The Conference of European Churches (CEC) will hold its 2023 General Assembly from 14 – 20 June in Tallinn, Estonia, exploring the theme “Under God’s blessing – shaping the future”.
CEC invites all media to register and to follow the assembly onsite and via livestream. Media present in Tallinn is invited to attend all public sessions at the assembly, including keynote speeches, hearings on Ukraine, main business plenaries and press conferences among other events held at the venue Kultuurikatel. Those wishing to join the press conferences online will receive a Zoom link to connect and ask questions to the panellists in hybrid setting. CEC will provide press releases and will support interview requests.
Find here countdown link to CEC General Assembly livestream
Find here full programme schedule
Keynote speakers at the assembly:
- Dr Rowan Williams: “How do we work theologically with our role in European society”
- His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew: “What are our Ecumenical tasks in future Europe?”
The assembly will hold two sessions on Ukraine:
Hearing: Churches as change-makers in post-war society
Panellists:
- Archbishop Yevstratiy of Bila Tserkva, Deputy Head of the Department for External Church Relations of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine
- Bishop Sándor Zán Fábián, Trans-Carpathian Reformed Church in Ukraine
- Bishop Pavlo Schwarz, German Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ukraine
- Professor Vlodymyr Bureha, Vice-rector of the Orthodox Theological Academy in Kyiv, Ukrainian Orthodox Church
- Rev. Dr Grzegorz Giemza, Ecumenical Council of Churches in Poland
Hearing: Preparing for Peace: The role of churches in transforming violencePanellists:
- Dr Andrii Smyrnov, Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Ostroh
- Ms Yuliya Kominko, Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Kyiv
- Ms Ksenia Eggert, Ecumenical Patriarchate, Vilnius
- Ms Natalia Vasilevich, Ecumenical Patriarchate, Bonn
- Ms Oleksandra Kovalenko, Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Kyiv
- Mr Bohdan Mostovyi, Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Heidelberg
- Ms Alice Heichenko, Evangelical Baptist Union of Ukraine, Odessa
- Fr Alexander Kuchta, Ecumenical Patriarchate, Vilnius
Closing Press Conference
Panellists:
- Newly elected CEC president:
What the CEC Assembly has accomplished, future directions for CEC - Newly elected CEC Vice President:
CEC Assembly message, inspiring Member Churches, European fellowship - CEC General Secretary Dr Jørgen Skov Sørensen:
Programmatic directions for CEC
Every five years, the General Assembly meets to make decisions on CEC’s future. The Assembly brings together participants representing CEC Member Churches, Organisations in Partnership and European National Councils of Churches from across Europe. The Assembly will also elect the new board members who will steer CEC’s work for the next five years.
The CEC Assembly will be a significant moment of prayer, fellowship and reflection for the life and witness of churches in Europe. The theme will bind the assembly participants together in an ecumenical spirit to offer churches’ contributions toward Europe’s future. Together, they will highlight the voice of Christian faith in European societies in addressing the policymakers.
The Assembly is hosted by CEC Member Churches in Estonia, the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church and the Orthodox Church of Estonia.
More information about CEC
CEC is a fellowship of 113 Orthodox, Protestant, Anglican and Old Catholic churches from across Europe, plus more than 40 National Council of Churches and Organisations in Partnership. CEC was founded in 1959, following the Second World War, to work on healing and peace. Together with its ecumenical partners, CEC represents over 380 million European citizens on the continent.
Please feel free to share this invitation with other journalists who might be interested.
Please send interview requests, or additional questions to naveen@cek-kek.be
For recent news, updates and information visit CEC Assembly website and the Press Centre