WCC News: World Council of Churches invites fellowship to prepare for Faith and Order world conference

A new booklet produced by the World Council of Churches (WCC) invites churches to accompany preparations for the WCC’s Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order in 2025, a major gathering intended to advance Christian unity.  Photo: WCC 06 May 2024 Organized by the WCC’s Commission on Faith and Order, the conference will take place in Egypt from 24 to 28 October 2025 and will mark the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, a key moment in the search for Christian unity.  “The Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order is a pivotal event for the World Council of Churches, symbolizing a significant milestone in the journey towards church unity,” said Dr Andrej Jeftić, director of the Faith and Order commission. The 16-page full-colour booklet offers more details about the event, its theme, and its setting in Egypt, where it will be hosted by the Coptic Orthodox Church. The Council of Nicaea in 325 CE gathered bishops representing the whole of Christendom to seek consensus on the central meaning of Christian belief and to affirm their faith in the triune God. World Conferences on Faith and Order have been held since 1927 at key moments in the history of the ecumenical movement, and the anniversary of Nicaea is the starting point for the theme of 2025 conference, “Where now for visible unity?”  The theme will be addressed from the interrelated perspectives of faith, mission, and unity, reaffirming the WCC’s vision of churches calling one another to visible unity and advancing the unity of humanity and of all creation.  “Given the challenges we face – disunity, injustice, climate urgency, wars, and violence –how do we approach the quest for visible unity so that we may together witness our common faith in Jesus as God and Saviour in the 21st century?” said Jeftić. “We invite churches, ecumenical organizations, academic institutions, and individuals to collaborate with the WCC in their own Nicaea commemorations, and to engage with and support the Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order,” he added. For further details and information about supporting the conference, please contact: Nicaea2025@wcc-coe.org. Participation in the Sixth World Conference in Egypt is by invitation. Copies of the brochure in PDF format can be downloaded from the WCC Publications page, print copies are available from media@wcc-coe.org. Brochure "Toward the Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order - Commemorating the Council of Nicaea: Where Now for Visible Unity? " Learn more about Nicaea 2025 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 general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. 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