World Council of Churches in Austria

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World Council of Churches in Austria
Basic data
founding 1958
Member churches 16
Board of the ÖRKÖ
(term of office 2017-2019)
Chairman State Superintendent Thomas Hennefeld (Protestant HB)
Deputy Chair Metropolitan Bishop Andrej (Cilerdzic) (Serbian Orthodox)
Deputy Chair Bishop Manfred Scheuer (Roman Catholic)
Press officer Erich Leitenberger (Roman Catholic)
Secretary Pastor Esther Handschin (Evangelical Methodist)
Deputy Secretary Senior Church Councilor Ingrid Bachler (Protestant AB)
Treasurer Bishop Heinz Lederleitner (Old Catholic)
Deputy Treasurer Father Lukas Daniel (Coptic Orthodox)
Website www.oekumene.at

The World Council of Churches in Austria (ÖRKÖ) is an association of Christian churches in Austria founded in 1958 for the purpose of promoting ecumenical cooperation and the unity of the churches. It forms the National Council of Churches for Austria and, as such, is affiliated with the World Council of Churches .

The ÖRKÖ currently has 16 members. Several churches and church organizations have observer status. In addition to contacts with the World Council of Churches , the ÖRKÖ also maintains relationships with the Conference of European Churches , the Council of European Bishops' Conferences and the ecumenical councils of other countries.

history

The ecumenical concern has been pursued among Protestant churches and free churches in Austria since 1863 within the framework of the Evangelical Alliance . A special highlight was a joint lecture week in May 1935, during which around 20 pastors, preachers and religious teachers gave lectures as guest speakers in more than 10 Viennese churches.

After such approaches, which were restricted to the Protestant area, there was broader interdenominational cooperation in the post-war period. Ten years after the founding of the World Council of Churches (also known as the World Council of Churches) in Amsterdam , the Ecumenical Council of Churches in Austria was founded in 1958 by the Old Catholic Church of Austria , the Evangelical Church AB , the Evangelical Church HB and the Methodist Church.

After the general assembly of the World Council of Churches in New Delhi in 1961 , the Orthodox churches represented in Austria also became members of the ÖRKÖ over the years. On December 1, 1994, the Roman Catholic Church finally became a full member, after having had observer status since 1970.

structure

Depending on their size, the member churches and the observers are represented on the council by at least one and a maximum of ten people. The General Assembly usually meets twice a year. During the time between the general assemblies, a two-year executive board consisting of eight people manages the business.

There are also two permanent working groups: on the one hand for church and society , on the other hand for the media . Special projects can be dealt with by ad hoc committees.

Since the ÖRKÖ does not have its own employees or its own office space, the larger member churches, especially the Roman Catholic Church and the Evangelical Church AB, provide the World Council with rooms, facilities and staff for its work. The head office is the Evangelical Community Center in Vienna-Währing (18th) at the observatory (Severin Schreiber Gasse 3).

Members

observer

Observers in the ÖRKÖ are the Diakonisches Werk für Österreich , the Salvation Army , the Ecumenical Youth Council, the Austrian Bible Society , the Evangelical Mission Council, the Ecumenical Forum of Christian Women in Europe, the Pro Oriente Foundation , Servitas and the World Women's Day of Prayer - Ecumenical National Committee Austria.

Chairperson

time Surname church
1958 to December 1, 1960 Bishop Gerhard May (Protestant AB)
December 2, 1960 to December 4, 1962 Superintendent Ferdinand Mayr (methodist)
December 4, 1962 to November 17, 1964 State Superintendent Volkmar Rogler (Protestant HB)
November 17, 1964 to October 22, 1968 Church Chancellor Karl Pickel (Protestant AB)
October 22, 1968 to November 24, 1972 Pastor Ernst Kreuzeder (Old Catholic)
November 24, 1972 to December 10, 1974 Prelate Mesrob Krikorian (Armenian Apostolic)
December 11, 1974 to September 30, 1980 Superintendent Erich Wilhelm (Protestant AB)
October 1, 1980 to October 14, 1982 Superintendent Walter Schwarzinger (methodist)
October 15, 1982 to November 20, 1986 Pastor Peter Karner (Protestant HB)
November 21, 1986 to October 18, 1990 Pastor Ernst Kreuzeder (Old Catholic)
October 19, 1990 to December 31, 1995 Superintendent Werner Horn (Protestant AB)
January 1, 1996 to December 31, 1999 Metropolitan Michael Staikos (Greek Orthodox)
January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2005 Matron Christine Gleixner (Roman Catholic)
January 1, 2006 to December 31, 2009 Bishop Herwig Sturm (Protestant AB)
January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2013 Episcopal Vicar Nicolae Dura (Romanian Orthodox)
January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2016 Superintendent Lothar Pöll (methodist)
January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2019 State Superintendent Thomas Hennefeld (Protestant HB)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Franz Graf-Stuhlhofer (Ed.): Evangelical Alliance in Vienna from the First Republic to the Nazi era (1920–45). Edition of the meeting minutes and programs (studies on the history of Christian movements of the Reformation tradition in Austria; 2), VKW, Bonn 2010, pp. 100–102.

Coordinates: 48 ° 13 ′ 53.8 ″  N , 16 ° 19 ′ 52 ″  E