Verslag - NG Kerk in Oos-Kaapland

Membership in the WCC does not imply the acceptance of a specific doctrine concerning the
nature of church unity.
The second part offers eight positive assumptions which underlie life in the Council. The member churches:
believe that conversation, cooperation and common witness of the churches must be based on the
common recognition that Christ is the divine Head of the body;
believe on the basis of the New Testament that the church of Christ is one;
recognize that the membership of the church of Christ is more inclusive than the membership of
their own church body;
consider the relationship of other churches to the holy catholic church which the creeds profess as
a subject for mutual consideration;
recognize in other churches elements of the true church;
are willing to consult together in seeking to learn of the Lord Jesus Christ what witness he would
have them to bear to the world in his name;
should recognize their solidarity with each other, render assistance to each other in case of need
and refrain from such actions as are incompatible with brotherly [and sisterly] rlationships;
enter into spiritual relationships through which they seek to learn from each other and to give help
to each other in order that the body of Christ may be built up and that the life of the churches may be
renewed.
1.13 Important explications of the Basis, nature and purpose of the World Council of Churches have been
offered through its successive Assemblies. The New Delhi Assembly (1961) not only enlarged the
christological Basis from a trinitarian perspective but also acknowledged the "common calling" of the
churches, which was tangibly expressed by the integration of the International Missionary Council into the
WCC. The same Assembly also saw the entry of several large Orthodox churches into the fellowship of the
WCC and accepted the first formal statement on "the church's unity": "We believe that the unity which is
both God's will and his gift to his church is being made visible as all in each place who are baptized into
Jesus Christ and confess him as Lord and Saviour are brought by the Holy Spirit into a fully committed
fellowship..."
1.14 The Assemblies in Uppsala (1968), Nairobi (1975), Vancouver (1983) and Canberra (1991) continued to
deepen this common understanding by unfolding the quest for unity in its universal dimension, embracing
the human community as well as the church. They explored such concepts as conciliarity and conciliar
fellowship (Uppsala and Nairobi), a eucharistic vision (Vancouver) and "The Unity of the Church as
Koinonia: Gift and Calling" (Canberra).
1.15 Many other such significant declarations, both within the WCC and in other ecumenical contexts, could
be mentioned. Yet for many people the understanding of the WCC as a living fellowship of churches has
emerged more vividly through specific initiatives to engage the churches in reflecting and acting at the local
level: among them the Programme to Combat Racism, the convergence texts on Baptism, Eucharist and
Ministry, the study on the Community of Women and Men in the Church, the conciliar process on Justice,
Peace and the Integrity of Creation, the Ecumenical Decade - Churches in Solidarity with Women, the study
on Gospel and Culture and the Programme to Overcome Violence. Controversial though some of these
have been among and within the member churches, they are important features of the profile of the WCC;
and any attempt to articulate a common understanding of the WCC must take them into account.
Chapter 2
The Ecumenical Movement
2.1 It is impossible to speak of the World Council of Churches apart from the ecumenical movement out of
which it grew and of which it is a highly visible part. While the ecumenical movement is wider than its
organizational expressions, and while the WCC is essentially the fellowship of its member churches, it
serves at the same time as a prominent instrument and expression of the ecumenical movement. As such it
is an advocate of the impulse for renewal which has characterized the movement from its beginnings.
The meaning of "ecumenical"
2.2 Among churches and ecumenical organizations uncertainty, ambiguity and even confusion prevail about
what is meant by the "ecumenical movement". There is agreement that the term "ecumenical" embraces
the quest for Christian unity, common witness in the worldwide task of mission and evangelism, and
commitment to diakonia and to the promotion of justice and peace. But there is no authoritative definition of
the term, and it is in fact used to characterize a wide range of activities, ideas and organizational
arrangements.
2.3 Perhaps the best-known definition is that formulated by the WCC's Central Committee, meeting at Rolle,
in 1951:
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