Christian Ecumenical Movements

One of the significant features of post-war Australian Christianity is its development of ecumenism,
stressing the common values and teachings that prevail across the many churches and
denominations making up the Christian world. Although the foundations of ecumenism were set in
the early 1900s, it wasnt until the formation of the World Council of Churches in 1948 and the
groundswell of the 1960s that it became a movement within the Christian church that drew
peoples attention.
Since the 1970s, in particular, there have been many conversations between different Christian
groups and denominations dealing with doctrinal matters and areas of cooperation. State
Ecumenical Councils, and informal ecumenical initiatives such as the Christian Research
Association, the National Church Life Survey and the Interchurch Trade Industry Mission (ITIM),
are some examples. Overall, though, the formation of the Uniting Church in Australia and the
emergence of the National Council of Churches in Australia in 1994 have been the most
significant developments.
The Uniting Church in Australia
The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) is an example of ecumenism in action. In the early years of
the twentieth century there had been a number of moves towards ecumenism by the Protestant
churches, but the failure of these demonstrated the difficulty in church union. In 1945 the
Presbyterian Church voted to reopen negotiations with the Methodist and Congregational
churches. Long negotiation and reflection led to votes on the principle of union in the various
churches in 1972. After 1 May 1974, there was no continuing Australian Methodist Church. The
union was completed on 22 June 1977 and the new unified church was to be known as the Uniting
Church in Australia (UCA). There is a continuing Presbyterian Church in
Australia today, as well as a small number of Congregationalist communities.
The formation of the UCA was described by the then Catholic Archbishop of
Brisbane, Francis Rush, as the most significant ecumenical event in
Australias history. Today 1.1 million Australians are members of the Uniting
Church in Australia, making it Australias third largest religious community.
National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA)
In 1922 at the instigation of the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, John Wright, the main Protestant
churches formed the Joint Australian Council of the Churches Contemplating Reunion. Lack of
agreement about episcopalism (Having church authority vested in the company of bishops as a
whole rather than with any individual) saw the council dissolved in the 1930s.
A national council of churches, which was later to become the Australian Council of Churches
(ACC), was formed in 1946. In 1994 the ACC was succeeded by the National Council of Churches
in Australia (NCCA) and for the first time the Catholic Church was officially part of this ecumenical
body. In 1998 the Lutheran Church joined the NCCA. The NCCA has played a significant role as a
peak body representing the voice of the Christian Churches in public debate in recent years.
In addition to the NCCA, there are literally dozens of interdenominational and
ecumenical groups operating in Australian society in a range of biblical,
educational, missionary, social justice, spiritual, student-focused and theological
endeavours. Despite their theological differences, Protestant, Catholic and
Orthodox leaders of today meet, discuss and agree on matters of doctrine to a
level unimaginable thirty years ago. The atmosphere is one of mutual respect and
acceptance.
Resources:
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Living Religion 4 edition; Oxford Studies of Religion