A Handbook Of Churches and Councils Profiles of Ecumenical Relationships

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1 A Handbook Of Churches and Councils Profiles of Ecumenical Relationships Compiled by Huibert van Beek World Council of Churches Cover design: Rob Lucas 2006 World Council of Churches 150 route de Ferney, PO Box Geneva 2, Switzerland Printed in France by Lussaud

2 Foreword Introduction Table of Contents vii ix Part I Global World Council of Churches. 3 Member churches of the World Council of Churches (list) 6 Member churches by church family. 14 Member churches by region 14 Global Christian Forum. 15 Christian World Communions 17 Churches, Christian World Communions and Groupings of Churches 20 Anglican churches 20 Anglican consultative council 21 Member churches and provinces of the Anglican Communion 22 Baptist churches 23 Baptist World Alliance 23 Member churches of the Baptist World Alliance 24 The Catholic Church 29 Disciples of Christ/Churches of Christ. 32 Disciples Ecumenical Consultative Council 33 Member churches of the Disciples Ecumenical Consultative Council 34 World Convention of Churches of Christ. 33 Evangelical churches. 34 World Evangelical Alliance 35 National member fellowships of the World Evangelical Alliance 36 Friends (Quakers) 39 Friends World Committee for Consultation 40 Member yearly meetings of the Friends World Committee for Consultation 40 Holiness churches 41 Member churches of the Christian Holiness Partnership 43 Lutheran churches 43 Lutheran World Federation 44 Member churches of the Lutheran World Federation 45 International Lutheran Council 45 Member churches of the International Lutheran Council 48 Mennonite Churches 49 Mennonite World Conference 50 Member churches of the Mennonite World Conference 50 Methodist churches 53 World Methodist Council 53 Member churches of the World Methodist Council 54 Moravian churches 56 Moravian Unity Board 56 Member churches of the Moravian Unity Board 57 Old-Catholic churches 57 International Old-Catholic Bishops' Conference 58 Member churches of the International Old-Catholic Bishops Conference 58 Orthodox Church (Eastern) 59 Eastern Orthodox churches 60 Orthodox churches (Oriental) 61 Churches belonging to the Oriental Orthodox family 62 Pentecostal churches 63 Pentecostal World Fellowship 64 Reformed churches 65 World Alliance of Reformed Churches 66 Member churches of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches 67 Reformed Ecumenical Council 66 Member churches of the Reformed Ecumenical Council 72 Salvation Army 73 Territories and Commands of the Salvation Army 74 Seventh-day Adventist Church 75 United and Uniting churches 76 List of United and Uniting churches 78 Comparative Table I Christian World Communions / World Council of Churches 80 Comparative Table II Christian World Communions/World Council of Churches 81 Global Mission Communions 82 Community of Churches in Mission Cevaa 82 Member churches of Cevaa 83

