Sixty year celebrations for ‘ecumenical laboratory’ in Switzerland
-22/10/06
Quiet v
Sixty year celebrations for ‘ecumenical laboratory’ in Switzerland
-22/10/06
Quiet vineyards overlooking Lake Geneva seem an unlikely setting for the preparation of future church leaders. And yet the World Council of Churches’ Ecumenical Institute at Bossey has been a unique international centre for Christian dialogue and learning for six decades, since its creation in 1946 – writes Alexander Belopopsky for Ecumenical News International.
The latest group of almost 40 young leaders from almost as many countries have arrived in Switzerland for a five-month intensive graduate school. All have a first university degree, and are enthusiastically discovering the study facilities at the Ecumenical Institute, along with the opportunity to share with others their own diverse assumptions and traditions.
“This opportunity can help me develop my theological culture and strengthen my understanding of dialogue, much-needed in my majority-Muslim context where misunderstandings among churches and religions can develop too easily,” said the Rev Tegwende Kinda, a minister of the Reformed church in Burkina Faso. He noted that dialogue is not a luxury, but can be an existential issue.
Founded in 1946 as a place of healing in war-torn Europe through the efforts of the WCC’s founding general secretary, Willem Visser ‘t Hooft, the first courses brought together concentration camp survivors, those who had served in armies, and members of resistance movements.
Together with this central focus on rebuilding dialogue and nurturing reconciliation, Bossey soon developed into a recognised academic institution with ties to the University of Geneva, attracting students from around the world.
Another of the newest students, Fritz-Gerald Romulus, a Baptist pastor from Haiti, recognises that Bossey offers a special environment for study that will prepare him practically for church work back home, where, he admits, mistrust of ecumenism can run deep in the churches.
Anna Eltringham, a British Anglican student, agrees the experience can be life-changing. “For me, Bossey is a place where preconceptions can fall away and a new understanding of what it means to truly be the Body of Christ in the world can grow,” she said.
“This is felt most dearly through the spiritual life of the Institute, where a depth of authenticity and delight in discovering inter-cultural and inter-denominational ways of prayer are enjoyed.”
The institute has been described as an “ecumenical laboratory” because it brings together Christians from diverse origins to explore and debate some of the most complex and controversial issues challenging the churches.
Former WCC general secretary the Rev Dr Konrad Raiser, who is a visiting professor this year, sees the institute as a place for encounter in spite of divisions, whether in church or society.
“The freedom of Bossey means that people can approach some of the most painful issues facing churches and communities in creative and open ways – something that is very much needed at this time,” Raiser commented.
Along with the graduate school and post-graduate programmes, Bossey hosts seminars on topics as diverse as religion and violence, Orthodox-Evangelical dialogue, economic injustice and feminist theology.
Among the list of Bossey alumni are university professors, ecumenical officers, bishops, pastors and priests, as well as political and civil society leaders from all continents and it includes the Ecumenical Patriarch, Bartholomeos I. More than 25,000 people from virtually all churches, confessions and cultures have participated in Bossey courses over the past 60 years.
At Bossey, students learn “24 hours a day,” says the institute’s director, the Rev Ioan Sauca, an Orthodox theologian from Romania, himself a graduate of the school. “But the most important and most life-transforming part of the ecumenical formation is in the spiritual life,” he stressed.
Besides the formal academic teaching, Bossey students participate in common daily prayer life, which places spirituality at the heart of the community life, Sauca says.
“The diverse group of students comes together despite deep-held differences to form an authentic worshipping community, testifying to how Christians can be one body with many members,” said Sauca. The theme for this year’s graduate school is “ecumenical spirituality”.
At 60 years of age, Bossey is looking ahead, say its staff. One vision for the future is to enhance the spiritual life of the institute by reinforcing ties with Christian communities in other places. Linking theology with practical care for the creation is another potential direction, with, for example, the introduction of organic farming techniques to future students, many of whom will return to work in developing countries.
Other plans include an inter-religious summer school, bringing together young people from the major world faiths, nurturing dialogue and understanding beyond the traditional Christian context. In 2005, an ecumenical research centre was established at the institute with a particular focus on nurturing just, harmonious and sustainable relations among cultures and religions.
After six decades, Sauca sees the work of the Ecumenical Institute as just starting. “The tremendous social fractures which we are witnessing worldwide, and the accelerated transformations in the Christian world, mean that such a uniquely diverse centre of encounter and learning has rarely before been so necessary.”
With acknowledgements to ENI. Ecumenical News International is jointly sponsored by the World Council of Churches, the Lutheran World Federation, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, and the Conference of European Churches.
