WCC HOLDS EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING IN HANGZHOU, CHINA, FOCUSING ON CHRIST AND CULTURE THEME

The opening ceremony was moderated by Rev. Dr. Lin Manhong, Vice President and General Secretary of the China Christian Council, along with Rev. Prof. Dr. Jerry Pillay, General Secretary of the WCC. Wang Wenxu, Director of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee, delivered a welcome address. This was followed by a speech from Rev. Xu Xiaohong, Chairperson of the National Committee of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement of the Protestant Church in China. Imam Yang Faming, President of the China Islamic Association, also gave a speech.

Rev. Wu Wei, President of the China Christian Council, presented a special Bible commemorating the 1700th anniversary of the Nicaea Council to the WCC. Duan Yijun, Vice Minister of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee and Director-General of the National Religious Affairs Administration, welcomed the WCC to China as a sign of strong, stable, and enduring relations. In his speech, Bishop Prof. Dr. Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, Moderator of the WCC Central Committee, expressed his admiration for the sense of church unity he observed in China.“The churches in China understand themselves primarily as Christian, not only in their words but also in their actions,” he said. “We have come to China to listen, learn, and discern.”