Emilio Castro

Last updated
Rev. Dr.

Emilio Castro
General Secretary, World Council of Churches
Church United Methodist Church
In office1985-1992
Predecessor Philip Potter
Successor Konrad Raiser
Personal details
BornMay 2, 1927
Uruguay
DiedApril 6, 2013
Montevideo, Uruguay

Emilio Castro (May 2, 1927 - April 6, 2013) was a Methodist minister from Uruguay. He served as general secretary of the World Council of Churches from 1985 to 1992.

Contents

Biography

Emilio Castro was born on May 2, 1927, in Montevideo, Uruguay. [1] His father was Chilean and his mother was Spanish. [2]

He attend Union Theological Seminary in Buenos Aires, Argentina, competing his studies in 1950, [3] and was ordained in the Evangelical Methodist Church of Uruguay. In his first few yours of ministry, he pastored churches in the cities of Trinidad, Durazno, and Pasos de los Toros. [1]

From 1953 to 1954, he undertook a year of graduate studies with Karl Barth in Basel, Switzerland, with support from a grant by the World Council of Churches. [4] He was the first Latin American to study with Barth. [1]

From 1954 to 1956, Castro served as pastor of a Methodist church in La Paz, Bolivia. [2] [4] In February 1957, he returned to Montevideo, where he was assigned to the largest Methodist church in the city, the Central Methodist Church, located in the Centro district. [1] During his pastorate there, he developed a religious television show which proved to be both popular and controversial because it addressed justice issues. [2] [4]

As a well-known religious leader in Uruguay, he became influential in establishing dialogue between opposing political groups. He also helped launch Frente Amplio, a coalition of democratic groups in the country. From 1965 to 1973, he worked with UNILAM, an ecumenical organization building Protestant unity across Latin America. [2] He spoke out for human rights and opposed military dictatorships in the 70s and 80s. [2]

In 1973, he joined the staff of the World Council of Churches at their headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, as director of its Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME). [5] In 1975, he authored Amidst Revolution, which reflected on the contemporary issues facing the Christian churches in Latin America. [6] He was influential in the crafting of a major ecumenical statement on mission, Mission and Evangelism: An Ecumenical Affirmation, which was issued by the WCC in 1982. [7] In 1984, he completed his doctorate at the University of Lausanne. [4]

He became the WCC's fourth general secretary in 1985, succeeding Philip Potter. He served for seven years, during which time there were major changes in Eastern Europe as the Soviet Union broke apart. Castro was supportive of the Orthodox churches in the region, and advocated for their needs. During his term as president, he oversaw the launch of the Peace, Justice and Integrity of Creation program, which was designed to encourage churches to re-envision mission work, and to encourage collaborative work on social justice among churches inside and outside the Council. Castro is also noted for establishing closer relationships with evangelical churches that were not members of the World Council of Churches. In 1992, he published A Passion for Unity: Essays on Ecumenical Hopes and Challenges. [1] [8]

He completed his term in 1992, and was succeeded by Konrad Raiser, who became the fifth general secretary of the WCC. [3]

Castro died in Uruguay on April 6, 2013. [5]

Awards

On October 14, 2009, Castro received the Orden de Bernardo O'Higgins, an award granted by the government of Chile to non-Chileans. He was recognized for his work defending human rights during the time of Pinochet. [9] [10] [11]

Legacy

Castro has been described by Methodist Bishop Rosemarie Wenner as "one of the role models not only for Christians in Latin America but for Methodists all over the world" [7]

See also

Emilio Castro - in spanish

Further reading

Sintado, Carlos A. and Manuel Quintero Pérez. Emilio Castro: A Legacy of Passionate Ecumenism. (Geneva: World Council of Churches, 2018)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Council of Churches</span> Worldwide inter-church organization founded in 1948

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most jurisdictions of the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Old Catholic Church, the Lutheran churches, the Anglican Communion, the Mennonite churches, the Methodist churches, the Moravian Church, Mar Thoma Syrian Church and the Reformed churches, as well as the Baptist World Alliance and Pentecostal churches. Notably, the Catholic Church is not a full member, although it sends delegates to meetings who have observer status.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ecumenism</span> Cooperation between Christian denominations

Ecumenism – also called interdenominationalism, transdenominationalism, or ecumenicalism – 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 and union among Christian denominations and churches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Evangelical Alliance</span> Global organization

The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) is an interdenominational organization of evangelical Christian churches, serving more than 600 million evangelicals, founded in 1846 in London, England, United Kingdom to unite evangelicals worldwide. WEA is the largest international organization of evangelical churches. The headquarters are in Deerfield, Illinois, with UN offices in New York City, Geneva, and Bonn. It brings together 9 regional and 143 national evangelical alliances of churches, and over one hundred member organizations. Moreover, the WEA includes a certain percentage of individual evangelical Christian churches. As of March 2021, the Secretary General of the WEA is German theologian Thomas Schirrmacher.

Samuel Kobia, is a Methodist clergyman and the first African to be elected General Secretary (2004–2009) of the World Council of Churches (WCC), a worldwide fellowship of 349 global, regional and local churches representing a Christian population of over 590 million people. In 2010, Kobia was appointed Ecumenical Special Envoy to Sudan by the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC). Kobia is married to Ruth, and they have two daughters, Kaburo and Nkatha, and two sons, Mwenda and Mutua.

