Former CCA General Secretary Bishop John V Samuel Passes Away

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.

30 August 2018

John Samuel (1990-1995)

It is with profound grief that we received the sad news of the demise of Bishop John Victor Samuel, a former General Secretary of the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA). He passed away in Multan, Pakistan in the early hours of 30 August 2018. He was 87 years old.

The funeral will be held in Multan on Sunday, 2 September 2018.

Bishop John Victor Samuel, a prominent Asian ecumenical leader served CCA as its fifth General Secretary from 1990 to 1995. He served the Church and ecumenical movement in various capacities for more than half a century. He was a member of CCA presidium from 1973 to 1977; member of WCC Central Committee, Moderator of Commission of Interchurch Aid, Refugee and World Service (CICARWS/WCC), President of NCC Pakistan, Presiding Bishop of Church of Pakistan, and General Secretary of the Student Christian Movement in Pakistan.

Dr. Mathews George Chunakara, General Secretary of CCA expressed his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family and said that Bishop Samuel would be remembered for his ecumenical collegiality, personal warmth and friendship, as well as his numerous ecumenical contributions in Pakistan and at the international level.

“In his capacity as the General Secretary of CCA in the 1990's, Bishop Samuel was instrumental in initiating and developing future Asian ecumenical leadership” recollected the CCA General Secretary who was a colleague of Bishop Samuel at CCA in the 1990s.

Bishop Samuel is survived by his wife Shirin, sons Ajmal and Amjad, and daughter Anjum.