Asian Handbook for Theological Education and Ecumenism

It is with great pleasure and pride to receive this timely and precious Asian Handbook for Theological Education and Ecumenism. Having in mind the 10th Assembly of the World Council of Churches being held in Busan, Korea in 2013, the timely release of this handbook truly marks a milestone in theological education.

While the delegates and guests rejoice in the assembly celebrating the unity of the churches worldwide, the assembly will also be able to assure the revitalization of the much beloved ecumenical movement through nurturing future generations of Christian leaders through various activities, but especially through ecumenical theological education and training. I am confident that we all share the same legacy of the ecumenical movement that embodies our most profound belief and wish for Christian unity and beyond. In the same time it is our historical task and call to give-forth what we have rejoiced in to future generations to let it flourish even more. For this, I firmly believe the Asian Handbook for Theological Education and Ecumenism will provide the necessary basic material with its selected invaluable resource material expressing voices of faith commitment and compassion from the Asian region.

The Asian region is a multi-faceted one, which makes it nearly an impossible mission to accommodate all the different aspects and demands. Hence, I cannot but deeply congratulate the editors and the leadership of the WCC-ETE program for having accomplished this huge task.

It is again with great pleasure and joy to receive this handbook, which signals an investment towards the future of the ecumenical movement in Asia. Being a region with limited available resources and extreme diversity, education and training is widely thought to be a significant way of opening a new future of common witness and sharing in various areas. The quest for education and training shall conclude in the self-realization and fulfillment of each individual being in a setting of mutual sharing and communal life in Asia.

The release of this tremendously rich resource book, right in time of the occasion of the 10th assembly of the World Council of Churches, will open new dimensions of exploring new ways of community life. common witness, mutual enrichment and guidance of Asian churches through the new era of ecumenism The National Council of Churches in Korea, along with all its member churches has been greatly gifted with the faithful accompaniment by other churches through the most difficult times of the Korean people. It is mainly through those experiences that the Korean churches have witnessed true ecumenical compassion. With the experience of hosting the 10th assembly of the WCC the Korean churches are looking towards a new future of ecumenism. It shows that the capacities of the Korean churches have reached a significant point of sharing even more resources for the betterment of the whole world community and for mutual enrichment.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages