Bossey Ecumenical Institute

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Château de Bossey
Petit Bossey student residence

The Ecumenical Institute Bossey ( French : Institut oecuménique de Bossey ) is a training institution of the Ecumenical Council of Churches in Bogis-Bossey (Switzerland). Since students from all over the world and from different denominational traditions come together here as a living and learning community, the institute is also known as an “ecumenical laboratory”.

history

The institute goes back to ecumenical summer courses organized by Adolf Keller between 1934 and 1938 in Geneva . It was founded in October 1946 on the initiative of Willem Adolf Visser 't Hooft after the Château de Bossey was acquired with the help of a million dollar donation from John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Visser 't Hooft called the core of the program: the Bible, the world, the worldwide Church. Hendrik Kraemer and Suzanne de Dietrich were the first management team. In the post-war situation, Bossey offered three-month ethics courses for lay Christian people, youth group leaders and Christians in certain professional groups (e.g. teachers, doctors, union leaders). Attention was paid to a mixed-denominational composition of the courses. Since 1952 the institute has been affiliated to the Evangelical Theological Faculty of the University of Geneva and a four-month ecumenical study program is offered once a year.

The respective management shaped the content of the courses on offer. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Greek Orthodox theologian Nikos Nissiotis set an Eastern Church and interdisciplinary emphasis. The Kenyan Anglican John Mbiti emphasized the exchange of theologians from different continents and the interreligious conversation.

During his visit to the World Council of Churches in Geneva, Pope Francis attended a divine service and a lecture with discussion in Bossey on June 22, 2018.

Directors

Todays situation

The institute offers clergy and laypeople from all over the world the opportunity to study ecumenical theology, missiology and social ethics. Organizationally, it is attached to the University of Geneva. The campus houses the library of the World Council of Churches (100,000 books and 900 specialist journals).

Since 2000, Bossey has developed master's and doctoral programs together with the University of Geneva. Since 2011, graduates of the Bossey program have received a recognized certificate from the University of Geneva:

  • Complementary Certificate in Ecumenical Studies (students at recognized universities);
  • Certificate of Advanced Studies in Ecumenical Studies (students at non-recognized universities).

literature

  • Hans-Ruedi Weber : A laboratory for ecumenical life. The story of Bossey, 1946-1996. WCC Publications, Geneva 1996 ( PDF file of the first ten pages ).
  • Amélé Adamavi-Aho Ekué: Being different together: Perceptions of intercultural-theological learning at the Bossey Ecumenical Institute. In: Ökumenische Rundschau 67 (2018), pp. 177–205.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ EKD News: Ökumene-Institut Bossey celebrates its 70th anniversary , September 29, 2016.
  2. ↑ Dagmar Heller : The Ecumenical Institute Bossey as a legacy of Adolf Keller. In: Martin Ernst Hirzel, Martin Wallraff (ed.): Ecumenism in Truth and Love: Contributions to the work and life of the Swiss theologian Adolf Keller (1872–1963). Theological Verlag, Zurich 2016, pp. 103–113.
  3. ↑ Lutheran World Federation: Visit of Pope Francis: A Recognition of the Ecumenical Movement , June 22, 2018.
  4. ↑ WCC News: Bossey Ecumenical Institute: New Academic Recognition Agreement , February 17, 2011.