Confessional Principle

ECC is an association of churches confessing their faith in Our Lord Jesus Christ as their God and Saviour, and aspiring to realize their mission together, to the Glory of God the Father and Son and the Holy Spirit.

The ECC is not a supra-church. Each of the churches decides individually on the questions of their learning, confession, life and ruling, as well as on their relation to the other churches and church unions. A membership in the ECC, however, binds individual churches to an ecumenical relationship to all other churches of the ECC... It engages them also to seek a maximum possible degree of agreement in all controversial issues (from the ECC statute).

Membership

a) A full membership in the ECC is eligible to all Christian churches consenting to the above given confessional principle and registered in the CR. They participate in all activities of the ECC and have a right to vote;

b) an associate membership might be chosen by the churches consenting to the basis, their full membership is, however, hindered by other reasons. They participate in the activities, they cannot vote, but they are welcome to express their opinion of an issue concerned prior to the voting;

c) the status of an observer may be assigned to such churches or church bodies who consent to the ECC objectives, they cannot, however, from confessional or other reasons become full or associate members. They participate in the ECC activities, but not in the decision taking process.

CHURCHES AND CHURCH BODIES COOPERATING WITH THE ECC:

Member Churches:

- Apostolic Church (Apoštolská církev)

- Baptist Union in the Czech Republic (Bratrská jednota baptistů)

- Brethren Church (Církev bratrská)

- Czechoslovak Hussite Church (Církev Československá husitská)

- Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren /Presbyterian/ (Českobratrská církev evangelická)

- Evangelic Church of the Augsburg Confession in CR (Evanjelická cirkev augsburského vyznania v ČR)

- Old Catholic Church (Církev starokatolická)

- Orthodox Church in Czech Lands (Pravoslavná církev v Českých zemích)

- Silesian Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession /Silesian Lutheran Church/

(Slezská církev evangelická a.v.)

- United Methodist Church  (Evangelická církev metodistická)

- Unity of Brethren /Moravian Church-Unitas Fratrum/ (Jednota bratrská)

Churches with Associated Membership:

- Czech Bishop’s Conference (Česká biskupská konference) - representing the Roman-Catholic Church

- Salvation Army (Armáda spásy)

Observers:

- Church of the Seventh-day Adventists (Církev adventistů sedmého dne)

- Czech Bible Society (Česká biblická společnost)

- Czech Evangelical Alliance (Česká Evangelická aliance)

- Ecumenical Academy (Ekumenická akademie)

- Federation of Jewish Communities in the Czech Republic (Federace židovských obcí v České republice)

Organization

The supreme organ of the Ecumenical Council of Churches is the General Assembly whose members are the leading representatives of individual member churches. It decides upon principal issues of the ECC and elects the general secretary of the ECC. From its centre the president and vicepresident for a two years period are elected.

The whole activity of the ECC is administered by the steering committee whose members are the representatives of the member churches for ecumenical affairs and the general secretary of the ECC. From its centre the chairman and vicechairman of the steering committee are elected.

In the proceedings of both the bodies also the representatives of the churches with an associate membership participate. There may be also invited the representatives of the churches with the status of observers, officials, and guests.

The general secretary of the ECC conducts the operation of the office of the secretary and coordinates the work of individual offices. General secretary is charge of dealing with the current agenda, and is representing the ECC within the frame designed to him (her) by the steering committee.

Individual branches of work are assigned to officials who may set up work groups. These are not currently bound by the ratio representation of all the churches.

Work groups - commissions

- Commission for Women - deals wih the activities of women in individual churches in the CR and in international organizations. It prepares various discussions and meetings with visitors abroad. Within the frame of the Eunika project it is organizing the get-togethers of the women from Central and East Europe, is reflecting upon the possibilities of the cooperation with women from neighbouring states, organizing humanitarian work;

- Commission for Study and Education - is preparing and organizing educational meetings of Christian pedagogues, is working out expert reviews of a number of school text-books;

- Commission for Massmedia - cooperates with the Christian programs TV and radio staff;

- Theological Commission - prepares the statute of the ECC, gives its opinion to theological issues of consequence;

- Financial and Economical Commission - inspects the ECC management and the proper administration of the property;

- Commission for the Work with the Romanies - is preparing educational programmes for the Romanies and about the Romanies;

- Commission for the Work with the Refugees - works in the refugee camps.

