ENYA: CEC / CCEE CHARTA OECUMENIA ECUMENICAL EUROPEAN ENCOUNTER

The first Encounter of the 21st millennium between Europe's two leading church organisations took place in Strasbourg, France, 19-22 April, 2001. The Council of European Bishops' Conferences and the Conference of European Churches met to discuss what is known as the Charta Oecumenica - a document which has been circulating among the churches for almost the last two years, and which seeks to guide relationships between churches in Europe in the years ahead.

The Charta Oecumenica is the result of a commitment made at the Second European Ecumenical Assembly in Graz in 1997. The Encounter discussed the second draft of the Charta, which was agreed by the CEC/CCEE Joint Committee in Porto, Portugal in January. The Protocol to the Charta was signed as a final act at the Encounter on Sunday, 22 April.

The Encounter brought together the governing boards of the CEC and CCEE and a equal number of young people, making a total of some 200 participants.This Encounter was unique in that it was preceded by a Youth Encounter, which brought together 100 key young people from all over Europe. The young people also discussed the Charta Oecumenica and brought their ideas for practical implementation to the full Encounter meetings, where they were shared with the governing board participants.

Among the distinguished speakers were Cardinal Lehmann of Germany, Metropolitan Daniel from Iasi, Romania, and the Rev. Elfriede Dorr, Lutheran pastor from Romania.