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 and Catholic students.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Konrad Raiser</span>

Konrad Raiser is a former General Secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Methodist Council</span> Consultative body and association of churches in the Methodist tradition, founded in 1881

The World Methodist Council (WMC), founded in 1881, is a consultative body and association of churches in the Methodist tradition. It comprises 80 member denominations in 138 countries which together represent an estimated 80 million people; this includes approximately 60 million committed members and a further 20 million adherents. It is the fifth-largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, and World Communion of Reformed Churches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conference of European Churches</span> Church organization in europe

The Conference of European Churches (CEC) was founded in 1959 to promote reconciliation, dialogue and friendship between the churches of Europe at a time of growing Cold War political tensions and divisions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willem Visser 't Hooft</span>

Willem Adolph Visser 't Hooft was a Dutch theologian who became the first secretary general of the World Council of Churches in 1948 and held this position until his retirement in 1966.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philip Potter (church leader)</span>

Philip Alford Potter was a leader in the Methodist Church and the third General Secretary of the World Council of Churches (1972–1984).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">General Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns</span>

The General Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns (GCCUIC) addresses the interreligious and ecumenical concerns of The United Methodist Church. The GCCUIC's office is located at The Interchurch Center in New York City. The Commission's President is Bishop Mary Ann Swenson and the General Secretary is Stephen J. Sidorak Jr. The Ecumenical Officer of the Council of Bishops is Bishop Sharon Zimmerman Rader and serves as the corporate ecumenical officer of The United Methodist Church, working in collaboration with GCCUIC.

The Rev. Dr. Larry D. Pickens is a graduate of North Park University and holds a master of theology degree and master of divinity degree from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, a doctorate in ministry from Chicago Theological Seminary, and a Juris Doctor from DePaul University College of Law. Larry is the executive director of the Pennsylvania Council of Churches. Larry is the former general secretary of the General Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns of the United Methodist Church. During his tenure as the ecumenical staff officer these significant events took place. Pickens served as the Ecumenical Director of The Lehigh Conference of Churches in Allentown, Pennsylvania from 2014-20.

John A. Mackay was a Presbyterian theologian, missionary, and educator. He was a strong advocate of the Ecumenical Movement and World Christianity.

The Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, previously named the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU), is a dicastery within the Holy See whose origins are associated with the Second Vatican Council which met intermittently from 1962 to 1965.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olav Fykse Tveit</span> Norwegian theologian

Olav Fykse Tveit is a Norwegian Lutheran theologian and bishop, and the current Preses of the Bishops' Conference of the Church of Norway. He was elected to the post of general secretary of the World Council of Churches on 27 August 2009. He entered office on 1 January 2010, for a proposed term of five years, and was re-elected to a second term in July 2014. He resigned from the post in March 2020, having been elected Preses of the Bishops' Conference of the Church of Norway.

Darrell Likens Guder is a theologian and missiologist who is Professor of Missional and Ecumenical Theology Emeritus at Princeton Theological Seminary.

Seevaratham Wesley Ariarajah is a theologian, professor, and former director of inter-religions relations at the World Council of Churches (WCC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">José Míguez Bonino</span> Argentine Methodist theologian

José Míguez Bonino was an Argentine Methodist theologian.

The International Missionary Council (IMC) was an ecumenical Protestant missionary organization established in 1921, which in 1961, merged with the World Council of Churches (WCC), becoming the WCC's Division of World Mission and Evangelism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ioan Sauca</span> Romanian Orthodox priest, theologist and Secretary general of the World Council of Churches

The Reverend Ioan Sauca is the acting general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC). He assumed the office on 1 April 2020 after Reverend Olav Fykse Tveit resigned on 31 March 2020. He is to hold the office until the next World Council of Churches (WCC) committee meeting in 2021, was the Deputy secretary general in 2020.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Tveit, Olav Fykse (July 2013). "Emilio Castro, May 2, 1927-April 6, 2013". The Ecumenical Review. 65 (2): 303–304. doi:10.1111/erev.12043 . Retrieved December 12, 2020– via EBSCO.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Mission Today and Tomorrow: A Conversation with Emilio Castro". International Bulletin of Missionary Research. 5 (3): 108–111. 1981-07-01. doi:10.1177/239693938100500303. ISSN   0272-6122. S2CID   220517525.
  3. 1 2 "General Secretaries of the World Council of Churches". Musée protestant. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Finding Aid: WCC General Secretaries" (PDF).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. 1 2 "WCC pays tribute to Emilio Castro". World Council of Churches. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
  6. ↑ Warren, Max (February 1977). "Book Reviews: Amidst Revolution" (PDF). Retrieved December 12, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. 1 2 "Methodist, WCC leader Castro dies at 85". United Methodist News Service. Retrieved 2020-12-16.
  8. ↑ Castro, Emilio (1992). A passion for unity: essays on ecumenical hopes and challenges. World Council of Churches. Geneva: WCC Publications. ISBN   978-2-8254-1089-9.
  9. ↑ "Chile decorates former WCC general secretary". World Council of Churches. Retrieved 2020-12-16.
  10. ↑ "National Council of Churches News". www.ncccusa.org. Retrieved 2020-12-16.
  11. ↑ "People". The Christian Century. Retrieved 2020-12-16.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.