“As churches journey together, facing the struggles of the world, they are opened up to new experiences of the divine and are renewed in spirit,” Jeftić said in his address to the 14-16 October conference on the theme “Metanoia and Dialogue: Dealing with Conflicts within and Between Churches” in Cluj in northwestern Romania. “This shared journey challenges the churches to reflect on their unity and to seek ways to overcome ecclesiological differences,” he said, referring to reflections by the Faith and Order commission on the call of the WCC 10th Assembly in 2013 for churches to embark on a Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace. Organized by the Association of Protestant Churches and Missions in Germany, known by its German abbreviation EMW, and the Faculty of Orthodox Theology in Cluj-Napoca, the conference brought together about 60 participants. The conference explored how different theologies and understandings of the church can overcome breakdowns in relationships, and included panels and addresses that explored interconfessional and intercultural conflicts, as well as experiences of colonialism and anti-colonialism within churches. Dr Masiiwa Ragies Gunda, WCC programme executive for programmatic responses on overcoming racism, spoke at a panel on “Decolonization as an Approach to Ecumenical Dialogue.” Jeftić in his address reflected on the experience of the WCC’s Faith and Order commission in seeking to overcome differences and conflicts between and within churches. “While conflict has been a constant throughout history, today it seems more tangible, with rising polarization being a striking feature of our time,” Jeftić said. “This polarization is not absent from the life of the church. In some cases, churches, even those belonging to the same tradition, find themselves on opposite sides of military conflict, as we see in the ongoing war in Ukraine.” In other instances, he continued, ideological and sometimes doctrinal disagreements have sparked internal divisions within churches and different church traditions. “At the heart of Faith and Order’s conflict resolution process is its dialogical approach,” he said. In such ecumenical dialogues, participants are encouraged not to debate in a confrontational manner but to engage with one another in a spirit of mutual respect and listening, Jeftić continued. “By focusing on dialogue rather than confrontation, Faith and Order creates a space where disagreements can be aired openly, and differing perspectives can be explored in depth,” he said.
“Metanoia and Dialogue: Dealing with Conflicts within and Between Churches.”An EMW conference at the Orthodox Theological Faculty in Cluj, Romania More information about the WCC Commission on Faith and Order Come and See: A Theological Invitation to the Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace, Faith and Order Paper No. 224, 2019 More information about the WCC’s work on overcoming racism | 
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