Asian ecumenical leader Dr Soritua Nababan awarded ’Mesrop Mashtots’ medal by Armenian Catholicos of Cilicia

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.

04 February 2020

Nababan NR photo

Asian ecumenical leader Dr Soritua Albert Ernest Nababan has been awarded the St Mesrop Mashtots medal by the Armenian Church Catholicos of Cilicia, His Holiness Aram I.

In the presence of prominent global ecumenical leaders as well as representatives of the Armenian community who were present at the special event held at the Armenian Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia, Lebanon, on 1 February 2020, the Pontiff of the Holy See of Cilicia presented the medal to Dr Nababan and recollected his leadership in the ecumenical movement at various levels.

Dr Soritua Nababan, a former Ephorus (Archbishop) of the Huria Kristen Batak Protestan (HKBP) in Indonesia, the largest protestant church in the country, has been involved in the ecumenical movement in Indonesia, Asia, and at the global level in various capacities. He was the first youth secretary of the East Asia Christian Conference, the precursor to the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA), and was subsequently elected a President of the CCA (1990–1995). In the World Council of Churches (WCC), Dr Nababan served as a member of the WCC’s Youth Committee in the 1950s, Moderator of the WCC’s Commission on World Mission and Evangelism in the 1970s, and a member of the WCC Central Committee at different times.

Catholicos Aram I has served two terms as the Moderator of the WCC’s Central Committee, and during his first tenure, Dr Nababan was the Vice Moderator.

The prestigious St Mesrop Mashtots award was constituted by the Armenian Church Catholicosate of Cilicia to honour prominent persons in church and society in recognition of their life-long contributions.

St Mesrop Mashtots (360-440 AD) was a monk, theologian, and linguist who, according to tradition, invented the Armenian script in 405 AD and helped establish Armenia’s golden age of Christian literature.

Mesrop Mashtots began a monastic existence around 395 AD, was ordained a priest, maintained life-long esteem for the ascetic life, and founded several monasteries. He spread the Gospel in remote areas of Armenia and suppressed Mazdaism, a religious order that descended from Zoroastrianism, and invented the definitive 36-character Armenian alphabet.

CCA General Secretary Dr Mathews George Chunakara, who was also present at the special event in Lebanon, expressed happiness on the recognition of Dr Nababan, and conveyed best wishes to him on behalf of the Asian ecumenical family.

Dr Mathews George Chunakara stated that Dr Soritua Nababan is a living example of articulating Asian ecumenical identity and Asian contributions to the global ecumenical movement during his interactions over the decades. The CCA General Secretary added that the recognition of Nababan by the Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is a great honour bestowed upon this octogenarian Asian ecumenical leader.

In accepting the prestigious St Mesrop Mashtots award, Dr Soritua Nababan told the gathering that he was deeply moved by the honour conferred upon him, and always admired the charismatic leadership and ecumenical commitment of His Holiness Aram I, who has been accepted and recognized by the global ecumenical community as a staunch ecclesial and ecumenical leader of this century.

Rev. Dr Samuel R. Kobia, a former General Secretary of WCC, was also awarded the St Mesrop Mashtots medal during the same occasion.

Rev Dr Konrad Raiser, a former General Secretary of WCC, who attended this special event, was also a recipient of the Mesrop Mashtots award in 2003.