Beside these permanent commissions, the ECC establishes task groups preparing single events, eg. some international conferences and exhibitions, or they are in charge of solving concrete tasks, such as Commission of ECC and the Czech bishop’s conference for the study of the recatholization in 16th - 18th centuries in the Czech lands or the Ecumenical Flood Commission.

The ECC Objectives

- practical cooperation of the member churches, common witnessing, common worship, mutual information, theological dialogues, prayer meetings of the church representatives

- cooperation of churches on local level

- mediation of a dialogue of the member churches with the Roman-Catholic church, and a dialogue of churches with different religious streams (charismatic and pentecostal movement)

- educational programs

- public relations, informing the public about the activities of the churches

- coordination of the churches negotiations with the government bodies and public institutions, making statements on laws concerning churches

- negotiations with international ecumenical organizations (eg. World Council of Churches, Conference of European Churches, European Ecumenical Commission for the Church and Society, European Ecumenical Forum of Christian Women etc.)

- organization of an exchange of experts, students, literature with foreign countries

- contacts with foreign churches and with ecumenical councils, organization of visits from abroad. ECC provides accommodation in its newly reconstructed rooms, both for individuals and small groups,

- arranges smaller seminars and meetings as well as larger conferences on Christian subjects in Prague and other Czech towns.

History

Organized forms of ecumenism in our territory initially originated in Protestant environment with the aim to set forth the interests of the Protestants against the majority Catholic Church. This refers to the Konstanz Union founded in 1905 as an association of the Evangelics of all denominations with an individual membership. In 1927 the Union of Evangelic Churches in Czechoslovakia was founded as a federation of churches. This federation’s objective was to promote Protestantism on all levels of life. First contacts with the nascent world ecumenical movement began. The platform of the Union, however, became too narrow for a direct participation. Therefore, as early as in 1938 the member churches decided to establish a council of churches whose members also the non-Protestant churches might have become, first of all the Orthodox Church and the Czechoslovak Hussite Church. The plan was, however, marred by the German occupation and the World War II.

Ecumenical Council of Churches was established in Czechoslovakia on 20th June 1955. It associated the churches whose confessions were based in the platform of the World Council of Churches. Practically all „classic“ churches with the exception of the Roman-Catholic Church became its members. Their motive was the need to commonly take a stand to the new societal situation in the state governed since 1948 by the Communists, and also the necessity to cooperate with the churches from neighbouring countries including those on the other side of the iron curtain.

In spite of the ECC being, due to the circumstances, put into the role of a sort of ministry of foreign affairs with a little impact onto the life of the majority of Czechoslovak Christians, it succeeded in accomplishing things of real importance. Let’s name at least its participation in the preparation of the ecumenical translation of the Holy Script into the Czech language.

After the November events in 1989 the structure of the ECC changed, and all the Christian churches in Czechoslovakia were invited to cooperate. The ECC became an independent organization with respect to both the spiritual and economical aspects. The ECC, the same as all the churches in Czechoslovakia gained its freedom, and its relations to the state were established on the principle of equal rights.

In 1993 two independent states came into existence after the split of Czechoslovakia - the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. Also the Ecumenical Council was split. In April 1993 the Ecumenical Council of Churches in the Czech Republic was founded.

In February 1996 the Roman-Catholic Church became an associated member of the ECC (till then an observer).

Revised February 1999

CONTACT :

ECUMENICAL COUNCIL OF CHURCHES IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC
Donská 370/5
101 00 Praha 101
Czech Republic

tel/fax 420-2-71 74 23 26

email   ekumrada@iol.cz