WCC news: Young theologians connect to carry the light of unity together

Young theologians from the World Council of Churches (WCC) Global Ecumenical Theological Institute (GETI) being held in Wadi El Natrun, Egypt, and the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) Global Institute of Theology (GIT) in Chiang Mai, Thailand, connected online on 20 October.  Participants from GETI and GIT connected online on 20 October.  Photo: Marcelo Schneider/WCC 20 October 2025 The inspiration for WCC’s GETI reaches back to the World Alliance of Reformed Churches—now WCRC—General Council in 2004 in Accra, Ghana, where a visionary gathering of young theologians planted the first seeds of what would later become GETI.  Prof. Dr Ani Ghazaryan Drissi, coordinator of GETI 2025, noted: “Together, we celebrate both institutes—GETI and GIT—as expressions of the same vision: to form, empower, and connect a new generation of ecumenical leaders who will carry the light of unity and hope into the future of the church. Prof. Henry S. Kuo, dean of the WCRC Global Institute of Theology, opened the programme by noting that “today is an extraordinary collaboration—and I really hope this is the first of many more collaborations in the future.” Keynote speaker Dr Allan Boesak, a South African theologian, spoke of the importance of theological institutes. “There is almost nothing more important for the church than how we can equip the next generation of theologians in the world,” he said.  In his presentation Boesak urged students, in their struggle for justice, not to disengage from the fact that Jesus is Lord.  GETI facilitator Suk-yi Pang, executive secretary for the Hong Kong Council of the Church of Christ in China, and a member of the WCC Commission on Education and Formation, responded to Boesak’s address, reflecting that today’s struggle for social justice is both spiritual and theological.  If we don’t insist on wrestling with these difficult questions, Pang, said, “we perpetuate a form of injustice as much as the empire does.” GETI 2025 photo gallery Learn more about GETI 2025 GETI opens with combination of knowledge, spiritual depth, and divine grace (WCC news release, 13 October 2025) As GETI opens, His Holiness Pope Tawadros II to young people: “you are the heartbeat of Christianity” (WCC news release, 13 October 2025) Churches called to remember, resist, and rebuild: GETI plenary reflects on faith amid persecution (WCC news release, 15 October 2025) Ecumenism as a lived experience: GETI study visits transform faith and understanding (WCC feature, 20 October 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 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