Perspectief 2014-26

Perspectief 10 Norbert Nagy Societas oecumenica Part of the conference is always the membership assembly. This year there was a record number of applications coming from doctoral students. Eleven young ecumenists were granted membership in the Societas Oecumenica , which is not only the highest number in recent years, but also a good sign, that even though some like to speak about an ecumenical winter, young people are still very much enthusiastic about working for unity. The current president of the Societas , Dagmar Heller (EKD, Germany/Switzerland) was re- elected in her function, the standing committee was partly renewed. It has also been decided about the place of the 2016 congress. The members of the Societas were delighted to receive a kind invitation to Helsinki presented by Risto Saarinen. The final decision on the theme of the conference will be the task of the standing committee, but several proposals were made in direction of religious recognition and ecumenism. The final subject is expected to be set in this area. When looking back at the Budapest-consultation of Societas Oecumenica in 2014, one can detect a growing interest for ecumenical dialogue, and a strong commitment for unity- work from the side of young researchers, too. The topics of “catholicity”, unity, and diversity are still the focal points of ecumenical discussions, since they belong to the essence of the Church. If “catholicity” is about the “whole”, one can say, that the lectures offered in Budapest, tried to address the “wholeness” of the Church. They did not neglect to point at current problems, but they also reaffirmed the Church as “koinonia”, a community that unites and embraces all members of the Church.