Greeting of His Beatitude, Christodoulos
Archbishop of Athens and All Greece
to
Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia
General Secretary of the World Council of Churches
12 May 2005

It is indeed a great pleasure for me to receive you here today, in the Offices of the Holy Synod, which is the ruling body of the Apostolic Church of Greece. Nearby, here in the city of Athens, stands the Areopagus, the bema from which, centuries ago, the blessed and Great Apostle of the Nations, St. Paul, delivered to our forefathers his moving sermon on the Unknown God and thereby founded the Church in Athens. Not that Athens is the first of the local Churches in Greece to be founded by St. Paul. He founded others, before proceeding to Athens. The first Church to be established by St. Paul in Greece, was the Church in Philippi; indeed it is the first Church to be established on European soil. Others followed. The Church of Greece then, dear General Secretary, is an Apostolic Church par excellence, not only because St. Paul laboured here, as did other Apostles: Saints Andrew, Luke and Philip, but because, more importantly, it has preserved the content and the spirit of the Apostolic faith and message in tact. Ours is indeed a Church both Ancient and yet modern, with deep historical roots and at the same time with contemporary concerns.

The hosting of the 13th Meeting of the Committee on World Mission and Evangelism by the Church of Greece here in Athens, and in an Orthodox setting, is indicative of this.

The fact that the Church, while being in the world is yet not of this world, does not mean it must close its eyes to the burning issues of our times--issues that can only be dealt with effectively through coordinated efforts and a united Christian witness. These issues span a wide range and spectrum of concerns: political, social, ecological, bioethical and global; issues dealing with peace and justice, human rights, the family, education and the preservation of cultural heritage.

These concerns of our Church are not new. They have been with here from the very beginning, conditioned of course by the prevailing situation of the times. Such concerns led the Orthodox Church of Greece to become a founding member of the World Council of Churches in 1948. True to the spirit of the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s Encyclical of 1920, which at the time called for close collaboration by the Churches on problems and issues of common concern, after the pattern of the then League of Nations, with an aim to building mutual trust that would eventually help the Churches to reunite, our Church joined the World Council of Churches.

Throughout the years, our Church has tried to participate both positively and effectively in the work of the World Council.

We can safely say that this participation has benefitted both the Orthodox Church and the World Council. By participating in the Council, our Church was brought into contact with the other Christian Churches and Confessions and was provided with a valuable forum from which to speak out on matters of common concern. In like manner, the Council has been enriched both in scope and witness by Orthodoxy’s ecumenical involvement.

Of special significance is, we believe, the work of the Special Commission, in which, for the very first time Orthodox and representatives of the other member Churches of the W.C.C. have participated on an equal basis. This Special Commission, as you know, was created because of the criticism voiced by the Orthodox Churches at their gathering in Thessaloniki in late April and early May of 1998. The Orthodox Churches met there in order to prepare for the Harare General Assembly. At the gathering they discerned a gradual departure of the Council from its original goals and orientation, the introduction of liberal theological and moral attitudes and principles in dealing with various issues, the idea of unity as being already realized, rather than something to be achieved, and other problems both in priorities and existing structures, and thus the Special Commission was created in order to discuss these Orthodox concerns and to deal with the matter of the future participation of Orthodoxy in the Council.

The decisions of the Special Commission are indeed most significant, and indeed one of them: Consensus Decision-Making, has already been implemented by Central Committee and other organs of the W.C.C. We hope that the forth-coming General Assembly to be held in Porto Allegre, Brazil, will officially adopt the process and endorse all the other proposals made by the Special Commission as well. This, we feel, will benefit not only the Orthodox Churches but the entire W.C.C. constituency as well.

It is thus that we look to the future with a sense of hope and measured optimism. Our times are crucial, and you, dear General Secretary, have been entrusted with the difficult task of steering the barque of the W.C.C. through the turbulent waters of these times, times when decisions will also have to be taken as to the range, scope, purpose, and manner of re-constructing and re-configuring the Ecumenical Movement--just to single out only one of the many important issues at hand. We are confident that with God's help and with the many and diverse charismata with which He has endowed you, together with your rich theological formation and your pastoral work, coupled with your vast experience in the work and life of the W.C.C. you will ably and successfully accomplish this undertaking. Furthermore, we believe that you have been blessed to have as a most able and highly qualified assistant in this most important work, our dear friend, Dr. Yorgo Lemopoulos, whose presence here we also greet.

May God strengthen and guide your work, as your untiringly labour, as General Secretary of the World Council of Churches, to foster unity, collaboration and understanding between the Churches. May He grant you many fruitful and rewarding years of ecumenical service.

Welcome to our Church and to our Country.