The post-war period (1918-1930)
In 1918 an armistice was signed acknowledging German’s defeat. The veterans shared the same memories and wished to circulate them so that such a world conflict could never break out...
Protestant propaganda toward neutral countries
During the Great War a Protestant committee for propaganda was set up to induce neutral countries to join the war on the side of France and its allies, a few...
Commitments of Protestant magazinesduring the Great War
In 1914, the declaration of war and the general mobilization disorganized the French Protestant press. Ensuring normal publishing conditions became difficult. Indeed the press was confronted by the lack of...
Protestant intellectuals in the Great War
At the beginning of the war Protestant intellectuals shared pacifist values. They struggled with political and religious issues raised by World War I, and had to change their understanding of...
Protestant women during the Great War
In 1915, General Joffre declared ‘We would lose the war if women stopped working for twenty minutes every day.’ During World War I women at the rear contributed to the...
Protestant preaching during the Great War
During the First World War French Protestant preachers became radicalised and advocated French patriotism and supposed superiority opposed to German imperialism deemed responsible for the horrors of war. Thus was...
The progress of inter-confessionnal ecumenism since the 1930s
The relationship between the Reformation and the Vatican has not always been easy, the Roman Catholic Church considers itself the only place for the visible unity of the Church. But...
The Dombes Group
The Dombes Group is a gathering of Catholic, Reformed, Lutheran theologians involved in doctrinal and spiritual reflection, and seeks ways of merging and reconciling Churches. It was created in 1937....
The ecumenical translation of the Bible into French
In 1975 an ecumenical translation of the Bible into French, called TOB, was published. It was the result of collaborative work between biblical scholars of the French biblical School in...
The Conference of European Churches (CEC)
The Conference of European Churches is a consultative body bringing together European Orthodox, Protestant, Anglican and Old-Catholic Churches. It presently develops its expertise with European authorities in partnership with the...
Joint Declaration (1999)
The declaration on the doctrine of justification of the Lutheran World Federation and the Catholic Church signed in 1999, dealt with the doctrinal positions of the Lutherans and the Catholics...
From conflict to communion (2013)
After looking back on the past, the report of the Lutheran and Roman Catholic Commission on Unity made proposals for the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Reformation in...
Some important dates for ecumenism
The following dates give an idea of the variety of ecumenical approaches taken since the beginning of the 20th century.
The Assemblies of the World Council of Churches since 1948
The Assemblies of the World Council of Churches define the missions the officials of the organisation. It is called regularly by hosting Churches on specific themes. They elect the central...
General Secretaries of the World Council of Churches
The general secretary of the WCC is elected for an extendable five-year mandate. He is nominated by the members of the Central Committee elected at the General Assembly. The general...
Willem Adolph Visser’t Hooft (1900-1985)
Willem Adolph Visser’t Hooft was a great figure of the ecumenical movement that developed within Protestant and Orthodox Churches in the 20th century. After being a leader in Christian youth...
The International Missionary Council
The International Missionary Council (IMC) was created in 1921. It’s beginnings are found in the Edinburgh Conference of 1910. The purpose was to develop an evangelisation charity taking into account...
The World Council of Churches
The World Council of Churches has its headquarters in Geneva, and gathers over 300 different churches, be they Protestant, Anglican, or Orthodox, from over 140 countries. Though they are all...
The Gypsy Evangelical Mission in France
This Mission is a member of the French Protestant Federation and unites several separate Churches. The Protestant Gypsy Evangelical Mission is part of the Revival Movement which transformed evangelization by...