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Message from the General Secretary of the World Council of Churches on the Occasion of the 50th Jubilee of the Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians (EATWOT)

July 28, 2026 · 1 min read

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Tue, 07/28/2026 - 20:23

Geneva, 23 July 2026

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

It is with profound gratitude and deep joy that I bring you greetings from the entire fellowship of the World Council of Churches (WCC) on this historic occasion, the 50th Jubilee of the Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians. For five decades, EATWOT has been a prophetic voice in the ecumenical movement, reminding us that theology cannot be divorced from the cries of the poor, the struggles of the oppressed, and the hopes of the marginalized.

We give thanks to Almighty God for the vision that brought 22 theologians from Africa, Asia, and Latin America together in Dar es Salaam in August 1976. That meeting, which the great French theologian Marie Dominique Chenu called the "Bandung of theology," marked a decisive turning point in the history of Christian thought. It declared that theology must be done from the perspective of the Global South, separate from its "western moorings," and…

Source: World Council of Churches · Read the full story →

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Simona CiobanuThanks for the article. The part about the Dar es Salaam meeting in 1976 and Chenu's comparison to the "Bandung of theology" caught my attention. I think that our Orthodox theology here, in Romania, has always been formed linked to the lives of simple people, not necessarily separating from "Western anchors", but remaining in the tradition of the Church. What do you think, how does this look from your perspective?