Church and its Boundaries

The relationship between the Orthodox Churches and the World Council of Churches (WCC) reached a critical point just before the 8th Assembly of the WCC in Harare, Zimbabwe in 1998. The Special Commission on Orthodox Participation in the WCC, inaugurated in Harare, worked during the period 1999–2002 to solve the crisis and secure Orthodox participation in the WCC. The study shows how the initial, specific and individual Orthodox concerns led to a profound ecclesiological discussion and that resulted in concrete changes in WCC practices, the best known of which is the change to decision-making by consensus. The study spans the years 1998 to 2006, from the WCC Harare Assembly to the Porto Alegre Assembly. Hence, the initiation and immediate reception of the Special Commission are included in the study.