Third European

Ecumenical Assembly

The Light of Christ shines upon AllHope for Renewal and Unity in Europe

An Assembly Process that follows the tradition of the Assemblies in

: Basle (1989) Graz (1997) Charta Oecumenica (2001)

The Process of EEA3:From January 2006 to September 2007

The EEA3 Assembly: Sibiu, Romania, September 2007

The theme of the EEA3The Light of Christ shines upon all.

Hope for Renewal and Unity in Europe The process and the objectives of the Assembly are guided by

a Christological reference (St. John 8, 12).

Light: The symbolism of the Light is particularly significant in the Eastern tzraditions as well as in the Western.

Pilgrimage: The sub-title highlights the role of the Gospel of Christ in Europe today. The first responsibility and contribution of the Churches is to promote renewal.

Objectives of the process The Terni document 

To celebrate, to reflect and to witness together our faith in Christ

To express the existing communion of Christians in Europe

To deepen the knowledge of and to value the different confessional and spiritual traditions of Europe

To overcome the tensions and difficulties that still exist between the Churches

To strengthen ecumenism in Europe

The stages of the processThe idea of a pilgrimage

1st stage: Ecumenical Encounter in Rome, 24-27 January 2006

2nd stage: Regional and National meetings 2006/2007 3rd stage: Ecumenical Encounter in Wittenberg, 15-18

February 2007 4th stage: EEA3 Assembly in Sibiu,

4-9 September 2007

Ecumenical Encounter in Rome, 24-27 January 2006

Discovering the Roman-Catholic tradition

The light of Christ shines upon all.

Rediscovering new light along the road to reconciliation among the Christians of

Europe, in Christ crucified and resurrected

The light of Christ shines upon all.Renewal and unity at a local level

The second stage will consist of national and/or regional meetings throughout Europe between Pentecost 2006 and The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2007.Preparation will be the shared responsibility of the respective national delegates of Churches, Bishops' Conferences and regional and national ecumenical bodies. The slant and length of the meetings maybe very different, depending on the local context.

Regional and National meetings 2006/2007

Ecumenical Encounter in Wittenberg, 15-18 February 2007

Discovering the tradition of the Churches of the Reformation

The light of Christ shines on

all. Rediscovering the gift of light that the

Gospel of Christ represents for Europe today.

EEA3 Assembly Sibiu, 4-9 September 2007

Discovering the Orthodox tradition

The Light of Christ shines upon all.

Hope for renewal and unity in Europe.

Assembly Programme: Sept. 4-9: Worship and Bible Studies, Plenaries, Fora and Cultural events

Sept. 8: Feast of the Birth of Virgin Mary, Final plenary, Pilgrimage of the Light and Vigil

Sept. 9: Local Sunday worship and final gathering

At this stage an open and large visitors’ programme is not foreseen, due to the limited accommodation capacity fo Sibiu. There will have, however, be an Agora, or a Market place, with possibilities for assembly participants to meet, share information through stands and exhibitions.

Participants in the process 1st and 3rd stages: 110 delegates from the

Episcopal Conferences, the Churches, associations and ecumenical bodies (55 CCEE, 55 CEC)

2nd stage: Local and national Churches, Bishops' Conferences, regional and national ecumenical bodies, Christian organisations and networks

In the Assembly: A total of 2100 delegates out of 2500 participants•1050 delegates from the Conference of European Churches’ (CEC) member churches•Associated Organisations •National Councils of Churches •Partner organisations•Regional and International Organisations•1050 delegates from the Council of European Bishop’s Conferences (CCEE)•Guests, speakers and advisors•Staff, stewards, press•Local Committee, guests, volunteers• During the last two days, a great presence of Romanian communities

The next steps... The CCEE and CEC are informing their members of the

size of their delegations

The CCEE and the CEC name coordinators of the Fora of Sibiu, which will have the task of preparing the thematic introductions to the sub-themes

The Episcopal Conferences and the Churches realise the national and regional meetings between Pentecost 2006 and The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2007 (2nd stage)

The light of Christ shines upon all.Renewal and unity at a local level

The second stage will consist of national and/or regional meetings throughout Europe between Pentecost 2006 and The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2007.Preparation will be the shared responsibility of the respective national delegates of Churches, Bishops' Conferences and regional and national ecumenical bodies. The slant and length of the meetings may be very different, depending on the local context.

