Asian churches mourn passing away of CCA Moderator Archbishop Willem T.P. Simarmata

Programme Review and Programme Direction

Two key deliberative sessions during the 15th CCA General Assembly are the Programme Review and Programme Direction sessions.

The Programme Review and Programme Direction sessions will both be conducted in three groups relating to the CCA’s programme areas, namely, (i) General Secretariat (GS), (ii) Mission in Unity and Contextual Theology (MU) and Ecumenical Leadership Formation and Spirituality (EF); and (iii) Building Peace and Moving Beyond Conflicts (BP) and Prophetic Diakonia (PD).

Assembly participants will have the option to join one of three groups for both the Programme Review and Programme Direction sessions. For the sake of coherence, the assigned group will remain the same for both sessions.

General Secretariat

The General Secretariat oversees the coordination of programmatic, administrative, and financial activities of the organization. The GS comprises various departments such as church and ecumenical relations, relations with ecumenical partners, finance, administration, and communications, which provide crucial support and services for the implementation of programs and contribute to the overall functioning of the CCA.

Programmes: Relations with member churches and councils, ecumenical partners; advocacy at the United Nations; ecumenical responses to emerging issues in solidarity; income development and finance; and communications.

Mission in Unity and Contextual Theology (MU) and Ecumenical Leadership Formation and Spirituality (EF)

Under the MU programme area, the CCA accompanies Asian churches to strengthen their mission and witness in multi-religious contexts, revitalise and nurture church unity and the Asian ecumenical movement, and develop contextual theological foundations.

Programmes: Asian Movement for Christian Unity (AMCU); Congress of Asian Theologians (CATS); Asian women doing theology in the context of wider ecumenism; contextualisation of theology in Asia and ecumenical theological education.

The EF programme area focuses on nurturing and developing ecumenical leaders in Asia. The programme aims to enhance spiritual formation and theological understanding, enabling people to actively engage in ecumenical dialogue and collaboration.

Programmes: Ecumenical Enablers’ Training in Asia (EETA); Asian Ecumenical Institute (AEI); Youth and Women Leadership Development; Ecumenical Spirituality and Nurturing of Contextual Liturgical Traditions; Asia Sunday

Building Peace and Moving Beyond Conflicts (BP) and Prophetic Diakonia and Advocacy (PD)

The BP programme area is dedicated to promoting peace, justice, and reconciliation in Asia’s diverse contexts. Through training, advocacy, and dialogue, the programme addresses the root causes of conflicts, empowers communities, and fosters sustainable peacebuilding initiatives.

Programmes: Pastoral Solidarity Visits; Churches in Action for Moving Beyond Conflict and Resolution; Young Ambassadors of Peace in Asia (YAPA); Ecumenical Women’s Action Against Violence (EWAAV); Eco-Justice for Sustainable Peace in the Oikos.

The PD programme area focuses on promoting justice, human rights, and social transformation in Asia. Through advocacy, capacity-building, and raising awareness, the programme addresses systemic injustice, empowers marginalised communities, and advocates for prophetic actions and meaningful change.

Programmes: Human Rights advocacy; Migration, Statelessness, and Trafficking in Persons; Asian Ecumenical Disability Advocacy Network; Asian Advocacy Network on the Dignity and Rights of Children (AANDRoC); Ecumenical Solidarity Accompaniment and Diakonia in Asia (ESADA); Health and Healing; Good Governance; Action Together to Combat HIV and AIDS in Asia (ATCHAA).

No preference updated.

18 June 2022


Archbishop Willem T.P. Simarmata at the CCA Executive Committee meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 2019

The Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) deeply grieves the passing away of Ephorus (Archbishop) Willem T.P. Simarmata, the Moderator of the CCA.

He passed away in the afternoon on Friday, 17 June 2022, at a hospital in Medan, North Sumatra, in Indonesia. He was 68 years old.

Archbishop Simarmata was the Ephorus (supreme head) of the largest Protestant church in Indonesia, the Huria Kristen Batak Protestan (HKBP), from 2012 to 2016.

One of the most prominent leaders of the Asian churches and the modern Asian ecumenical movement, Archbishop Simarmata was elected as the Moderator of the CCA at the 14th General Assembly of the CCA held in 2015, a position in which he has since served with capable and sincere leadership, especially in closely working together with the CCA officers’ team in charting the future of the CCA as well as in shaping key policy decisions ever since the CCA initiated its new programme structure in 2016.

The General Secretary of CCA, Dr Mathews George Chunakara, expressed deep sorrow over the demise of Archbishop Simarmata, and said that the CCA Moderator’s untimely and unexpected death was a great loss to the CCA and the Asian ecumenical movement, especially when the CCA was preparing for its 15th General Assembly which had been postponed due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Recollecting his close and personal association with Archbishop Simarmata, Dr Mathews George Chunakara said, “He was a very fine human being, and was pastoral in his approach. He dealt with everyone in a true spirit of nobility. He personified a charisma in his leadership and with a special grace in him, and he mentored and inspired people, exemplifying the message that dignity and honour are gifts from God.”

The CCA General Secretary added that Archbishop Simarmata consistently stressed the need for following the Christian social call of stewardship and care of creation and also promoted gender equality and the wellbeing of the marginalised and vulnerable groups in his communities.

“His deep commitment and passion enabled him to strive for communal harmony by developing strong interfaith relationships, especially with the Muslim majority in his country, for the common good. This was widely recognised by the people in his country and it was for precisely this reason that he was elected to the country’s parliamentary bodies in recent times,” Dr Mathews George Chunakara further added.

“His illustrious service to Church and the ecumenical movement spanned several decades, his deep spirituality and commitment to ecumenism, as well as his leadership in church and society at various levels will always be cherished and valued by Asian churches,” said Dr Mathews George Chunakara, who started his term as CCA General Secretary not long after Archbishop Simarmata was elected as the new Moderator of CCA in 2015.

Archbishop Simarmata was associated with the CCA since the early 1990s. He was an official delegate to the CCA Assembly held in 1995, and to subsequent CCA Assemblies, as well as many other major ecumenical events.

He had provided leadership in hosting and organising the 50th anniversary of the CCA held in Prapat and Medan in 2007, when he was the General Secretary of his church, the HKBP.

He also served the World Council of Churches (WCC) as a Central Committee member, and the United Evangelical Mission (UEM) as its Moderator. He was the former Chairperson of the North Sumatra region within the Persekutuan Gereja-Gereja Indonesia (PGI), or the Council of Churches in Indonesia, from 2001 to 2011.

Archbishop Simarmata was elected as the Senator to the Dewan Perwakilan Daerah (DPD-RI), one of the two parliamentary chambers in Indonesia, from the North Sumatra province.

Archbishop Simarmata was ordained as a pastor in 1983. He obtained a Bachelor’s in Theology from the HKBP Theological Institute in North Sumatra, Indonesia, in 1980, and a Master’s from the Siliman University, Philippines, in 1990, and also had a postgraduate diploma in Mission and Theology from Hanil University in Korea.

The first part of the funeral service will be held at No. 2 Setia Budi, Medan Selayung, Medan, on Monday, 20 June, and his funeral will take place on Tuesday, 21 June 2022, at HKBP Simarmata, Samosir Island, North Sumatra. He is survived by his wife, H. Lersiany Purba, and five children.