Page 29 - AECA.org.uk ¦ Koinonia 63

communion and many more, show the curiosity and concern that ex-
isted in both East and West.

The World Council of Churches31 plays a signi?cant role within
the Ecumenical Movement. The WCC was inaugurated in Amsterdam
(1948), bringing the Ecumenical Movement to a new chapter in its his-
tory, taking the relationships and the dialogues between the denomina-
tions into an o?cial status. Initiating a novel investigation on the Ecu-
menical Movement, one can easily identify in it a “biblical renewal, a
liturgical renewal and renewed understanding of Christian social
responsibility.”32 The WCC came at a time when all Christians wished
to preserve and reinforce the sense of unity33, which had been felt due
to World War II, where countless people moved around the European
continent. It also came as an answer to previous concerns that the reun-
ion process depended on individuals, lacking “proper organisation”34 ,
gaining at the same time the support and the awareness of other Chris-
tian faithful. However, it also came at a time when the Orthodox na-
tions were still at war (for instance Greece had a civil war, 1946-49)
whilst other Balkan nations were under authoritarian regimes, making
the work of the Orthodox Church di?cult, if not impossible. Neverthe-
less, the presence of the Orthodox in a number of great conferences and
the WCC, reminded the Western Christians of “the larger perspec-
tive”35 of Christianity.

31 It is important to state that the WCC was not the ?rst of its kind. In 1846, the World Evangelical
Alliance was founded as the Evangelical Alliance. However, the non-Evangelicals and non-
Anglicans in general would not agree with many of their practices and beliefs, such as intercom-
munion.
32 Allchin, A.M., “The Revival of the Religious Life and Christian Unity”, Sobornost, Series 3, No. 12,
Winter 1952, p. 543.
33 This unity could be felt within the movement of ecumenism, which was seen as “a new and mi-
raculous gift of God” to Christianity. Student Christian Movement, Fellowship Archives, 1937.
34 Zernov, Nicolas, A Memorandum on the Relations Between the Anglicans and the Eastern Orthodox
Churches, Fellowship Archives, 1945.
35 Dunelm, Michael, ‘Message from the President’, Sobornost, Series 3, No. 18, Winter 1955-56., p.
274.

27