“It was the first large-scale gathering of leaders of Anglican, Protestant, and Orthodox churches after the carnage of the First World War,” editor Dr Stephen G. Brown writes in the editorial. Together they spoke out for justice, peace, and reconciliation, and the conference inspired the Life and Work movement, which later joined with the Faith and Order movement dealing with overcoming doctrinal differences to form the WCC in 1948. “The Universal Christian Conference on Life and Work, held in Stockholm in 1925, marked a landmark in ecumenical history,” writes Brown. One hundred years later, thousands of participants, including global and national church leaders, will gather again in Stockholm 18-24 August, for a week of ecumenical anniversary celebrations. Articles in the issue discuss the pioneering role of Swedish Archbishop Nathan Söderblom in the realization of the Stockholm conference; and the links between the Life and Work and Faith and Order movements. Another article focuses on the participation of Orthodox churches in the conference in a year that, like 2025, marked the anniversary of the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE, the first attempt to reach consensus in the church through an assembly representing all of Christendom. The Life and Work movement provided the basis for the WCC's action on justice and peace after the Second World War., and articles discuss the contemporary significance of WCC programmes such as promoting a Just, Participatory, and Sustainable Society, and the Conciliar Process for Justice, Peace, and the Integrity of Creation. In the article that opens the issue, the WCC’s programme director for Life, Justice, and Peace, Rev. Dr Kennth Mtata asks how the WCC and the wider ecumenical movement can reconnect with the spirit of the Life and Work movement. “The Stockholm movement stimulated an ecumenical way to perceive the forces that threatened life and to marshal individual and collective Christian response through prayer, worship, study, and joint strategic action guided by the principles of God’s reign,” writes Mtata. “It is the spirit of such a movement that we must invoke today as we perceive the same forces of death and destruction militating against God's people and God's creation.” The Ecumenical Review is published by Wiley on behalf of the WCC. The issue is available online (free to read) Selected articles (read only) in this issue of The Ecumenical Review: Stephen G. Brown, Editorial Kenneth Mtata, Reclaiming the Spirit of Life and Work for Ecumenical Renewal Jonas Jonson, Nathan Söderblom and the Universal Christian Conference on Life and Work Sara Gehlin, Between Stockholm and Lausanne: On Unity, Peace, and an Ecumenism of the Heart Open Access articles in this issue of The Ecumenical Review: Natallia Vasilevich, Orthodox Participation in the Universal Christian Conference on Life and Work, Stockholm, 1925 Ernst M. Conradie, Revisiting the Quest for a Just, Participatory, and Sustainable Society More information about The Ecumenical Review | 
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