CCA pays tribute to Mar Chrysostom, the longest serving Church and ecumenical leader of Asia, on his birth centenary

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).

First Preference:
General Secretariat (GS)
Second Preference:
Mission in Unity and Contextual Theology (MU) and Ecumenical Leadership Formation and Spirituality (EF)
26 April 2017

Photo-Chryostem-2

“The senior Metropolitan Most Rev. Dr. Philipose Mar Chrysostom of the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church has been an ardent supporter and promoter of ecumenism and the Asian ecumenical movement,” the CCA General Secretary, Dr. Mathews George Chunakara stated in a congratulatory message addressed to the centenarian Metropolitan and the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church.

Dr. Mathews George said, “The insights and innovative ideas Your Eminence contributed to the East Asia Christian Conference (EACC), the forerunner of the CCA, in the late 1950s and 1960s helped the EACC / CCA immensely in its formative years. Your active participation in different committees of the EACC / CCA, especially in the Church and society programme in 1960 was most encouraging and beneficial to build and articulate the CCA’s theological positions and missiological convictions.”

Metropolitan Most Rev. Dr. Philipose Mar Chrysostom, the longest-serving bishop and ecumenical leader in Asia, has been at the helm of ecclesiastical and ecumenical affairs for more than seven decades, playing a pivotal role in Church and society, as well as in the ecumenical movement.

Mar Chrysostom’s 100th birthday will be celebrated during a special thanksgiving service and public event at the headquarters of the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church in the Kerala State of India on 27 April 2017.

“The Most Rev. Dr. Philipose Mar Chrysostom Metropolitan has been providing leadership, not only to the Mar Thoma Syrian Church, but also to the ecumenical movement as a whole. His leadership as President of the National Council of Churches in India (NCCI), his participation at the CCA Assemblies and its committees, as well as his participation and leadership at the Evanston and Uppsala Assemblies of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and at other global ecumenical events are deeply valued by the international ecumenical community,” Dr. Mathews George added.

Born on 27 April 1918, Metropolitan Chrysostom was consecrated Bishop on ‎23 May 1953. He served as the Diocesan Bishop, Suffragan Metropolitan, Officiating Metropolitan and the Mar Thoma Metropolitan. He was designated as the Valiya (Senior) Metropolitan on 2 October 2007.

The versatility of Mar Chrysostom’s spiritual and pastoral leadership and administrative acumen has been recognsied by people from all walks of life. He is known as a dynamic enabler, prolific orator, pungent writer, tactful negotiator, valiant defender of the law, compassionate at heart; and for his great respect for other religions and faiths, diversity of opinion and his humility and simplicity.

Read the full text of the CCA General Secretary’s congratulatory message on the birth centenary of His Eminence Most Rev. Dr. Philipose Mar Chrysostom Mar Thoma Valiya Metropolitan.