Renowned Asian ecumenical theologian and former Associate General Secretary of CCA, Dr Preman Niles, 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).

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06 August 2023

Chiang Mai: A renowned Asian ecumenical theologian and former Associate General Secretary of the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA), Dr Preman Niles, passed away in London, UK on 4 August 2023. He was 87 years old.

Dr Preman Niles joined the staff of CCA in 1978 as the Executive Secretary for Theological Concerns, and subsequently, he was appointed as its Associate General Secretary in 1983; he continued in this position until he was appointed as the Director of the Programme on Justice, Peace, and the Integrity of Creation of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Geneva in 1986.

The General Secretary of the CCA, Dr Mathews George Chunakara, expressed deep condolences on the demise of Dr Preman Niles and stated that he was the first executive secretary recruited by the CCA to head the newly created commission which sought to address emerging theological concerns in Asia. His vision to introduce innovative programmes on theology in the Asian context helped CCA articulate an authentic Asian Christian theology beyond the traditional concept of colonial missionary theological thinking. The theological journal of the Commission on Theological Concerns of CCA, the CTC Bulletin, that he had initiated, was a popular platform for dialogue among Asian theologians and researchers for a long time.

Recollecting some of the specific contributions of Dr Preman Niles, the CCA General Secretary said that Dr Preman Niles had inspired many budding Asian theologians during his tenure in CCA and provided platforms for them to develop ways of doing theology contextually in Asia.

Preman Niles was a proponent for a new theological and missiological approach in understanding mission as an engagement with Asian plurality, and saw to it that the theology that ensued would not be an intra-ecclesial enterprise, but would be open to facilitate broader conversations that could invite the participation of others, added Dr Mathews George Chunakara.

A native of Sri Lanka, Preman Niles completed his theological education at Oxford University and the Princeton Theological Seminary. Before being appointed to the CCA, he was Senior Lecturer and Academic Dean at the Theological College of Lanka.

He was the General Secretary of the Council for World Mission, the successor mission body of the London Missionary Society (LMS), from 1991 to 2002.

Preman Niles was born in 1936 as the eldest son of Rev. Dr D.T. Niles, the first General Secretary of CCA (1957–1968). D.T. Niles, who died in 1970, was one of the world’s leading authorities on ecumenism and evangelism until his death.

He is survived by three children: Damayanthi, Radhika, and Dharman.

The funeral will take place in London, but the date has not been announced yet.