The Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches (WCC) has opened in Wadi El Natrun in Egypt, where His Holiness Pope Tawadros II of the Coptic Orthodox Church appealed to churches to engage in dialogue that will unite them on the path to true unity. Theological dialogue, Pope Tawadros said in his address at the opening session of the conference, is a journey toward a shared understanding of faith. “It is not an attempt to eliminate or dissolve differences, but rather to discover the profound faith uniting the church,” said Pope Tawadros, the 118th Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark. Organized by the WCC’s Commission on Faith and Order, the conference is meeting from 24 to 28 October 2025 at the Logos Papal Center of the Coptic Orthodox Church at Wadi El Natrun, southwest of Alexandria, Egypt, around the theme "Where now for visible unity?" There have been only five such world conferences since the first in Lausanne in 1927, which gave birth to the Faith and Order movement, one of the Christian initiatives that led to the founding of the WCC in 1948. Pope Tawadros was welcomed to the opening session of the conference by Rev. Prof. Dr Stephanie Dietrich, moderator of the Faith and Order commission, and Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay, WCC general secretary. About 400 participants have gathered for the conference, which is taking place in the year that marks the 1700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea, a defining moment for the Christian church. The See of Alexandria played an important role in the debates that led to the Council of Nicaea. St Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, sought to resolve the Arian controversy and facilitated the reception of the Nicene faith. The Council of Nicaea was the first ecumenical assembly of the global church, Dietrich said in her opening address to the conference, summoned to guard the faith and to bring and hold the church together in unity. “The very memory of Nicaea stands behind our meeting and gives weight to our work,” she said. Pillay, in his address to the opening session, described the World Conference as an important milestone on the WCC’s Pilgrimage of Justice, Reconciliation, and Unity. “Inspired by the Council of Nicaea, which convened 1,700 years ago to seek unity in faith and in the common confession of Christ and to heal the wounds of persecution and repression, we meet today in a shared quest for unity and solidarity,” Pillay said. The Council of Nicaea, Pope Tawadros said, marked a turning point in defining the contours of the Orthodox faith and formulating the universal doctrine passed down by the church over the centuries. “Recalling the Council of Nicaea is not merely a celebration of the past; it is a renewed call to remain steadfast in the apostolic faith and to be open to constructive dialogue that unites the churches on the path toward true unity, based on truth and love,” he continued. Nevertheless, Pope Tawadros continued, the path to unity is not easy, with the divisions that arose after Nicaea fragmenting the church and persisting for many years. “Such divisions can only be healed through theological dialogue,” Pope Tawadros said, which aims not to eliminate or dissolve differences, but rather to discover the profound faith uniting the church. The conference is being hosted by the Coptic Orthodox Church with the participation and support of WCC member churches in Egypt:the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa, the Episcopal/Anglican Province of Alexandria, and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Egypt, Synod of the Nile. Address of His Holiness Pope Tawadros II at the Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order Opening Address of Rev. Prof. Dr Stephanie Dietrich at the Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order Address of Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay at the Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order Conference livestreams and recordings Photogallery: Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order, 2025 Learn more about the Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order SOURCE>WCC
(all times on Egypt Standard Time – UTC 3) Livestream channel: www.youtube.com/WCCworld YouTube playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLI22eVXX9FYkgFiHkDcxykUZ8MWtzvfew Friday 24 October 09:00 – 10:30 Opening plenary 11:00 – 12:30 Where Now for Visible Unity? 16:30 – 17:30 Faith in the Middle East Saturday 25 October 09:00 – 10:30 The Triune God and the Identity of the Church 11:00 – 12:30 Unpacking Apostolic Faith: Living the Nicene Creed in Context Monday 27 October 09:00 – 10:30 The Church in and for the World 11:00 – 12:30 Mission: Common Witness and Apostolic Discipleship Tuesday 28 October 09:00 – 10:30 Unity: Living and Visible? 11:00 – 12:30 Living Visible Unity 16:00 – 17:30 Ecumenical Future 17:45 – 18:45 Closing plenary SOURCE>WCC
The Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches (WCC) is taking place from 24 to 28 October 2025 around the theme “Where now for visible unity?” at Wadi El Natrun– a historic centre of Coptic monasticism located southwest of Alexandria, Egypt. World Conferences on Faith and Order have been held at key moments in the history of the ecumenical movement, the first in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1927, and the most recent in Santiago de Compostela in 1993. They have been events that have gathered up the work on Faith and Order in the preceding period and set the agenda for the future, not only for the work on Faith and Order but also for the wider ecumenical fellowship and the WCC. The conference is the centrepiece of the WCC’s activities to mark the 1700th anniversary of the first Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, a key moment in the history of Christian faith and for the ecumenical journey today. Bringing together church leaders and theologians of different traditions as well as involving a new generation of ecumenists, the Sixth World Conference will approach the theme “Where now for visible unity?” from the interconnected vantage points of faith, mission, and unity. It will reaffirm the WCC’s commitment to assist the churches as they call one another to visible unity and to advance the unity of humanity and of all creation. In conjunction with the Sixth World Conference, a Global Ecumenical Theological Institute (GETI) is offering space for a new generation of younger and emerging ecumenical theologians and educators from a broad spectrum of Christian traditions to engage with the work of Faith and Order. SOURCE>WCC |