WCC central committee moderator asks: “To whom does our primary loyalty truly belong?”
WCC central committee moderator asks: “To whom does our primary loyalty truly belong?”
RMP
Wed, 09/16/2026 - 14:35
During a sermon at the St Hedwig ’ s Cathedral in Berlin on 15 September, World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee moderator Bishop Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm commemorated the signing of original Charta Oecumenica on 15 September 1926.
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Photo: Albin Hillert/WCC
The Charta Oecumenica offers common guidelines for churches in Europe in response to today ’ s challenges, strengthening unity, dialogue, peace, and shared Christian witness.
“ To whom does our primary loyalty truly belong?” Bedford-Strohm asked the congregation. “ Does it truly belong to Christ, as we repeatedly profess?”
He addressed the path towards the visible unity of the churches. “ The key is the spirit of Jesus – the spirit of brotherhood and sisterhood, of human encounter and the closeness that arises from it,” he said. “ The power of ecumenical friendship, which grows on the pilgrimage towards the visible unity of the churches, is still far too often underestimated.”
A striking example of such unity,…
