Message from the General Secretary of the WCC
XIX International Ecumenical Conference
on Orthodox spirituality
It is a great honor for me as General Secretary of the World Council of Churches to greet you all, organizers and participants in the XIX International Ecumenical Conference on Orthodox Spirituality
Respected Prior of Bose, Enzo Bianchi,
Your Eminences and Graces, Reverend Fathers,
Dear Brothers and Sisters participating in the XIXth International Conference on Orthodox Spirituality
It is a great honor for me as General Secretary of the World Council of Churches to greet you all, organizers and participants in the XIX International Ecumenical Conference on Orthodox Spirituality. This series of conferences organized by the Community of Bose has become an important and useful tradition not only for conference participants, but also for the entire Christian ecumenical community which can profit from the fruits of your collective reflections through the publications that you issue every year. Your focus on spirituality is an authentic way to bring together Christians of all traditions. Spirituality is a proper space where Christians who are still doctrinally divided can find common ways to be together. Having the same roots of our Christian spirituality, which are mainly our belief in the Triune God, in our Lord Jesus Christ as God and Saviour and in the Holy Spirit as Sanctifier of the world and Inspiration of the Scriptures, we as "two or three" (cf. Mt 18, 20), as a fellowship, can be in communion with our Father to whom we pray daily (cf. Mt. 6, 9-14), with our Lord Jesus Christ our "faithful witness" (Apoc. 1, 5) and with the Holy Spirit in whom we are "strengthened" (cf. Ephes. 3, 16).
I ensure you that the efforts that you undertake to research the Orthodox spirituality and to share it with the entire Christian family are highly appreciated by the entire ecumenical family. Indeed, Orthodox spirituality is a treasure and a light for all Christianity that still needs to be researched, discovered and made known to the entire world in order to shine for us all (cf. Mt. 5, 15). I am sure that your focus this year on the "World of God in the Spiritual Life" where you have invited major biblical scholars and personalities who are internationally recognized authorities in Orthodox spirituality to reflect on the way the word of God is the real basis of every authentic spirituality will bear rich fruit for us all.
I wish you a good and fruitful conference!
Yours in our common Lord,
Rev. Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit
General Secretary