Ecumenical Conference at the Chapel for Europe: Looking for the Soul of Europe

On January 22, 2019, in the context of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, the Chapel for Europe hosted the conference “Looking for the Soul of Europe”, bringing attention to gripping questions about the challenges which confront the Christian Churches.

The conference was organized by the Chapel for Europe in partnership with the Holy Trinity Brussels Church.

The keynote speech was delivered by Bp. Robert Innes, the chief pastor of the Diocese in Europe of the Anglican Church. The panel was completed by Mgr. Luc Van Looy, Bishop of the Diocese of Ghent, Rev. Fr. Sorin Selaru, Director of the Permanent Office of the Romanian Orthodox Church to the EU Institutions, and Ms. Katrin Hatzinger, Head of the Brussels Office of the Evangelical Church in Germany. The moderator of the discussions and the subsequent session of questions and answers was Ms. Katharina Wegner, from the Brussels Office of Diakonie Deutschland.

Bp. Innes, taking as his source of inspiration the chapters of II Corinthians 5 and I Corinthians 12, suggested that reconciliation is the most important test of a Church’s efficiency. Fr. Sorin Selaru emphasized the value and structuring character of memory, which helps us to avoid repeating the same mistakes and shows the perennial value of Tradition as well as its capacity to respond to current challenges.