Churches Seek Unity
Diocesan Press Service. August 12, 1963 [XII-13]
The Fourth World Faith and Order Conference came to a close in Montreal July 26 with the ringing affirmation that the churches of the world "are on the way to Christian unity."
The two-week meeting, sponsored by the World Council of Churches, brought together some 500 Protestant, Anglican and Orthodox theologians and church leaders. The Roman Catholic Church was represented by five official observers and 15 guests.
In "A Word to the Churches," conference officials recognized that there are still complex problems to be solved before unity will be achieved.
However, the message to the Council's 201 member churches in all parts of the world affirmed that the Montreal gathering has made it clear that God is "shaping a world which cannot deny that it is one world, except by self-destruction."
"In that world, we Christians find ourselves being drawn and driven together," the message said. "This is what we mean when we speak of an 'ecumenical reality' which takes shape faster than we can understand or express it."
While the message noted that it has become "increasingly clear that many of our long-defended positions are irrelevant to God's purpose," it pointed out that it is difficult to know "what God calls us to keep or to abandon."
"But we do know that we must continue to challenge each other in the light of God's will for us all," it declared.
The word to the churches noted that the task of the Faith and Order movement becomes increasingly complex as more churches participate in ecumenical discussions, and as many areas of the world face difficult and revolutionary situations which affect the churches there.
The Rt. Rev. Oliver Tomkins, Bishop of Bristol, England, served as conference chairman.