Evening star., 1948-08-22
World Church Council
Opens First Assembly
Al Amsterdam TODAY
BY the As .oeioted Press

AMSTERDAM, Aug. d. - The
flrst international assembly of the
World Council of Churches will
meet here tomorrow as a visible
tangible and practical demonstra-
ton to the world that the church
can hold itself together"
Representatives of $50 Protestant
and Orthodox churches from AZ
nations will gather in Amsterdam's
Nieuwekerk New Church, as
church bells throughout the Neither
lands ring for IS minutes to mark
the historic occasion.
DR.. Henry S. Leiper of New York,
general secretary of the council,
said the assembly's outstanding i'm
portance is "as an expression of the
sense of world community which
we need unless the world is to
become chaos leading finally and
necessarily to self-destruction
DR.. Leiper said the assembly, rep
resenting eight out of 10 Christians
belonging to Protestant or Orthodox
churches, is an attempt to bring
into one common team as many of
the elements which develop the
world community as possible.
Two Aspects of Work.
Two important aspects of the
groups work, he said, will be an
expression of the common views of
Christians on the world crisis and
the making of plans for using the
world council as an instrument for
effective common work.
"All this will be done on the
common basis on which all Chris
tians are able to meet-the Bible,
DR.. Leiper said.
1T is the Bible which provides
them with a common language, |
not in the sense of grammar but in
the sense of ideas and language
which is understood by them all
regardless of race or nationality, or
whatever may be able to create
splits and differences among men"
Among the speakers at tomor-
rows opening service will be the
Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Geof-
frey Fisher, and DR.. John R. Mott
of the United States, a pioneer in
International Y. M. C. A. activities.
The assembly will hold its first
plenary session in the evening and it
is expected that the world council
will be formally constituted as
permanent body Monday. Other
business includes adoption of con-
stitution and program OF policy.
World Message Planned.
A message of the assembly will
be drafted to be sent to the
churches of the world. Present
plans visualize a meeting of the
full assembly every five years and an
annual meeting of the body's CEN
tral committee.
Attending sessions in the Amster-
dam concert hall until the assem-
bly'S closing September 4 will be
45O delegates, $50 alternates, 100
youth delegates and some 500 fra
ternal delegates, accredited visitors,
observers and consultanrs.
The Roman Catholic Church is |
expected to have observers at the
sessions. Hopes that the Russian
Orthodox Church as represented
by its patriarchate in Moscow would
serd delegates or observers have not
materialized.
The general theme of the meet
ing is Mans Disorder and Gods
Design"
The assembly also will consider
'''the four concerns of churches:
the place Of women in the church;
lay training; the Christian attitude
to Jews, and reconstruction and in
terchurch aid.
Dulles, Niemoeller on Program.
A prominent place in deliberations
will be taken by Karl Barth. Swiss
theologian; John Foster Dulles of
the United States; Pastor Martin
Niemoeller of Germany: and DR.
Reinhod Niebuhr of the Union The
Ciogical Seminary in New York City.
TIE ancient NieuWekerk, scene of
the opening service, was given its
name because it was built to fill the
need for a second parish church in
Amsterdam at the beginning of the
18th century 1t is in the heart of
the city near the royal palace and
has been the scene of royal investi-
lures ever since the kingdom of the
Netherlands came into existence.
Queen Wilhemina took the oath
there September g. 1898, and her
daughter Juliana, as reseult of
her mothers abdication, will be pro-
claimed queen there this September |