News Brief

Find books now:

New network formed to support faith in Europe

-10/08/05

Two British organisations promoting ecumenical Christian cooperation across Europe have merged. CAFE (Christians and the Future of Europe) and CEWERN (which has focussed on East-West issues) have united to form Faith in Europe: the Churches' European Relations Network.

Faith in Europe will be a body-in-association of the official ecumenical structure, Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI). Its first general secretary is Philip Walters, director of research from the Keston Institute - founded in 1969 by Michael Bourdeaux, who later won the Templeton prize for progress in religion in 1984. The role of Keston has been to document the unrecorded history of the attitude of state communism towards religion in general and Christianity in particular.

The aim of the new organisation is to review religious issues across Europe, to promote contact and visits, to encourage informed discussion of European issues in the churches, to act as a conduit for support for the churches, and to hold regular briefings.

It will cooperate with other bodies with similar concerns (such as the Europe Mission Forum of CTBI) and will maintain advisory contacts with government and NGOs, working for understanding and reconciliation among the European churches.

The Faith in Europe president is prominent sociologist of religion Professor Grace Davie, from the University of Exeter. Vice presidents are Dean John Arnold (formerly with the Conference of European Churches) and the Rt Rev Stephen Sykes (Anglican Bishop of Ely, and a well-known theologian). The chair is Canon David Thomas and the research director Ken Medhurst.