If you're thinking, "I've seen that bishop before," you probably have. He's in almost every photo-op with Patriarch Bartholomew and very active in a number of European Orthodox and ecumenical groups.
December 16, 2009 (CEC) - The Central Committee of the Conference of European Churches (CEC), meeting in Geneva from 16-19 December 2009, elected today the new President and Vice-Presidents of CEC in the persons of Metropolitan Emmanuel of France, President, Rev. Cordelia Kopsch and Bishop Christopher Hill, Vice-Presidents.
Metropolitan Emmanuel of France was born in 1958 on the island of Crete, Greece. He studied theology in Paris and in the U.S.A. Ordained as a priest in 1995, the Ecumenical Patriarchate appointed him as the Director of the “Liaison Office of the Orthodox Church to the European Union”, located in Brussels. The following year he was elected Bishop and in 2003 he became Metropolitan of the Holy Metropolis of France while continuing to serve as the Director of the Liaison Office to the European Union.
Metropolitan Emmanuel is the President of the Assembly of Orthodox Bishops of France, co-president of the Council of Christian Churches of France, as well as co-president of the World Conference of Religions for Peace (WCRP). He has been a member of the CEC Central Committee since 2003.
In his acceptance speech, Metropolitan Emmanuel mentioned as priorities for CEC the work of the Working Group for the Restructuring of CEC and the need to coordinate the activities of the different CEC Commissions and offices. As CEC’s mission is “to link eastern and western Europe”, it is vital “to reinforce the involvement of the Orthodox Churches and to encourage their constructive presence in the life of CEC.” A special priority, he added, will be to work for the re-integration of the Russian Orthodox Church into the life of CEC. The Russian Orthodox Church suspended its membership of CEC in October, 2008, over the failed admittance of the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate into CEC.
The new CEC President also insisted on the importance of fostering dialogue with the European Institutions using the opportunity of the Lisbon Treaty. He also highlighted the need to develop inter-religious dialogue as well as a better structured cooperation with the Roman Catholic Church in Europe.
The Rev. Oberkirchenrätin (OKRin) Cordelia Kopsch is the Senior Vice President of the Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau in Germany, a united Lutheran/Reformed church which is a member church of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD). She has held this post since 2005.
After theological studies in Germany and Israel, she was ordained as a pastor in 1980. She has served as a parish minister, as a pastor for Peacework in Frankfurt and as Senior Officer for Mission and Ecumenics in Darmstadt. She has been a member of the CEC Central Committee since 2004.
Anglican Bishop Christopher Hill was ordained deacon in 1969 and priest in 1970. He served in two parishes in the Diocese of Lichfield before being appointed Assistant Chaplain for the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Council for Foreign Relations (this became the Ecumenical Affairs department in 1981) at Lambeth Palace in 1974. He was the Archbishop’s Secretary for Ecumenical Affairs from 1982-1989.
He was consecrated Bishop of Stafford, Area Bishop within the Diocese of Lichfield in 1996 and in 2004 he became Diocesan Bishop of Guildford. He has served on several dialogue commissions between the Church of England and other churches.
The Central Committee of CEC also elected the other seven members which will form the Presidium of CEC, serving as its executive committee. They are: Metropolitan Athanasios of Achaia (Orthodox, Greece), The Very Rev. Karin Burstrand (Lutheran, Sweden), Ms. Sonila Dedja (Orthodox, Albania), Ms. Katerina Dekanovska (Hussite, Czech Republic), Metropolitan Irineu of Oltenia (Orthodox, Romania), Prof. Dr. Goos Minderman (Remonstrant Brotherhood, The Netherlands), and the Rev. Thomas Wipf (Reformed, Switzerland).
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