“The ecumenical dialogue in our time”

Rome (NEV), September 7, 2018 – The press conference held on August 29, during the Synodal works,  was dedicated to the theme of ecumenism, both the one addressed to other Christian confessions and the intra-Protestant one.

Pastor Fulvio Ferrario, dean of the Waldensian Faculty of Theology in Rome, presenting the document “Ecumenical dialogue in our time”, explained: “It is a document that doesn’t want to be ‘normative’, but an authoritative tool for reflection and orientation for our churches”. This is the first text on this topic presented at the Synod since 1998. “The intent – added Ferrario – is to give an account of the new ecumenical climate created with the election of Pope Francis”.

In particular, the question to which the answer is sought, is whether the climate of fraternity created above all by Francesco’s visits to the Waldensian church of Turin in 2015, to Lund for the beginning of the celebrations of the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation in 2016, and to the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Geneva last June, has had repercussions “in the daily life of churches and on the mutual theological recognition”.
The Baptist pastor Cristina Arcidiacono intervened at the press conference and introduced the theme of inter-protestant ecumenical relations, in particular between the Methodist and Waldensian churches and the Evangelical Christian Baptist Union in Italy (UCEBI), given the long standing relations and the many collaborative initiatives between these churches.
The Synod and the forthcoming Baptist Assembly, scheduled for next November, are considering the possibility of organizing within the next two years the joint convocation of an Assembly / Synod in which these churches “would meet and discuss issues related to the common testimony in Italy”.