, tolerance, participation and solidarity, and by helping to make these values fruitful for the common life of the people of this continent.
We commit ourselves
- to promote the unity of Europe in all its cultural, ethnic and religious diversity;
- to represent, in as united a way as possible, the concerns of the churches to the secular European institutions;
- to protect basic values against infringements by governments;
- to recognise and reinforce our responsibility in Europe towards all of humanity, especially for the poor in the countries of the so-called "Third World".
- to promote a climate of peace, which gives preference to non-violent means of conflict resolution.
8. Reconciling peoples and cultures, preserving creation
We in Europe acknowledge particularly our responsibility to reconcile peoples and cultures with one another. We affirm the diversity of our regional, national, cultural and religious traditions as greatly enriching Europe. We direct our common efforts towards evaluating and resolving political and social issues in the spirit of the Gospel.
We commit ourselves
- to respect the person and the dignity of every human being as made in the image of God, and equality for all people; to preserve and defend human rights and to stand up against injustice;
- to promote democratic processes in Europe and social justice among all peoples;
- to ban every form of nationalistic exclusivity and marginalisation, when love of one's own country leads to oppression of other peoples or of national minorities;
- to promote openness towards the increasing numbers of foreign persons, asylum-seekers and refugees, and to give homeless persons a refuge and a home in Europe;
- to stand up for the rights which belong to every person without distinction or discrimination, especially by strengthening the position and equal rights of women in all areas of life and upholding the well-being of children and families;
- to stand up against every form of violence against persons, especially women and children;
- to preserve the environment for all creatures, in particular also for coming generations.
9. Fostering relations with other religions
There is a particular sense of community between us and the people Israel, God's chosen people for all time, the people of the Covenant and of the promise, from whom Jesus Christ arose. Together with our Jewish brothers and sisters we pray to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. We deplore all the outbreaks of hate, persecution and manifestations of prejudice which have been directed at the Jews, and we ask God to grant us forgiveness and reconciliation. We support the many and diverse forms of Christian-Jewish cooperation. We enter into meetings with Muslims and adherents of other religions in a spirit of respect and appreciation, and we are making efforts towards mutual understanding.
We commit ourselves
- to recognise and protect freedom of conscience and of religion for humankind;
- to recognise the right of every person to seek truth and witness to this truth according to his or her own conscience;
- to initiate, cultivate and support encounters, conversations and sharing with communities which hold other religious and world views.
"May the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing, so that we may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." (Romans 15.13)
Geneva / St. Gallen, July 1999
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