Ecumenism, also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjective ecumenical is thus applied to any interdenominational initiative that encourages greater cooperation between Christians and their churches.
The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, usually identified as the National Council of Churches (NCC), is the largest ecumenical body in the United States. NCC is an ecumenical partnership of 38 Christian faith groups in the United States. Its member communions include mainline Protestant, Eastern Orthodox, African-American, evangelical, and historic peace churches. Together, it encompasses more than 100,000 local congregations and 40 million adherents. It began as the Federal Council of Churches in 1908, and expanded through merger with several other ecumenical organizations to become the National Council of Churches in 1950. Its Interim President and General Secretary is Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie.
The World Student Christian Federation (WSCF) is a federation of autonomous national Student Christian Movements (SCM) forming the youth and student arm of the global ecumenical movement. The Federation includes Orthodox, Protestant, Catholic, Pentecostal and Anglican students.
The Christian Reformed Church in Myanmar is a Reformed church of Myanmar, and was founded in 1985 by Pastor Chan Thleng who was formerly ordained in the Presbyterian Church in Myanmar. He belongs to the Matu tribe in Southern Chin State born in 1954 become Christian in 1974. In 1985 he founded the United Christian Church after he graduated from Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, MI. He returned to Burma and changed the denomination's name to the Christian Reformed Church. It has 52 congregations and 13 preaching points with more than 6,000 members. The church is divided into 10 classes. Most of the evangelists work among Buddhist and Animist people. The Church recognizes the Belgic Confession, Heidelberg Catechism, Canons of Dort and the Ecumenical Creeds. To train pastors the church founded the Reformed Theological seminary in Yangon in 1997. The college offers a degree of Bachelor of Theology. The Christian Reformed Church maintains a clinic opened in 1999 in Matupi. It belonged to the Reformed Ecumenical Council, the only Burmese denomination to do so. But REC merged with the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, now the Christian Reformed Church is affiliated with the World Communion of Reformed Churches. The denomination held its 26th General assembly on March 17–20, 2011. It entered into official ecclesiastical fellowship with the Christian Reformed Church in North America in 2011.
Vancouver School of Theology is a multi-denominational divinity school located on the campus of and formally affiliated with the University of British Columbia.
The Spanish Reformed Episcopal Church, also translated as Reformed Episcopal Church of Spain, or IERE is the church of the Anglican Communion in Spain. It was founded in 1880 and since 1980 has been an extra-provincial church under the metropolitan authority of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Its cathedral is the Anglican Cathedral of the Redeemer in Madrid.
The World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) is the largest association of Calvinist churches in the world. It has 230 member denominations in 108 countries, together claiming an estimated 80 million people, thus being the fourth-largest Christian communion in the world after the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Anglican Communion. This ecumenical Christian body was formed in June 2010 by the union of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) and the Reformed Ecumenical Council (REC).
The Reverend Professor Ian James Mitchell Haire AC is a theologian and Christian minister of religion. He is emeritus professor of Charles Sturt University, Canberra, Australia and past executive director of the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture. He was formerly the fourth president of the National Council of Churches in Australia and the ninth president of the Uniting Church in Australia.
The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU) is a pontifical council whose origins are associated with the Second Vatican Council which met intermittently from 1962 to 1965.
Paul David Loup Avis is an English Anglican priest, theologian, and ecumenist. He was General Secretary of the Church of England's Council for Christian Unity from 1998 to 2011, theological consultant to the Anglican Communion Office, London, from 2011 to 2012, and Canon Theologian of Exeter Cathedral from 2008 to 2013. He was honorary professor in the Department of Theology and Religion at Durham University 2017-2021 and Honorary Professor in the School of Divinity, University of Edinburgh 2022-. At the University of Exeter he was visiting professor of theology from 2009 to 2017 and is currently honorary research fellow. He is Director of the Centre for the Study of the Christian Church which organises occasional conferences and is linked to the journal Ecclesiology, published by Brill, of which he is Editor-in-Chief. He is the editor of the series Anglican-Episcopal Theology and History, also published by Brill. Avis was also a chaplain to Queen Elizabeth II, 2008–2017.
The Reformed Presbyterian Church of Equatorial Guinea is a minority church in Equatorial Guinea. It is reformed by its theology and presbyterian by its form of government, as stated in its constitution. The principal religion in Equatorial Guinea is Christianity, with approximately 85–93% of the population as followers. Most Christians belong to the Roman Catholic Church (80–87%) while a minority are Protestants (5–7%). Another 5% of the population follow indigenous beliefs, 2% are Muslims, followers of Baha'i and other beliefs.
The Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea or the KiJang Presbyterian Church is an ecumenically-minded Presbyterian denomination in South Korea.
The Presbyterian Reformed Church of Mexico is a Protestant Christian church that formed after the Independent Presbyterian Church of Mexico split in the 1980s. The church has a relationship with the U.S.-based Christian Reformed Church in North America, which sends missionaries to the Mexico City area and other states. It is a member of the World Communion of Reformed Churches.
The Presbyterian Church of Korea (TongHap) is a mainline Protestant denomination based in South Korea; it currently has the second largest membership of any Presbyterian denomination in the world. It is affiliated with its daughter denomination, the Korean Presbyterian Church in America (KPCA) in the United States, which adopted the "Korean Presbyterian Church Abroad" as its new name in 2009.
The Reformed Church of Latin America is a confessional Reformed and Presbyterian church in Colombia and the Caribbean and the surrounding Latin American countries.
The Reformed Calvinist Church of El Salvador is Reformed denomination in El Salvador, that adheres to the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Second Helvetic Confession, Heidelberg Catechism, Apostles Creed, Nicene Creed and the Athanasian Creed. It was organised in 1979, and maintains a Reformed Biblical Centers for lay training. In 2004 the denomination had 3,212 members and 6 congregations and 10 house fellowships. It is a member of the World Communion of Reformed Churches. The Calvinist Reformed Church is affiliated with the Christian Reformed Church in North America.
George Hunsinger is an American theologian who is Hazel Thompson McCord Professor of Systematic Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary. He served as director of the Seminary's Center for Karl Barth Studies from 1997 to 2001.
The Reformed Church in Mozambique is a confessional Reformed denomination in Mozambique. It was founded by Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa, started Mphatso mission in 1909. This was in the Northwest part of the country, near Malawi. The work expanded rapidly. By 1919, 5 missions were opened in Tete Province. The Portuguese government inspired by the Roman Catholic Church closed the mission in 1922, and forced the missionaries to leave. Between 1922 and 1971 the church member had to meet secretly under trees and crossing the border to Malawi to attend Reformed worship. In 1972 the first black missionary called Rev Pedro Tempe started mission in South Mozambique, in Gaza Province.
Martha L. Moore-Keish is an American theologian ordained in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Her work is primarily focused on Reformed theology, liturgical theology and ecumenical theology, including engagement with interfaith issues around the world. She currently engages this work as the J.B. Green Associate Professor of Theology at Columbia Theological Seminary.
Alan Philip Frederick Sell FSA, FRhistS was a minister of the United Reformed Church and was formerly Professor of Christian Doctrine and Philosophy of Religion at the United Theological College, Aberystwyth in Wales. An author in the fields of philosophy, theology, ethics and history he held prominent positions in various ecumenical organizations including the World Alliance of Reformed Churches.
