General Secretariat

As the General Secretary, Dr Mathews George Chunakara leads the CCA as its chief executive officer and is responsible for the overall coordination and supervision of the implementation and monitoring of all programme areas. The General Secretary is also tasked with the responsibility of strengthening relationships with member churches and councils, liaising with the governing board and advisory bodies, and building relationships with governments and intergovernmental organisations.

Dr Mathews George Chunakara is the tenth General Secretary in the CCA’s history since it was founded in 1957. He was unanimously re-elected for a second term in 2019. 

Dr Mathews George Chunakara is a lay member of the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church in India. He has served in the Asian and global ecumenical movement in various capacities for over three decades, including his prior tenure in the CCA as the Executive Secretary for Indo-China Concerns, International Affairs, and Human Rights from 1993 to 2000; Asia Secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Geneva, Switzerland, as well as the Director of the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs of the WCC from 2000 to 2014.

The CCA underwent a major programmatic restructuring after Dr Mathews George assumed his responsibilities as General Secretary. He has since been initiating several innovative programmes and activities during the past eight years, which has been acknowledged by the CCA’s Executive Committee, as well as CCA’s member constituencies.

"We live in a situation that poses innumerable challenges in Asia every day, and the CCA has a major role to play in coordinating and facilitating the programmes and activities that will respond to the emerging challenges as part of our prophetic witness and mission in Asia."
— Dr Mathews George Chunakara