World Council of Churches -
News Release
Contact: + 41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363
media@wcc-coe.org
For immediate release:
8 December 2009
Theological education, seedbed for churches' renewal
Proper theological education is of strategic importance for the future of Christianity. So is ecumenical formation for the future of the ecumenical movement, according to a world report on the future of theological education.
Authored by Dr Dietrich Werner, coordinator of the Ecumenical Theological Education programme of the World Council of Churches (ETE/WCC), the World Study Report on Theological Education has been released in Nairobi on 24 November. The 90-page report subtitled "Challenges and Opportunities for Theological Education in the 21st Century – Pointer for a New International Debate on Theological Education" was produced by an international study group as part of the
Edinburgh 2010 process
during the last 12 months.
The report was released at a meeting of the newly created Advisory Committee on Theology, Ecumenical Formation and Interfaith Issues of the
All African Conference of Churches
which brought together around 20 key representatives of theological education and regional associations of theological schools in Africa. Their goal was to start a new initiative for cooperation in theological education in Africa and for the production of new theological textbooks on crucial themes for African Christianity. The report has been published in a
Joint Information Service
of the World Conference of Associations of Theological Schools (WOCATI) and ETE/WCC.
The world report on theological education – as well as
accompanying papers
– is available in a shorter and an extended version. It includes case studies on various regions of the world and key recommendations for the future of theological education.
The report states that "theological education is the seedbed for the renewal of churches, their ministries, and their commitment to the unity of the church. If theological education systems are neglected or not given their due prominence, over the following decades the church will experience a decline in the competence of church leadership and in their capacity for ecumenical and interfaith dialogue and for dialogue between church and society. It has become clear that ecumenical learning is not just the addition of elements of ecumenical theology into the curriculum, but the key question is whether and to what extent the basic orientation of theological education reflects the fundamental relational nature of being the church, its vocation to live with other Christian communities and with the wider human community."
World Study Report on Theological Education, short version:
http://www.oikoumene.org/fileadmin/files/wcc-main/documents/p5/ete/E2010_summary_World_Study_Report11_2009.pdf
World Study Report on Theological Education, extended version:
http://www.oikoumene.org/fileadmin/files/wcc-main/documents/p5/ete_wocati_joint_info/ETE_World_Study_%20Report11_2009.pdf
Ecumenical Theological Education programme of the WCC:
http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=3137
WCC partners in theological education:
http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=5828
Additional information:
Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363
media@wcc-coe.org
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 349 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 560 million Christians in over 110 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, from the [Lutheran] Church of Norway. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.
