More than 200 delegates, experts, guests and staff from 70 member churches gathered for the Communion of Protestant Churches of Europe (CPCE’s) 9th General Assembly held in Sibiu, Romania from 27 August to 2 September.
The international and multilingual meeting took place at the Lutheran St Mary’s Cathedral in Sibiu in Romania under the theme “In the light of Christ – called to hope”.
The meeting was hosted by the Evangelical Church A.B. in Romania, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Romania, the Evangelical Methodist Church in Romania, and the Unitarian Church of Transylvania.
The CPCE General Assembly meets sexennial to receive work carried out over the past six years and to determine the basis of work for the next six years.
A new 13-member Council – which includes United Reformed Church minister, the Revd Dr Nathan Eddy, Interim Director of the Council of Christians and Jews, the oldest interfaith charity in the UK – will manage the work of the CPCE between the 2024 and 2030 General Assemblies.
The new council includes three new Presidents who will work with the current General Secretary Dr Mario Fischer, who will be completing his term in the middle of the coming Council term. Dr Fischer will use his remaining time in the role to develop the new work processes that has been established at the Assembly.
Full details of the new Council can be found in Appendex two of the Final Report of the 9th General Assembly of the CPCE. This report can be found on the ‘Reports | Public’ section of the CPCE Assembly website.
The documents compiled and other projects conducted between the 2018 and 2024 Assemblies were discussed in seven working groups and seven focus groups.
Five future workshops developed proposals for the ongoing work of the CPCE, of which the General Assembly adopted 15 resolutions and invited the Council to follow up on the topics. See 3. Resolutions on the fields of work 2024–2030; 3.1-15 on the Final Report of the 9th General Assembly of the CPCE for full details.
Three further resolutions on the future work of the CPCE emerged from the plenary discussions:
- 3.16: The General Assembly invites the Council, to add a focus on a strong representation at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg.
- 3.17: The General Assembly request the Council in preparing for the Tenth General Assembly to encourage the churches to include lay people in their delegations and candidates for the CPCE elections.
- 3.18: The General Assembly request the Council to prepare an amendment to the Statute of 2006 Section 5, for the next General Assembly, concerning the membership of the Council to include at least two lay people.
The outgoing Council prepared the groundwork for these discussions within the strategy.
Resolutions regarding the work carried out between 2018–2024 were also made. See 2.1 Christian Speaking of God, 2.2 Practice and theology of the Lord’s Supper, 2.3 Church and Democracy, and 2.4 Gender, Sexuality, Marriage, Family.
It is noted that resolution 2.4.2 – The General Assembly takes note that the Council of the CPCE received the study document “gender, sexuality, marriage, family” and decided to publish it with a foreword from the Presidium – passed with 69 votes in favour, 4 against an 8 abstentions.
The General Assembly also discussed and passed statements on “Strengthening Democratic Culture for a Flourishing Unity in Diversity. Democracy as a challenge for church and society” (see Appendix 3), “Migration from the perspective of the countries of origin” (see Appendix 4), “Interreligious relations in Europe in the context of the violent conflicts in the Middle East.” (see Appendix 5) as well as a “Statement on the existence as ecclesiastical and linguistic minorities” (see Appendix 6). All appendices can be found on the Final Report of the 9th General Assembly of the CPCE available within the ‘Reports | Public’ section of the CPCE Assembly website.
During the Assembly, the outgoing Presidium highlighted that the CPCE has grown as a living communion and a platform of the churches sharing together.
The Presidum presented three reports during the proceedings: “Being Communion in a divided age”, “Facing new challenges – a time of blessing”, and “Strategy: Being church together in the light of hope”.
Being Communion in a divided age emphasised how the Leuenberg Agreement has led to a living, vibrant communion in worship, witness and service and celebrated two aspects of the work: he 50th anniversary of the Leuenberg Agreement and the CPCE’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic and how it became a platform of sharing for churches in different situations of the pandemic.
Facing new challenges reframed presenting issues as a time of blessing which, over the past six years, has resulted in practical sharing of support, and new ways of meeting which has ensured the continuation of the work of the Communion.
The new strategy “Being Church Together in the Light of Hope”, which was adopted unanimously, is patterned on the following four points. The CPCE is:
- A communion in worship
- A communion of witness and service
- A communion in learning and teaching
- A communion that shapes its structures.
