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World Council of Churches
World Council of Churches an international, interdenominational organization of most major Protestant, Anglican, and Eastern Orthodox Christian churches; founded in Amsterdam in 1948, its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. The idea of a world fellowship of Christian churches took concrete form in 1937, when two ecumenical conferences—on life and work and on faith and order—elected a joint committee to formulate plans for a world council. This provisional committee met at Utrecht in 1938 under the organization's first general secretary, Willem Adolf Visser't Hooft , but it was not until after World War II that the first assembly took place (1948) and formally ratified the constitution. At Amsterdam there were 147 Christian churches from 44 countries; today there are 341 member churches from over 100 countries.
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"World Council of Churches." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "World Council of Churches." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-WorldCncl.html "World Council of Churches." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-WorldCncl.html |
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World Council of Churches
World Council of Churches. The ‘fellowship of Churches which accept our Lord Jesus Christ as God and Saviour’, formally constituted at Amsterdam in 1948. The organization arose from the fusion of two earlier movements, ‘Life and Work’ and ‘Faith and Order’. A provisional organization was established at Utrecht in 1938, but because of the Second World War the formal constitution was delayed until 1948. Representative Assemblies, held at intervals of six to eight years, meet in different parts of the world. From them are elected members of the Central Committee, the Council's highest governing body. The headquarters of the Council is in Geneva. In a reorganization in 1992 its work was gathered into four programme units.
Apart from the RC Church and the Unitarians, the Council includes Churches from all the main Christian denominations, including nearly all the Eastern Orthodox Churches. Since 1961 the RC Church has sent observers to Assemblies; in 1968 it became a full member of the Faith and Order Commission and was thus involved in the production of the 1982 report on ‘Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry’. |
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E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "World Council of Churches." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "World Council of Churches." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-WorldCouncilofChurches.html E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "World Council of Churches." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-WorldCouncilofChurches.html |
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World Council of Churches
World Council of Churches An interdenominational organization of Christian Churches, created in 1948. Apart from the ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH and the Unitarians, the Council includes all the major and many minor denominations and nearly all the Eastern Orthodox Churches. Since 1961 the Roman Catholic Church has sent accredited observers. The World Council of Churches is the most important of a number of ecumenical movements advocating greater unity amongst the Christian Churches. Most of the work of the Council is advisory, but it also has a number of administrative units; the largest of these is the division of Inter-Church Aid, Refugee, and World Service.
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Cite this article
"World Council of Churches." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "World Council of Churches." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-WorldCouncilofChurches.html "World Council of Churches." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-WorldCouncilofChurches.html |
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World Council of Churches
World Council of Churches International fellowship of Christian Churches formed in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in 1948. Its aim is to work for the reunion of all Christian Churches and to establish a united Christian presence in the world. Its membership consists of some 300 churches. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland.
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"World Council of Churches." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "World Council of Churches." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-WorldCouncilofChurches.html "World Council of Churches." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-WorldCouncilofChurches.html |
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World Council of Churches:
World Council of Churches: see ECUMENISM.
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Cite this article
JOHN BOWKER. "World Council of Churches:." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN BOWKER. "World Council of Churches:." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-WorldCouncilofChurches.html JOHN BOWKER. "World Council of Churches:." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-WorldCouncilofChurches.html |
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