WCC NEWS: What does visible unity look like? Global theologians reflect

“Where now for visible unity?” was the theme of the Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order meeting in Egypt from 24 to 28 October and on the final day of the gathering, a panel of theologians from different regions and contexts reflected on the topic of “Living Visible Unity.” 28 October 2025, Wadi El Natrun, Egypt: Rev. Canon Dr Charlotte Methuen (Scottish Episcopal Church) speaks during a plenary on 'Living Visible Unity' underway at the World Council of Churches Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order taking place 24-28 October 2025 in Wadi El Natrun, Egypt, around the theme “Where now for visible unity?” Photo: Albin Hillert/WCC 30 October 2025 “This conference invites us to ponder how the churches might respond afresh to Christ’s prayer ‘that they may all be one,’ amid new historical and contextual realities and in the continuing shadow of coloniality, whose enduring logics still shape our theologies, identities, and ecclesial relations,” said Rev. Dr Teddy Sakupapa, an ordained minister in the Uniting Presbyterian Church in South Africa.  About 400 participants gathered for the conference, organized by the WCC Commission on Faith and Order at the Logos Papal Center of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Wadi El Natrun.  “While churches flourish in South Africa, there are many issues that keep churches divided: different understandings of ministry; the ordination of women; contested questions around human sexuality; inequalities mirroring social fractures; political allegiances; and theological polarization that erodes the capacity of churches to speak and act with a common voice,” said Sakupapa. the current deputy moderator of the WCC Commission on Education and Ecumenical Formation. “Unity, in my context,” he said, “is less about structure and more about shared discipleship.” The conference is the centrepiece of the WCC’s activities to mark the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, a key moment in the history of Christian faith and for the ecumenical journey today. Suk Yi Pang is director of Ecumenical Relations for the Hong Kong Christian Council, honorary researcher at the Divinity School in Hong Kong, and honorary minister of the Church of Christ in China. She reflected on how we regard the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea. “We remember it rightly as a triumph of unity—and yet we have developed a collective amnesia,” she said, describing what happened in Nicaea as being not a “final chapter” or a monument to uniformity but a single politically-charged scene.  “Diversity is difference within a shared system,” she said.   28 October 2025, Wadi El Natrun, Egypt: Suk Yi Pang (Hong Kong Council of the Church of Christ in China) speaks during a plenary on 'Living Visible Unity' underway at the World Council of Churches Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order taking place 24-28 October 2025 in Wadi El Natrun, Egypt, around the theme “Where now for visible unity?” Photo: Albin Hillert/WCC Prof. Dr Athanasios Despotis, from the Ecumenical Patriarchate, teaches New Testament at the University of Bonn in Germany.  “Why do I work for visible unity and yearn for it?” he asked. “I believe that love and unity are the identity markers of genuine Christ-believers. I recall Jesus’ action of washing the feet of all his disciples—including Peter, who later denied him, and Judas, who betrayed him.” Dr Mano Emmanuel, from Sri Lanka, is senior lecturer and head of academic advancement at Colombo Theological Seminary. From an Anglican background, she now serves as a lay peachier in a Methodist Church.  “Sri Lanka, as you may have seen in the news in the past decade, is known for its 30-year civil war—an ethnic conflict,” she said. “The sign of visible unity in that context is that the church is the only religious community that brings together people from all ethnic groups. The Methodist Church and other churches are known for reconciliation efforts within the community—having participated in peace talks, having approached even terrorist groups to try and broker peace in the north during times of great conflict.” Rev. Canon Prof. Dr Charlotte Methuen is professor of Church History at the University of Glasgow and an Anglican priest. “I have been reflecting that, in some ways, the story of Anglicanism over the past decades has often been seen as a story of disunity as we have wrestled with discussions around women’s ordination and around same-sex relationships,” she said. “In many ways we are wrestling with a deeper question: the shift from a structure in which bishops—and often clergy—were appointed in a Western church and sent out into a colonial church. The story of Anglican struggles with unity is very much the story of what it means to be a communion with a legacy of colonial expansion,” she continued. 28 October 2025, Wadi El Natrun, Egypt: People attend a plenary on 'Living Visible Unity' underway at the World Council of Churches Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order taking place 24-28 October 2025 in Wadi El Natrun, Egypt, around the theme “Where now for visible unity?” Photo: Albin Hillert/WCC Dr Johannes Oeldemann, a Roman Catholic who serves on the WCC Commission on Faith and Order, moderated the discussion. “From my point of view, visible unity is not a goal in a distant future at the end of a path toward Christian unity but something that arises while walking together and continues to grow with every step,” he said. “We have learned how important it is to be personally engaged for unity, making unity visible not only by striving for some distant future, but by living unity in the present—here and now.” Oeldemann is also a contributor to a thematic issue of The Ecumenical Review with articles reflecting on the theme of the Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order and free to read until the end of November. Video recording of the panel “Living Visible Unity” “Where Now for Visisble Unity?” thematic issue of The Ecumenical Review (free to read until the end of November)  Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order issues “Call to All Christians” (WCC news release, 28 October 2025) Deepening Unity, Journeying in Love, Restoring Hope: Ecumenical Affirmation Call to all Christians: Message of the Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order Conference livestreams and recordings Photogallery: Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order, 2025 Learn more about the Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order 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 356 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 Chemin du Pommier 42 Kyoto Building Le Grand-Saconnex CH-1218 Switzerland