Sixty year celebrations for ‘ecumenical laboratory’ in Switzerland
-22/10/06
Quiet vineyards overlooking Lake Geneva seem an unlikely setting for the preparation of future church leaders. And yet the World Council of Churches’ Ecumenical Institute at Bossey has been a unique international centre for Christian dialogue and learning for six decades, since its creation in 1946 – writes Alexander Belopopsky for Ecumenical News International.
The latest group of almost 40 young leaders from almost as many countries have arrived in Switzerland for a five-month intensive graduate school. All have a first university degree, and are enthusiastically discovering the study facilities at the Ecumenical Institute, along with the opportunity to share with others their own diverse assumptions and traditions.
“This opportunity can help me develop my theological culture and strengthen my understanding of dialogue, much-needed in my majority-Muslim context where misunderstandings among churches and religions can develop too easily,” said the Rev Tegwende Kinda, a minister of the Reformed church in Burkina Faso. He noted that dialogue is not a luxury, but can be an existential issue.
Founded in 1946 as a place of healing in war-torn Europe through the efforts of the WCC’s founding general secretary, Willem Visser ‘t Hooft, the first courses brought together concentration camp survivors, those who had served in armies, and members of resistance movements.
Together with this central focus on rebuilding dialogue and nurturing reconciliation, Bossey soon developed into a recognised academic institution with ties to the University of Geneva, attracting students from around the world.
Another of the newest students, Fritz-Gerald Romulus, a Baptist pastor from Haiti, recognises that Bossey offers a special environment for study that will prepare him practically for church work back home, where, he admits, mistrust of ecumenism can run deep in the churches.
Anna Eltringham, a British Anglican student, agrees the experience can be life-changing. “For me, Bossey is a place where preconceptions can fall away and a new understanding of what it means to truly be the Body of Christ in the world can grow,” she said.
“This is felt most dearly through the spiritual life of the Institute, where a depth of authenticity and delight in discovering inter-cultural and inter-denominational ways of prayer are enjoyed.”
The institute has been described as an “ecumenical laboratory” because it brings together Christians from diverse origins to explore and debate some of the most complex and controversial issues challenging the churches.
Former WCC general secretary the Rev Dr Konrad Raiser, who is a visiting professor this year, sees the institute as a place for encounter in spite of divisions, whether in church or society.
“The freedom of Bossey means that people can approach some of the most painful issues facing churches and communities in creative and open ways – something that is very much needed at this time,” Raiser commented.
Along with the graduate school and post-graduate programmes, Bossey hosts seminars on topics as diverse as religion and violence, Orthodox-Evangelical dialogue, economic injustice and feminist theology.
Among the list of Bossey alumni are university professors, ecumenical officers, bishops, pastors and priests, as well as political and civil society leaders from all continents and it includes the Ecumenical Patriarch, Bartholomeos I. More than 25,000 people from virtually all churches, confessions and cultures have participated in Bossey courses over the past 60 years.
At Bossey, students learn “24 hours a day,” says the institute’s director, the Rev Ioan Sauca, an Orthodox theologian from Romania, himself a graduate of the school. “But the most important and most life-transforming part of the ecumenical formation is in the spiritual life,” he stressed.
Besides the formal academic teaching, Bossey students participate in common daily prayer life, which places spirituality at the heart of the community life, Sauca says.
“The diverse group of students comes together despite deep-held differences to form an authentic worshipping community, testifying to how Christians can be one body with many members,” said Sauca. The theme for this year’s graduate school is “ecumenical spirituality”.
At 60 years of age, Bossey is looking ahead, say its staff. One vision for the future is to enhance the spiritual life of the institute by reinforcing ties with Christian communities in other places. Linking theology with practical care for the creation is another potential direction, with, for example, the introduction of organic farming techniques to future students, many of whom will return to work in developing countries.
Other plans include an inter-religious summer school, bringing together young people from the major world faiths, nurturing dialogue and understanding beyond the traditional Christian context. In 2005, an ecumenical research centre was established at the institute with a particular focus on nurturing just, harmonious and sustainable relations among cultures and religions.
After six decades, Sauca sees the work of the Ecumenical Institute as just starting. “The tremendous social fractures which we are witnessing worldwide, and the accelerated transformations in the Christian world, mean that such a uniquely diverse centre of encounter and learning has rarely before been so necessary.”
With acknowledgements to ENI. Ecumenical News International is jointly sponsored by the World Council of Churches, the Lutheran World Federation, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, and the Conference of European Churches.