CCA Mourns the Passing Away of H H Mar Ignatius Zakka I, Patriarch, Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch

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.

23 March 2014
christian conference of Asia, Asia christianity

Patriarch His Holiness Moran Mar Ignatius Zakka I  

The Christian Conference of Asia expresses deep sorrow at the passing away of His Holiness Moran Mar Ignatius Zakka I, the Patriarch of the Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch and all East, on 21 March in Kiel, Germany, at the age of 81.

Mar Ignatius, a prolific author and a former President of the WCC from 1998 to 2006, was well known for his involvement in ecumenical dialogue. He was an observer at the Second Vatican Council and also attended the historic meeting of the heads of Oriental Orthodox Churches held in Addis Ababa  in January, 1965.

Born on April 21, 1933, in Mosul, Iraq, he began his theological studies in 1946, in the city's Mor Ephrem Seminary.  He took monastic vows in 1954, was ordained as priest on November 17, 1957, and six years later as Metropolitan Bishop of Mosul. Following the death of Patriarch Yaqub III on June 25, 1980, Mar Ignatius was elected by the Synod of the Church to be the 122nd Patriarch of Antioch. He was enthroned as Patriarch on September 14, 1980, in Damascus. At the time of his election as Patriarch, he had been Archbishop of Baghdad and Basra.

We thank God for the life and witness of this great servant of the Lord and offer our heartfelt condolences to his church, and  his spiritual sons and daughters.

Photo: Courtesy Orthodox Herald. com