Prayer is an important means for Christians to reassure people and give hope. Representatives of the World Council of Churches believe that this must be used. Also in view of the Ukraine war.
Karlsruhe (dpa/lsw) – More cooperation, more common prayers: The plenary assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Karlsruhe ended with an urgent appeal for Christian unity, also against the background of the Ukraine war. “It is human suffering that knows no bounds,” said Agnes Abuom of the World Council of Churches (WCC). It should not be forgotten that flesh and blood people in Ukraine and Russia are suffering from the war, said the Kenyan on Thursday at the final conference.
“We must hope that the war in Ukraine will end as soon as possible,” said Metropolitan Nifon of Târgoviste (Romanian Orthodox Church). For Christians, prayer is an important means of reassuring people and giving them hope. For Metropolitan Nifon, therefore, a declaration of unity is one of the most important outcomes of the assembly. In the face of war and suffering, a way must be found to work together and spread the Christian gospel around the world. In Karlsruhe there were talks between the two sides. “The ecumenical movement is a blessing for Christianity as a whole,” said Nifon.
People look at the same phenomenon very differently because of their history, culture, denominational background and tradition, said the Council President of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), Annette Kurschus. “Especially the voice of those directly affected has a special weight.” This applies to the war in Ukraine as well as to the conflicts in the Middle East. She hopes that the General Assembly will give strong impetus to global Christianity in a world full of conflicts and deep-seated crises.
For the Baden state bishop Heike Springhart, the plenary assembly was a moving testimony to how Christian churches are connected across all divergences. “We celebrated a great international festival of faith in Karlsruhe,” said Petra Bosse-Huber, bishop for foreign affairs of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD).
At the eleventh plenary assembly of the Ecumenical Council in Karlsruhe, more than 4,000 Christians from all over the world spent a good week reflecting on the contribution churches can make to a peaceful society. Under the motto “The love of Christ moves, reconciles and unites the world”, topics such as global climate change and the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine dominated the General Assembly, which was in Germany for the first time. There were also calls for more inclusion and for women in spiritual leadership positions.
