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Serbien: General Assembly of the CEC concludes its sessions

14. Juni 2018
After nine days of plenary sessions, business plenums, workshops, deliberations and expositions of Church dignitaries from Orthodox, Protestant, Anglican and Old Catholic Churches from Serbia and all countries of Europe, the General Assembly of the Conference of European Churches (CEC) in Novi Sad concluded its work on 5 June 2018. Rev. Christian Krieger, President of the Reformed Church in Alsace and Lorraine and Vice-President of both the Union of Protestant Churches in Alsace and Lorraine and the Protestant Federation of France, was elected President of the Conference of European Churches. The delegates of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the Conference of European Churches are: Professor Srboljub Ubiparipovic, PhD, Lecturer at the Department of Liturgics of the Orthodox Theological Faculty at the University of Belgrade; post-graduate students of theology Nikola Mutavdzic and Ognjen Zvekic as well as Julija Vidovic, ThD.

The General Assembly of the CEC was in session in Novi Sad from 31 May to 5 June, 2018. This is for the first time that the Conference of European Churches held  the General Assembly in the Balkans. At this event, the biblical theme “You Shall be My Witnesses” was discussed with additional reviews and comments on current concepts of justice, witnessing and hospitality from the perspective of European Christians.

The General Assembly represents an international organization which mediates in an inter-religious dialogue and represents the interests of the Church before international institutions such as the European Commission and the European Parliament. The highest governing body of the CEC is the Assembly and it is held every five years. This year, the hosts of the General Assembly are the Churches that are members of the CEC in Serbia: the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Churches in Vojvodina, the Reformed Christian Church in Serbia and Montenegro, the Slovak Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Serbia and the Evangelical Methodist Church in Serbia.

The former assemblies of the Conference of European Churches were held in Budapest (2013), Lyon (2009), Trondheim (2003), Graz (1997), Prague (1992), Sterling (1986), Chania (1979), and in many other cities of Europe. (© 1999-2016 by The Information Service of the Serbian Orthodox Church, www.spc.rs, 7. Juni 2018)