EUROPEAN ECUMENICAL ENCOUNTER (EEE), Strasbourg 17 - 22 April 2001

The Conference of European Churches (KEK) and the Council of European Conferences of Bishops (CCEE) assembled in Strasbourg from 17th to 22nd April 2001. The aim of this meeting was the signing of the so-called Ecumenical Charter. The KEK was formed in Nyborg (Denmark) in 1958 in a time when Europe was divided by the Cold War. It brings together 127 Churches and 25 associated organizations of either the Protestant or the Orthodox persuasion. The CCEE was founded in Rome in 1971 and brings together the bishops of the Roman Catholic Church. It consists of 34 bishops, the presidents of the European Conferences of Bishops. For already more than 20 years, there has been close co-operation between the KEK and the CCEE. These two great institutions have together organized the two huge European ecumenical assemblies staged so far: the one in Basle in 1989 (EEE1) and the one in Graz in 1997 (EEE2).

The Ecumenical Encounter in Strasbourg (EEE3) took place during Bright Week, immediately after Easter, which this year was celebrated on the same day by all Christians. This Encounter makes its mark on the start of the third millennium, with the will of the Churches to work towards the visible unity of the Church of Jesus Christ in the one faith. This is made very clear in the introduction to the Charter: "Faithful to the prayer of Christ, that all should be 'one as Thou, Father, art in me and I am in Thee, so may they be one in us, that the world may believe that Thou hast sent me' (John 17.21), we should not allow ourselves to remain content with the present situation. Rather, in awareness of our faults and ready to be converted, we should strive to overcome the divisions that still exist between us, so as to proclaim together, in a manner that is credible, the Good News of the Gospel to all peoples."

Before going into further detail about the Ecumenical Charter, we propose to outline briefly the various stages of the Encounter. To begin with, the Encounter took as its general theme the biblical verse: 'I am with you always, even unto the end of the world' (Matthew 28.21). The event then unfolded in three stages: (a) preparatory encounter involving some one hundred young people (including 16 Orthodox) sent by their Churches or by youth organizations (17-19/04), (b) plenary assembly of the CCEE and of the KEK central committee, meeting separately, and (c) official inauguration of the Encounter on Thursday 19/04 at 1600, the moment when the young people and the Church officials met together.

As recommended after the Graz assembly, this Encounter in Strasbourg was preceded by two days of work for around one hundred young people. The aim of this idea was further to inspire in younger generations the ecumenical vision and process. Given that the young are the future of the Church, those in charge of the KEK and CCEE attached great importance to the youth encounter. The young must first learn to meet and to dialogue amongst themselves, so as later to be able to pass on the message of Christ, the Good News, in their society. The youth were given the chance to work in small groups. Four workshops were proposed on different subjects, such as: the ecumenical movement, mission, the wholeness of creation, and violence. After working in groups, they met together and each group presented the results of its work. Within the framework of the youth encounter, the secretaries of the KEK and the CCEE introduced the Ecumenical Charter. This encounter was concluded by an evening of intercultural entertainment.

After the youth and the Church leaders had met separately, all came together for the official opening of the Encounter. The seats at the table were arranged in such a way that four Church leaders sat opposite four youth representatives, in order that they should exchange experiences. A true meeting of generations took place. This type of encounter had been experienced in an unusual way on the road from the Church of St Paul (where devotional prayers were held during the Encounter) and the university (where the Encounter itself took place). Commemorating the meeting of the risen Christ on the road to Emmaus, a Church leader walked in company with a youth representative discussing the following questions: how had they celebrated Easter and what hopes for their Church had the risen Lord inspired in them? The Encounter was declared open by the presidents of the KEK and CCEE, Metropolitan Jeremiah (Ecumenical Patriarchate) and Cardinal Ulk. After the inaugural speeches, Cardinal K. Lehmann (representing the Church leaders) and the young pastoral leader Ms E. Dorre (representing the youth) discussed the aims involved in the Encounter, demonstrating how dialogue between generations could be successfully conducted.

On Friday 20/04, Monsignor Daniel, Metropolitan of Moldavia, representing the Patriarchate of Romania, gave a speech on the theme : Jesus Christ, image of the invisible God. A visit to the Council of Europe had been arranged for the same day. All the participants were welcomed by a representative of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, who from its inception had emphasized the importance of this Encounter for the building of Europe. Seven representatives of the Churches, of the youth and of figures from the political scene responded openly to the question: how have I discovered the importance of Jesus Christ in my personal life and in my work? For the Orthodox, a young Albanian (Julia Kokoshari), representing SYNDESMOS, contributed a short, contemporary parable. Saturday was devoted principally to workshops on the Ecumenical Charter. These workshops were led by people who had been involved in formulating the Charter. Their main objective was to incite the participants to reflect on the Charter from the point of view of its implementation at the heart of Church life on the ground.

The Ecumenical Charter, whose title is "guidelines towards growing collaboration between Churches in Europe', had been undergoing elaboration and revision since September 1998. After the meeting in Graz in 1997, Church leaders in their final report had recommended that a joint Charter of fundamental responsibilities be drawn up, to help Churches in their quest for visible unity. A team consisting of four members of the KEK (two Orthodox and two Protestant), four members of the CCEE (Catholic), along with the two secretaries general and two assistants of the KEK and CCEE, drew up a first version, which was sent to member Churches. The final text was adopted following a joint committee meeting of the KEK and CCEE in Oporto (Portugal), in January 2001.

The Charter consists of three parts: (a) faith in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church, (b) the path towards the visible communion of the Churches in Europe and (c) the joint responsibility of the Churches in Europe. We give the broad outlines of the Charter: (1) a joint call to unity in the faith, (2) joint proclamation of the Gospel, (3) joint rapprochement, (4) acting together, (5) praying with each other, (6) pursuing dialogue, (7) taking part in the construction of Europe, whose civilization is marked by Christianity, (8) reconciling peoples and cultures, (9) safeguarding creation, (10) deepening communion with Judaism, (11) fostering relations with Islam and (12) encounter with other religions and ideologies.
The Ecumenical Charter was signed on Sunday 22nd April, by Metropolitan Jeremiah and Cardinal Ulk. The signing ceremony was held in the Protestant Cathedral of St Thomas. During the ceremony, His Beatitude Archbishop Anastasios of Tirana gave an inspiring sermon. The Charter is not in any way dogmatic or canonical. Quite simply, it is recommended to all the Churches of Europe as a basic text for their future co-operation and their quest for reconciliation and for unity. It is a tool for the unification and building of Europe. The only problem that remains is how the Charter will be received by the Churches. 'Reception' proved to be the key term during this Encounter, which had not been arranged for the editing of the Charter (for some participants this was paradoxical). The term 'reception', which has a theological force, refers to the way in which a Church text is accepted by the faithful. Often, in the history of the Church, texts unknown to Christians have remained a dead letter. Western Christians fear for the reception of the Charter in Orthodox countries (see Le Monde, 24/04/01). The latter were fairly feebly represented at the Encounter (it should be noted that the Churches of Bulgaria and of Georgia withdrew from the KEK).