The 10th Assembly of the World Council of Churches A General Presentation and Some Preliminary Remarks

2014

Abstract This article strives to make a general presentation on the 10th Assembly of the World Council of Churches which took place in Busan, Republic of South Korea, from the 30th October to the 8th November 2013, underlining the most important points of the agenda of this global ecumenical event. It also reviews two documents issued by the Assembly and published after this presentation: The Message of the WCC Assembly, entitled “Join the Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace” and the so-called “Unity Statement” entitled “God’s Gift and Call to Unity - and Our Commitment”.

Orthodoxy and Evangelicalism: An Overview of Their Relationship from the Perspective of Moral Values

2021

Orthodox–Evangelical relationships are dominated by proselytism (at least in Eastern Europe and in the former Soviet Union). This is understood as church conversion practiced through unfair means among people who are already Christians, belonging to so-called “historical churches.” However, beyond it, there is a real potential for cooperation using moral values as a starting point. As there is an increasing disagreement between the Orthodox and mainline Protestant on moral values, the Orthodox and Evangelicals might increase their cooperation as they witness traditional values of Christianity. This kind of cooperation might be partially contextual, but it is based on Biblicism, which both O…

From Cottesloe (1961) to Trondheim (2016): The journey of the Dutch Reformed Church back into the ecumenical family of the World Council of Churches

2018

This article presents an analysis of the journey of the Dutch Reformed Church (South Africa) back into the ecumenical fellowship of the World Council of Churches (WCC). The first part contains a brief historical review of the relationships between the WCC and the Dutch Reformed Church family, underlining the fact that the Dutch Reformed Church family in South Africa is a founding member of WCC and that it was never excluded from WCC fellowship; rather, this church itself resigned membership in the WCC after the Cottesloe Consultation (1961) at the pressure of the South African government of that time. The last part presents in detail the process of the readmission of the Dutch Reformed Chur…

The Meeting of the Comission on Faith and Order at the Monastery of Caraiman, Busteni, Romania, 17-24 June 2015

2016

Some Preliminary Remarks on the World Council of Churches’ Central Committee Statement on Religion and Violence

2016

Ecumenical news / Aktuelles. World Council of Churches involvement in the efforts for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide

2015

Green Bonds: Between economic incentives and eco-change

2020

Abstract As the investor base committed to financing sustainable companies in an attempt to combat the climate crisis expands, green financial products have become more attractive to issuers, corporate and sovereign alike. As a result, the EU is attempting to create favourable market conditions which mobilise the allocation of private capital for investments that reduce the contribution to climate change. As part of the EU Commission’s Action Plan for Sustainable Finance, it intends to create Green Bond Standards which aim to support the transition to greener securities investments. As a foundation, we provide an overview of the green bond market development. We then consider investment cha…

The Conference on World Mission and Evangelism “Moving in the Spirit: Called to Transforming Discipleship”

2018

The Refugee Crisis and the Ecumenical Response

2016

The Polyphonic Theology of the Church Fathers

2014

Prof. Dr. Dres. H. c. Christoph Marschies (Humboldt University Berlin, Germany) in collaboration with Prof. Dr. Michael Welker (Heidelberg University, Germany) initiated an international project to which about 25 international scholars of high profile were invited to participate. The purpose of the project is to gain a new and nuanced perspective on the theology of 19 church fathers: Justin the Martyr, Irenaeus of Lyon, Tertullian, Origen, Cyprian, Eusebius, Athanasius of Alexandria, Basil the Great, Gregory of Nazianzus, Gregory of Nyssa, John Chrysostom, Augustine, Cyril of Alexandria, Leo the Great, Theodoret of Cyrus, Boethius, Isidore, Maximus the Confessor and John Damascene. Research…

International conference on “Concepts of «Human Dignity» in the Patristic Tradition and their Traces in Eastern and Western Christianity”

2014

Some aspects of Adolf von Harnack's criticism on Orthodox tradition

2013

The aim of this article is to present the critique that Adolf von Harnack (1851-1930) formulated on the Orthodox tradition in his famous book Das Wesen des Christentums, as well as to comment on its affirmations in the context of his time and way of thinking and to try and find explanations for his criticism. The article concludes that although Harnack's critique on the Orthodox tradition may have presented negative perception of Orthodoxy, particularly amongst Protestants and many Orthodox theologians who were furious after reading his paper, yet, his critical affirmations also have constructive aspects. However, some of the conclusions of Harnack's criticism are genuinely rejected by the …