During the academic consultation in Utrecht, a Membership Assembly of Societas Oecumenica was held, attended by both individual members of the society and representatives of institutions who were present at the conference. It took place on Monday 24 August in the early evening.
In the first part of the meeting, members were informed about the activities of the Standing Committee for the period 2024–2026, whose main task was to prepare and organise the 23rd Academic Consultation. The reports of the President, Secretary and Treasurer were approved by the Assembly.
An important task of the Membership Assembly is to decide on the venue and theme of the next academic consultation. This will take place in 2028, when the Societas Oecumenica will commemorate the 50th anniversary of its foundation. During the Utrecht conference, participants already had the opportunity to propose themes for the next consultation. Of the nineteen proposals in total, the theme “From Agreement to Communion” received the most votes. The 24th Academic Consultation should therefore address the question of how the churches, building on the ecumenical agreements reached through theological dialogue, can move towards a deeper mutual communion that will be evident in their relationships with one another, as well as in their daily lives and mission.
The 24th academic consultation will take place in the Spanish city of Valencia. The Membership Assembly unanimously approved the proposal of the Yves Congar Chair for Ecumenism, which forms part of The Catholic University of Valencia. The Chair’s Director, Prof. Andrés Valencia Pérez, expressed great delight at the decision, which will not only offer a unique opportunity for participants but will also, in his view, strengthen awareness of the importance of ecumenism at a local level.
In particular, the newly elected Standing Committee of Societas Oecumenica will focus its work on preparations for the forthcoming consultation. The Membership Assembly unanimously elected Heta Hurskainen, associate professor at the University of Eastern Finland in Joensuu, as President, and Dimitrios Keramidas, professor at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome, as Secretary. The other members of the Standing Committee for the coming period, until the next academic consultation, will be Pascal Jung from the Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart, Andrés Valencia Pérez from the Catholic University of Valencia, and Harutyun Huratuyan from Yerevan State University.
Photos: Rudolf Scheltinga
