Final preparations are underway for Asian Theologians’ Summit in India

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.

07 April 2016

Final preparations are underway for the Eighth Congress of Asian Theologians (CATS-VIII) that will be held in Kochi in the South Indian state of Kerala, from 18th to 22nd April 2016, and hosted by the Senate of Serampore Colleges (University). CATS-VIII will bring together over 100 Asian theologians to deliberate on the theme, “Doing Asian Theologies in the Context of God’s Oikos”.

While the overarching theme of CATS-VIII will focus on doing Asian theologies in the context of God’s oikos, there will be three special thematic foci related to the main theme which will analyse and study emerging theological contexts:  ‘Re-reading of Asian Theologies in Asia’, ‘Re-imagining the Covenantal Relation and Stewardship in God’s Oikos’, and ‘Towards a New Ecumenical Paradigm for Doing Theologies in Dialogue with Other Faiths’.

The main speakers of the Congress include Dr. Hang Po Hoo, professor at Chang Jung Christian University, Sister Shalini Mulackal, a Roman Catholic nun and professor of systematic theology at Vidyajyoti College in Delhi, Dr. Peter C. Phan, a native Vietnamese theologian currently serving as a professor at Georgetown University in Washington D.C., and Dr. Binsar Pakpahan who is teaching at the Jakarta Theological Seminary.

Various sessions of the Congress will discuss on doing theology in emerging Asian contexts with thematic foci on peace and human security, migration, religious harmony, dignity of people with disabilities, spirituality in a digitized world, overcoming violence against women and children, and struggles for right to land. Inter-religious relations in Asia’s multi-religious context will be a focal area of the discussions in this year’s CATS.

“The CATS-VIII will be a unique opportunity for Asian theologians to meet together again to discuss on doing theology while addressing pertinent Asian issues with specific emphases in the context of God’s oikos. The collective reflections of Asia’s prominent theologians will contribute to the ongoing  process of study and reflection on the most recent CCA Assembly theme, ‘Living together in the household of God’”, said Dr. Mathews George Chunakara, General Secretary of the Christian Conference of Asia.

“The Indian participants, representing a wide spectrum of academic disciplines from various theological colleges and seminaries affiliated with the Senate of Serampore, will lead the worship from indigenous perspectives and they will help enrich the spiritual life during the four days of deliberations at CATS-VIII”, said Bishop Dr. Isaac Mar Philexinos, President of the Senate of Serampore College (University), who is heading the host committee.

Mar Philexinos stated that the government of India’s Home and Foreign Affairs ministries have granted official permissions to facilitate conference visas to all overseas participants, which is a significant support.

“Every possible effort to accomplish the mission of a successful summit of CATS has been made by the Senate of Serampore staff team, and all participants will also have opportunities to enjoy India’s traditional cultural heritage and multi-religious harmonious ethos”, added Rev. Dr. P. G. George, Dean of Senate of Serampore College, who coordinates local arrangements.

CATS, a biennial gathering of Asian theologians, was initiated and facilitated by the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) since 1997. This is the second time that a Congress of Asian Theologians is being hosted in India. In 1999, the second summit of CATS was hosted by the Indian School of Ecumenical Theology of the Ecumenical Christian Centre in Whitefield, Bangalore.