3 Council for World Mission 84 Member churches of the Council for World Mission 85 United Evangelical Mission 86 Member churches of the United Evangelical Mission 87 Part II Regional and National Regional and National Councils and Conferences of Churches 91 Africa 97 Map of Africa 98 All Africa Conference of Churches 99 Member churches of the All Africa Conference of Churches 100 Organization of African Instituted Churches 103 Member churches of the Organization of African Instituted Churches 104 Sub-regional Fellowships of Councils and Churches 109 churches in Africa 110 Asia 223 Map of Asia 224 Christian Conference of Asia 225 Member churches of the Christian Conference of Asia 226 South Asian Council of Churches 228 churches in Asia 228 Caribbean 313 Map of the Caribbean 314 Caribbean Conference of Churches 315 Member churches of the Caribbean Conference of Churches 316 churches in the Caribbean 317 Europe 339 Map of Europe 340 Conference of European Churches 341 Member churches of the Conference of European Churches 342 Community of Protestant Churches in Europe - Leuenberg Fellowship 345 Member churches of the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe 346 Council of Christian Churches of an African Approach in Europe 348 Member churches of the Council of Christian Churches of an African Approach in Europe 349 Conference of Protestant Churches in Latin Countries of Europe 351 Conference of Churches on the Rhine 351 churches in Europe 352 Latin America 481 Map of Latin America 482 Latin American Council of Churches 483 Member churches of the Latin American Council of Churches 484 Latin American Evangelical Pentecostal Commission 487 Member churches of the Latin American Evangelical Pentecostal Commission 488 churches in Latin America 489 Middle East 523 Map of the Middle East 524 Middle East Council of Churches 525 Member churches of the Middle East Council of Churches 526 Fellowship of Middle East Evangelical Churches 527 Member churches of the Fellowship of Middle East Evangelical Churches 528 Countries - WCC member churches in the Middle East 528 North America 545 Map of North America 546 Countries - Councils of churches - WCC member churches in North America 547 Pacific 581 Map of the Pacific 582 Pacific Conference of Churches 583 Member churches of the Pacific Conference of Churches 584 churches in the Pacific 585 Alphabetical Index of Part I 611 Index of Countries and Territories 612 Index of National / Christian / Ecumenical Councils / Federations of Churches 614 Index of Sub-regional Fellowships / Conferences / Councils 617 Index of Regional Ecumenical Organizations / Church Bodies 618 List of Abbreviations and Acronyms 619

4 Foreword It has often been said - and rightly so - that the World Council of Churches is first and foremost a fellowship of churches. This book, A Handbook of Churches and Councils - Profiles of Ecumenical Relationships, is a vivid illustration of that reality. The descriptions, lists, statistical data and other information presented in these pages give a striking picture of the extent and diversity of this community whose members are united by the confession that the Lord Jesus Christ is God and Saviour and by the resolve to fulfil together their common calling to the glory of the one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit (in the words of the Basis of the WCC). The fellowship ranges from the smallest church - the Disciples of Christ in Argentina, with 700 faithful - to the largest - the Russian Orthodox Church, with 164 million members. It encompasses a Christian population of some 590 million people, in close to 150 countries in all regions of the world. It is comprised of over 520,000 local congregations served by some 493,000 pastors and priests, as well as countless elders, teachers, members of parish councils and others who take part daily in building the Body of Christ and in witnessing to the world, locally and globally. The book that is before you is not simply a handbook of the member churches of the WCC. The Council is not a fellowship standing on its own. At all levels -global, regional and sub-regional, national and local - member churches interact with other churches which, for various reasons, are not formally part of the Council s membership. The closer one comes to the local context of the churches, the broader this range becomes. The Catholic Church, which is not a member of the WCC, and Pentecostal churches making up less than 1 percent of membership within the WCC, participate - respectively - in 60 percent and close to 40 percent of existing national councils of churches. Many other churches that take part in the ecumenical movement without being members of the WCC appear on the lists of member churches of national councils and regional ecumenical organizations presented in this book. By combining in one volume all the conciliar and confessional bodies and their membership, A Handbook of Churches and Councils - Profiles of Ecumenical Relationships demonstrates concretely the reach of the ecumenical movement and also shows how much broader it is than the WCC alone. It serves to remind us that ownership of the movement rests not only with the WCC but with all the partners, and ultimately with God. We are pleased that this book becomes available just before the Ninth Assembly of the WCC, in the midst of reflection on ecumenism in the 21st century, discussion on reconfiguration of the ecumenical movement, and the process of building up the Global Christian Forum. Together with the report Mapping the Oikoumene and the Ecumenical Prayer Cycle, a comprehensive resource is at our disposal for the task ahead of us. Significantly the survey of churches in ecumenical relationships fully confirms the conclusion of the mapping study that the greatest participation and membership in ecumenical structures is at the national level. It would seem that the national level is also the place where the greatest potential exists tor moving beyond the present boundaries of the ecumenical movement. I hope that this book will be used widely, and that it will contribute to nurturing, strengthening and expanding the relationships that bind us together, for the sake of our common participation in God's mission. Samuel Kobia General Secretary, World Council of Churches

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