Regional and National meetings 2006/2007

Goals: 1. to live an experience of faith, spirituality and communion with moments of prayer, Bible meditations, witnesses, symbolic acts, pilgrimages, convivial moments;

2. to deepen the knowledge of the Churches and communities which are present in the nation or region, and of Christian and ecumenical life experiences;

3. to deepen the themes, goals and objectives of EEA3;

4. to discuss the themes of the Charta Oecumenica that will be dealt with in Sibiu;

5. to prepare local, national or regional meetings to take place at the same time as the Sibiu one (September 2007);

6. to plan and implement a "concrete commitment", so as to give visibility and continuity to the meeting.

The Light of Christ and the ChurchUnity Spirituality Witness

The Light of Christ and EuropeEurope Religions Migration

The Light of Christ and the WorldCreation Justice Peace

Themes: Nine themes have crystallised in the preparatory process. The themes are all related to current issues in Europe, relevant to the life and calling of the church:

Resources:Charta Oecumenica and the EEA3 Study Guide:As well as relating to the Charta Oecumenica and the EEA3 study guide, a process has been launched to develop these themes through reflection, discussion and sharing, throughout the various stages of the EEA3 process.

Thematic introductions: Introductions to each theme will be made available on the EEA3 web-site, and the national and regional meetings are invited to contribute to the process of reflection and discussions, through meetings, studies, case-studies, articles, reflections and other thematically related contributions. These contributions will be included in the further reflection process of the EEA3 themes

Web-site: www.eea3.org, logo, poster and fliers

Suggestions for participationOn the official website of the 3EEA (www.eea3.org) you will find resources and information, in particular the work paper of the assembly. Distribute these resources as much as possible. A number of official events during different stages of the 3EEA will be broadcast live on the website.

At every opportunity and wherever appropriate propose the themes of the 3EEA, especially at meetings already scheduled, organised by parishes, communities, movements, associations, ecumenical bodies, Bishops Conferences, Churches and dioceses.

Organise special local meetings on the Assembly themes. Support a prayer network as wide as possible for the 3EEA and Christian

unity. Encourage local media to report on the 3EEA and its themes. Support the national or regional meetings that constitute the second stage

of the 3EEA. Support a local programme to run at the same time as the Sibiu assembly

(4-9 September 2007).

Where possible, have a collection to help finance the participation of people from poor countries and help brothers and sisters in Romania in putting on the Sibiu Assembly.

At the appropriate time keep in contact with the delegates from the Churches, Bishops Conferences and ecumenical bodies sent to participate in the various stages of the process.

Contact your own Church or Bishops Conference about the possibility of becoming a delegate at the Sibiu Assembly.

Hold pilgrimages, visits, twinning in various cities of Romania at the same time as the Sibiu assembly. These would largely involve young people, especially from abroad. These groups would be guests of local communities and would reside in families, and they would share a common programme with the hosting communities, consisting of meetings and visits between 4 and 7 September. Saturday 8 th September the groups are invited to reach Sibiu for a pilgrimage of light and to join in a common programme with all the delegates on Saturday and Sunday morning. The local secretariat in Sibiu provides information on which communities can be contacted.

We will be grateful to CCEE and CEC for any brief reports about initiatives and experiences.

The organisation of the EEA3

What we hope for the EEA3

To rediscover and deepen the Christian identity

To respond to spiritual needs

To face together common problems of the current historical situation

Welcome to join the pilgrimage