WCC NEWS: Archbishop of Canterbury: “In this time of world crisis, Christians are to be a community of peace”

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby addressed the World Council of Churches 11th Assembly on 7 September. 7 September 2022, Karlsruhe, Germany: H.G. Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury, the Church of England, speaks at a thematic plenary focused on ’Christian Unity and the Churches’ Common Witness’ at the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches, held in Karlsruhe, Germany from 31 August to 8 September, under the theme "Christ's Love Moves the World to Reconciliation and Unity." Photo: Albin Hillert/WCC 07 September 2022 The archbishop spoke of how the theme of the WCC assembly—“Christ’s love moves the world to reconciliation and unity”—resonates with the theme of the Lambeth Conference of Anglican Bishops, held in August under the theme “God’s Church for God’s World.” Welby commented on the ways in which the participants at the Lambeth Conference were able to move forward. “We found our way forward through, not by solving the issues, but by living in the light of Christ, by saying we do not agree, by being honest without excluding one another,” he said. “At the beginning many felt they could not participate—by the end almost all did.” The challenge to Christians, Welby said, is in daily conversion of life. “The next decades look no better, economically, militarily, spiritually, socially, scientifically, technologically, especially for the poorest and the weakest,” he said. “In this time of world crisis, Christians are to be a community of peace, the creation of God, not us, in Christ through the Spirit.” We live amidst the ecumenism of suffering, Welby continued. "We are well practised in the ecumenism of service,” he said. “Theological understanding has advanced greatly.” But none of us are yet imbued with the spirit of the love of Christ, he emphasized. “Christ's prayer for visible unity to convert and draw us close enough to each other, although not united, we share as one people in the paschal mystery,” he said. “But we do not show that day to day.” The luxurious expense of well-practised Christian division is no longer affordable, he concluded. “My simple challenge to all of us today, is to re-find the spiritual passion of the past for ecumenism; theologically, in solidarity with the suffering, in love that covers a multitude of sins,” he said. “To do that we must face our fears of each other and of the world together, we must love one another, we must give common witness and work towards a more visible unity that we reimagine in the grace of God.” Archbishop of Canterbury: “In this time of world crisis, Christians are to be a community of peace” Livestream of the WCC 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe, Germany Photos of the WCC 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe, Germany WCC 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe, Germany 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