Jesus Christ frees and unites

Abstract

The theme of the Seventh General Convention of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines is "Jesus Christ Frees and Unities,” the same theme under which the Fifth General Assembly of the World Council of Churches is meeting this month in Nairobi, in East Africa.

Many of you of course know, that National Councils of Churches and different Christian groups in various parts of the world have been meeting during the past few weeks, preparing for this theme, which will be taken up in Nairobi under six subthemes or sections. Our meeting here, therefore, under the same theme is a participation in a world-wide endeavor among Christians to understand and define more clearly and concretely the affirmation that “Jesus Christ Frees and Unites".

This theme, which some of us would like to call a Christian affirmation of faith, is significant for situations we have today, where socioeconomic and political interests of the different countries tend to divide the world into three or four, and where world views, whether religious or secular tend to enslave man for life. Moreover, this affirmation is significant because the World Council of Churches is affirming it in the midst of a world situation, where each country, region or continent tries to deaffirmation. Thus by so doing, the WCC has provided a common foundation for theological discussion on the ecumenical level.