WCC NEWS: A tribute to Metropolitan Kallistos (Ware) of Diokleia

The fellowship of churches constituting the World Council of Churches mourns the loss of Metropolitan Kallistos of Diokleia, an outstanding hierarch of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, one of the leading theologians today in the Orthodox world, a proliferous author, a teacher deeply respected by his many disciples around the world, a man of dialogue, a worldwide known ecumenist. Photo: Ivars Kupcis/WCC 25 August 2022 Metropolitan Kallistos of Diokleia passed away on 24 August. As a hierarch, he has been a faithful servant of the altar and the pulpit, celebrating very often as a parish priest. As a professor, he was known for his pertinent and penetrating theological reflection. As a spiritual father, for his spiritual depth and his contagious commitment to the values of spiritual writers of all ages. As an ecumenist, for his talent to unfold Orthodox – indeed Christian -- faith not just as a system of beliefs, a sum of practices, and a series of customs, but as a “Way.” Lecturer at the University of Oxford in Eastern Orthodox studies, a position he held for 35 years, chairman of the board of directors of the Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies in Cambridge, and honorary president of the Orthodox Association of Theological Schools (Oxford, UK), the late Metropolitan Kallistos of Diokleia opened up Orthodoxy to his students, but also to a very large Christian public, particularly through his remarkable gift for explaining the doctrine and faith of the church in a clear, gracious, lively, and engaging way.  Committed to bilateral theological dialogue, as well as to dialogue with sciences and cultures, he has shown the importance of constructive relationships between East and West, has actively participated in the dialogues between the Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Church and the dialogue between the Orthodox Church and the Anglican communion. “For his outstanding contribution to Anglican-Orthodox theological dialogue,” Metropolitan Kallistos was awarded the Lambeth Cross for Ecumenism by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The wider Christian world is indebted to Metropolitan Kallistos also for his contribution to the translation and publication of major Orthodox ascetic and liturgical texts such as the “Philokalia,” “The Lenten Triodion,” and “Festal Menaion,” making them valuable sources of fresh spiritual water accessible to all.  “The World Council of Churches is grateful to Metropolitan Kallistos for his many disciples who served on the governing bodies and the staff of the council, as well as the bilateral theological dialogues and the ecumenical movement at large,” said WCC acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca. “As we thank God, the God of life and Resurrection, for the life and work of the late Metropolitan Kallistos, we express our sincere condolences to his church, the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and to his many spiritual sons and daughters around the world.” See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 352 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC acting general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, from the Orthodox Church in Romania.  Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches 150 route de Ferney Geneve 2 1211 Switzerland