Ecumenical Diakonia is aimed at mitigating the sufferings of all who experience deprivation, says Metropolitan Dr Yakob Mar Irenaios at CCA Consultation

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).

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25 October 2022

Metropolitan Dr Yakob Mar Irenaois speaks on 'Biblical and theological reflection on Diakonia as the mission and witness of the Church'

Chiang Mai: “Ecumenical Diakonia embraces the entire creation and seeks its well-being; it is aimed at mitigating the sufferings and privations of all who experience deprivation and exploitation of one kind or the other,” Metropolitan Dr Mar Yakob Irenaios of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church in India told the participants of the Asia Regional Consultation on ‘Ecumenical Diakonia, Church’s response to Sustainable Development Goals in Asia’, organised by the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) in collaboration with the World Council of Churches. 

In a presentation on ‘Biblical and theological reflection on Diakonia as the mission and witness of the Church,’ Metropolitan Irenaois, who is the President of the Christian Agency for Social Action (CASA), India’s largest diaconal mission agency established by Indian churches in 1947, affirmed, “Real witnessing is not through speeches or sermons, but through life and life-enhancing activities. To say that ecumenical Diakonia is the Church’s mission and witness means that the Church is to carry on what the Messiah has been and is still doing in this world; this is the true mission. Mission and witness are inextricably linked. The mission revolves around witnessing.”

Metropolitan Irenaois pointed out, “The idea of ‘Diakonia’, or service, is not something new to the Church. The qualifying word, ‘ecumenical’, has added a new dimension to it. The Diakonia, the assigned duty with the Church, is for the whole world. Since Christian churches always uphold the value of human life and dignity, they shall come together, ‘living’ the spirit of the Holy Writ, to address the larger and subtler issues.” 

Dr Ronald Lalthanmawia, programme coordinator of CCA, in a presentation titled ‘Achieving Sustainable Development Goals: Measuring Change’, described the challenges that Asia faces with the SDGs, including geographical expansion, social and cultural variation, rising inequality in Asian countries, widening disparities between rich and poor, and low wages that have negative social and environmental consequences.

“The inequity of progress toward the SDGs is evidenced in the lives of vulnerable population groups throughout Asia and the Pacific who are most at risk of being left behind. Slow progress, stagnation, and regression in meeting the SDG targets continue to place the greatest burden on the most vulnerable,” Dr Lalthanmawia explained.

“There is an urgent need for regional collaboration and partnerships to ensure that no one and no country in any of the Asia-Pacific subregions is left behind as SDG progress stagnates or regresses,” he added.

The Asia Regional Consultation, being held on 24–26 October 2022 with a focus on ‘Ecumenical Diakonia, Church’s response to Sustainable Development Goals in Asia’, brings together 35 representatives of member churches and ecumenical organisations from across Asia who have been involved in Diaconal service in various communities and societies.