Evening star., 1948-04-04

ing in the history Of the Christian ,
number Of church bodies represent
terms Of the various expressions Of
make their particular contributions
The Salvation Army delegates viii
take their place along with the del
egates Of the Eastern orthodox and
the "old Catholic. churches. The
Lutheran delegates from the state
churches Of Norway and Sweden
and those Of the Society Of Friends
and the free" churches viii. TO-
gether with others Of nearly every
branch Of the Christian church, seek
new, ways Of fellowship and united
service. The younger churches" Of
India, China and South Africa, with
the vigor, restlessness and I'M
patience Of youth, will offer new
challenges to the colder" churches
of the west.
Plan Made in 1888
It was In Utrecht. Holland. In
1898 where 90 church leaders met
to lay the ground work for this
World Council Of Churches. With
out Q dissenting vote, churchmen
from east and west, adopted . con-
stitution for this proposed body.
But back Of Utrecht were years Of
preparation. Youth played its part
In bringing the churches together.
Under the leadership Of DR.. John
r. Mott, Nobel prize winner, the
World Student Christian Federation
was organized in 1895, and since
then has brought Christian stu
dents together from across the world
The World Missionary Confer
snce held at Edinburgh in 1910, how
ever, could be called the mother OF
almost all the modern movements in
the direction of Christian unity.
From this international conference
the tide Of Christian unity began
flowing in three quite distinct chan
nels.
Bishop Brent Led Move
The first flowed In the channel Of
missionary cooperation which re-
suited in the formation Of the In
ternational Missionary Council, from
which DR.. Mott but recently retired
as president, and to which Office
Or. John A. Mackay, president Of
Princeton Seminary, was elected. The
conferences of this great body in
Jerusalem in 1928, and in Madras in
1888, gave new impetus to the move
ment Of closer and richer fellowship
between the churches Of the world
The second channel through which
this tide flowed is known as Faith
and Order" The late Charles H.
Brent, Bishop of the Protestant
Episcopal Church in America, was
the recognized leader in this move
ment. Meetings were held at Lau-
same in 1927 and at Edinburgh in
1887. Here church historians and
theologians dug deep into the creeds
and various expressions Of faith Of
the churches.
The third channel was called Life
and Work" This movement dealt
with the Implications of the Chris
tian message relative to the social,
economic and international prob
lems of the world. The late Nathan
soderblom, Archbishop Of the
Lutheran Church of Sweden, was
the spearhead of this movement.
The conference held at Stockholm in
1925, and at oxford in 1887, are now
points OF reference for the churches
approach to the practical issues
which must be faced in our day.
Greater Unity Needed
The 1887 meetings Of both Faith
and Order" and Life and Work"
led the church leaders to the con-
viction that still greater unity is nee
essary. The faith Of the churches
cannot be dealt with apart from its
practical expression. Both confer
ences, therefore, took action in the
direction Of the merging Of these
movements. A joint committee was
appointed which met in Utrecht in
1898. It was here that the World
Council Of Churches was given birth.
The name was suggested by DR..
Samuel M. Cavert, general secre-
tary Of the Federal Council Of
Churches Of Christ in America. The
Joint committee called itself the Pro-
visional Committee Of the World
Council of Churches. Five presidents
were elected: Dr.. Marc Boegner,
president Of the Federation Of Prot
estants of France; the Archbishop of
Canterbury, the Archbishop Of
Thyateira, the Archbishop Of Up
sala, Sweden, and DR.. Mott of the
United States. The committee
elected a Dutchman. DR.. w. A.
Wiser It Hooft, to the important
position Of general secretary. ct
Ia interesting to note that his name
in Dutch means "the head fisher"
DR.. Wiser t Hooft came to this
position after q long experience in
the World Christian Student Move
ment.
Ten Year Lapse
The first assembly of this new
body was to be held soon, but what
happened in the world at that time
Ia all too well known, The World