Interdenominational Seminar on EDINBURGH 1910 and the ECUMENICAL MOVEMENT in the 21st CENTURY

On the 5th of June 2010, the Diocese of Calcutta (CNI), organized an interdenominational seminar on “Edinburgh 1910 and the Ecumenical Movement in the 21st Century” at the St. Andrew’s Church, Kolkata. 

The seminar majorly reflected on the lessons that one can learn from the past momentous conference of 1910. It also looked into the progress made so far in our ecumenical journey in the 21st century. 

The day’s event began with a devotion followed by a short, informative and pictorial Power Point Presentation “Going down the memory lane” sharing facts about the conference of 1910 and also giving the audience a pictorial view of the situation and people involved in the birth of the modern day ecumenical movement a 100 years ago in 1910. 

The Rt. Rev. Ashoke Biswas, Bishop of Calcutta (CNI), delivered the inaugural address and shared the Church of North India perspective on the subject. Bishop’s paper gave a very informative and relevant overview of the whole subject matter of the one-day conference. It laid stress on the current mission context at the moment. It reminded us of the church union efforts that took place to form the CNI and the current ecumenical efforts that are on.

Dr. M. T. Cherian, Associate Director, SCEPTRE, Senate of Serampore College presented a paper entitled ‘World Missionary Conference and Its impact on the Church in India: A South Indian perspective”. Fr. Jobby Peter of the St. Thomas’ Orthodox cathedral, Kolkata, presented the third paper for the day. In his paper, there was a comprehensive study of the ecumenical movement from the Orthodox perspective. These three papers comprised of the pre lunch session and were moderated by Rev. Sunil Caleb, the Principal of Bishop’s College, Kolkata.

Rev. Dr. Arun Kumar Sarkar, President Buntain Theological College, Kolkata, presented the first paper in the Post Lunch session. He reflected on the Pentecostal/ Charismatic perspective. The fifth paper for the day was shared by Rev. Dr. P. C. Gine, Vice-Principal, Serampore College, who reflected on the Baptist/ Methodist perspective. It was clearly stated by Dr. Gine “that Baptists are ready to learn from others as well as to share their insights with others. The sixth paper for the day, ‘Ecumenism from a pastor’s perspective’ was shared by Rev. Andrew Simick, Presbyter-in-Charge of Kolkata’s much known St. Paul’s Cathedral and the Vice President of the Diocese of Calcutta (CNI). The seventh and the ultimate paper for the day was the ‘Roman Catholic perspective’. The paper entitled “The Edinburgh 1910 vis-à-vis Ecumenical Movement within the Roman Catholic Church” was prepared by Archbishop Lucas Sircar, who was present for the occasion and presented to the gathering by Rev. Fr. John Mohandas, the vicar General. The Archbishop’s paper reflected an urgent ethos of unity among the churches, when it was read: ‘Ecumenical movement from its very beginning has been and will continue to be and impulse and a gift of the Holy Spirit. With this hope we can start with courage and confidence in the 21st century. We hope with God’s help, it will be an ecumenical century. 

The conference was attended by more than 190 participants, among who were pastors of various churches/ denominations, lay leaders and heads and representatives of various NGOs. 

During the various discussion and question & answer sessions, many of the participants expressed their views about unity and friendship among different denominations and suggested practical steps towards more cooperation in the city of Kolkata. Many felt that they were enriched by the discussions. All hoped that this would be yet another step towards a larger ecumenical effort in the future.