The four points have been divided into ongoing work and focal tasks specific to the CPCE’s strategic future focus and includes the following cross-sectional areas:
- paying attention to issues of sustainability and resource conservation
- practical and creative forms of reception of the results of CPCE work,
- and flexibility in responding to unforeseen events.
The General Secretary’s report addressed two important organisational changes since the 2018 General Assembly held in Basel:
- the CPCE is now a legal entity – changing from a corporation under church law, as set out in the statute of Budapest, to a corporation under public law (KöR) in the Republic of Austria – following an amendment to the CPCE statute made at the 2018 General Assembly in Basel which came into being in January 2019.
- the change of the English name from “Community” to “Communion”, to underline the theological dimension of the word communion.
The CPCE is part of the worldwide ecumenical movement, evident in greetings made by representatives from global ecumenical organisations such as World Communion of Reformed Churches and the Fellowship of the Middle East Evangelical Churches for example. All such guests emphasised the necessity of a common witness, service and dialogue for justice, peace and reconciliation in a world characterised by multiple crises in our time. They also expressed the desire to deepen the fellowship in the ecumenical movement.
The withdrawal of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia from the CPCE was noted with regret. Greatly missed were the brothers and sisters of the Hungarian-speaking Reformed Churches, who withdrew their delegates at short notice in relation to the document on sexuality, marriage and gender not being withdrawn from the plenary session. However, the Assembly was grateful for the hospitality of the Reformed congregation in Sibiu as the venue for the morning services.
Dr Christine Schliesser, Senior Lecturer for Systematic Theology and Ethics at Zurich University and Director of Studies at the Center for Faith and Society at Fribourg University, delivered the keynote address titled “’Gimme Hope!’ Towards a New Theology of Hope.” In her address, Dr Schliesser emphasised the importance of hope in Christian faith, cautioning against a false hope that fosters passivity rather than action.
In a panel discussion, participants of the Assembly from Northern Ireland, Croatia, Ukraine and Russia, along with Dr Schliesser, shared their experiences and reflections on the role of the Church in times of war and violent conflicts. They all highlighted the importance of embodying Christian hope in the challenges faced.
The General Assembly also discussed and adopted four statements, the full text of which can be seen in the final report:
Democracy: The churches want to set an example for democratic forms of participation, where respectful and constructive debates can be held, even if there is not always agreement (for example on ethical issues). The churches should also act as constructive and critical partners in democratic societies.
Migration: Migration is “a form of human and social life” that has a major impact on family life and church communities. It is important to accompany families that are torn apart by migration and to be there for people in the new destination countries. The churches are encouraged to consider the question of dual memberships. In recent years, the CPCE has supported projects for children whose parents work abroad with the ‘Euro Orphans’ programme. The General Assembly wants this cooperation with the Gustav-Adolf Werk to be continued and intensified.
Interreligious relations in view of the war in the Middle East: The CPCE calls on the member churches to remain in dialogue with people of other religions, as this can overcome ignorance, fear and prejudice.
Churches as minorities: The CPCE recommends that its member churches, which are minority churches in many European countries, come to terms with their own treatment of minorities, stand up for the rights of minorities, and openly reflect on their minority experiences.
On the final day of the Assembly, participants celebrated Sunday service in 12 different host congregations in Transylvania, where they learned about the diversity of Christian life in the region characterised by a strong tradition of religious freedom and ecumenism.
In the concluding communion service, the outgoing Council was bid farewell and the newly-elected Council inaugurated.
Outgoing Executive President, the Revd Dr John Bradbury, URC General Secretary, said: “As a small church on a geographical Island, it is easy for the URC to feel somewhat small and isolated at times. Membership of the CPCE bring us into direct, close relationship with our whole family of churches that emerged from the time of the Reformation. Tens of millions of Christians, in 96 different churches, relatively speaking on our immediate doorstep.
“After Brexit it is perhaps even more important that we are an integral part of the wider European family of churches.”
Learn more about the CPCE 9th General Assembly. Find more pictures from the CPCE General Assembly 2024.
Images: Zeppelin Studio Focus Agency on behalf of the CPCE.