ABOUT US
ABOUT US:
THE WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES (WCC) AND THE INSTITUTE OF THEOLOGY AND ECOLOGY AT THE ORTHODOX ACADEMY OF CRETE (OAC)
About the World Council of Churches (WCC):
The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of churches which confess the Lord Jesus Christ as God and Saviour according to the scriptures, and therefore seek to fulfil together their common calling to the glory of the one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
It is a community of churches on the way to visible unity in one faith and one eucharistic fellowship, expressed in worship and in common life in Christ. It seeks to advance towards this unity, as Jesus prayed for his followers, "so that the world may believe." (John 17:21)
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is the broadest and most inclusive among the many organized expressions of the modern ecumenical movement, a movement whose goal is Christian unity.
The WCC brings together churches, denominations and church fellowships in more than 110 countries and territories throughout the world, representing over 500 million Christians and including most of the world's Orthodox churches, scores of Anglican, Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist and Reformed churches, as well as many United and Independent churches. While the bulk of the WCC's founding churches were European and North American, today most member churches are in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, the Middle East and the Pacific. There are now 348 member churches.
For its member churches, the WCC is a unique space: one in which they can reflect, speak, act, worship and work together, challenge and support each other, share and debate with each other. As members of this fellowship, WCC member churches:
About the Institute of Theology and Ecology at the Orthodox Academy of Crete
In 1991 the OAC established this Institute in order to advance the much-needed interlinking of theology and ecology in the struggle for the protection of the Divine Creation and to further develop and strengthen its work in this area. The Institute has, among other, the following tasks:
a) To promote the publication of texts of ecological interest, in particular:
- an epitome of texts of ecological interest from the Holy Scriptures and the patristic, liturgical and in general Christian Literature
- translation and publication of foreign theological and other texts of ecological content
- preparation and publication of a comparative Lexicon of Theology and Ecology.
b) Intensification of ecological dialogue between theologians, technologists, economists, politicians and others, taking into account related interecclesiastical and other initiatives and decisions.
c) The development of an interorthodox dialogue on ecological issues.
d) to establish and develop interreligious ecological dialogue (mainly between Christianity, Judaism, and Islam) on the complexity of ecological problems of the Mediterranean and to formulate together and accept an ECOLOGICAL CHARTER OF THE MEDITERRANEAN with basic ethical principles and mutual affirmations for a long range cooperation toward ecological protection of the Mediterranean.
f) The application of pedagogical measures of ecological theory and praxis, especially in the framework of the ecumenical-international activity of the EUROMEDITERRANEAN YOUTH CENTER of the OAC.
For more information: www.oac.gr
THE WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES (WCC) AND THE INSTITUTE OF THEOLOGY AND ECOLOGY AT THE ORTHODOX ACADEMY OF CRETE (OAC)
About the World Council of Churches (WCC):
The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of churches which confess the Lord Jesus Christ as God and Saviour according to the scriptures, and therefore seek to fulfil together their common calling to the glory of the one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
It is a community of churches on the way to visible unity in one faith and one eucharistic fellowship, expressed in worship and in common life in Christ. It seeks to advance towards this unity, as Jesus prayed for his followers, "so that the world may believe." (John 17:21)
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is the broadest and most inclusive among the many organized expressions of the modern ecumenical movement, a movement whose goal is Christian unity.
The WCC brings together churches, denominations and church fellowships in more than 110 countries and territories throughout the world, representing over 500 million Christians and including most of the world's Orthodox churches, scores of Anglican, Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist and Reformed churches, as well as many United and Independent churches. While the bulk of the WCC's founding churches were European and North American, today most member churches are in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, the Middle East and the Pacific. There are now 348 member churches.
For its member churches, the WCC is a unique space: one in which they can reflect, speak, act, worship and work together, challenge and support each other, share and debate with each other. As members of this fellowship, WCC member churches:
- are called to the goal of visible unity in one faith and one eucharistic fellowship;
- promote their common witness in work for mission and evangelism;
- engage in Christian service by serving human need, breaking down barriers between people, seeking justice and peace, and upholding the integrity of creation; and
- foster renewal in unity, worship, mission and service.
About the Institute of Theology and Ecology at the Orthodox Academy of Crete
In 1991 the OAC established this Institute in order to advance the much-needed interlinking of theology and ecology in the struggle for the protection of the Divine Creation and to further develop and strengthen its work in this area. The Institute has, among other, the following tasks:
a) To promote the publication of texts of ecological interest, in particular:
- an epitome of texts of ecological interest from the Holy Scriptures and the patristic, liturgical and in general Christian Literature
- translation and publication of foreign theological and other texts of ecological content
- preparation and publication of a comparative Lexicon of Theology and Ecology.
b) Intensification of ecological dialogue between theologians, technologists, economists, politicians and others, taking into account related interecclesiastical and other initiatives and decisions.
c) The development of an interorthodox dialogue on ecological issues.
d) to establish and develop interreligious ecological dialogue (mainly between Christianity, Judaism, and Islam) on the complexity of ecological problems of the Mediterranean and to formulate together and accept an ECOLOGICAL CHARTER OF THE MEDITERRANEAN with basic ethical principles and mutual affirmations for a long range cooperation toward ecological protection of the Mediterranean.
f) The application of pedagogical measures of ecological theory and praxis, especially in the framework of the ecumenical-international activity of the EUROMEDITERRANEAN YOUTH CENTER of the OAC.
For more information: www.oac.gr
