AVILA, Spain.
"Go to share the Good News: The Lord has done great things for us and we are glad" (Psalm 125). With these words, Inmaculada González Villa, president of the International Ecumenical Fellowship Spain, brought to a close the 42th International Congress of the International Ecumenical Fellowship (IEF), held at the University of Mysticism (Ávila), July 22-29.
 |
| Anglican Liturgy |
 |
| Catholic Liurgy |
 |
| Lutheran Liturgy |
The Congress was attended by a number of members of the Teresian Association (PA and ACIT). Some of these have taken an active role in the organization and management of the Congress. Inmaculada González Villa has written a report on this significant event:
For the third time in the history of the IEF, Christians of different denominations met in Avila to celebrate their International Ecumenical Congress. About 200 participants from 10 regions of the IEF in Europe (Slovakia, Romania, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Germany, Belgium, France, Spain, and the United Kingdom) as well as representatives from the new reality of the IEF in Africa (Uganda and Kenya), and people from other countries (Portugal, Ireland, Jerusalem, Thailand, USA, Luxembourg) were convened at the University of Mysticism under the motto: "Living Stones of God’s Temple," which is taken from 1Peter 2, 5.
The Congress program reflected well the variety and diversity of the attendees through different activities and daily worship. The two keynote speakers were Professor Juan Martin Velasco, and Mr. Fernando Soares da Luz, Bishop emeritus of the Lusitana Church of the Anglican Communion, Oporto.
Martin Velasco gave an overview of the socio-cultural and religious life with its challenges in Europe, thus opening a door to hope through service, spiritual ecumenism, interreligious dialogue, and the option for the marginalized, through the mysticism of compassion and open eyes.
D. Fernando da Luz Soares presented his experience of over 40 years serving the ecumenical movement in Portugal. Using the theme of the Congress, he shed light on the response to the current challenges presented to the ecumenical movement.
Through focus groups and 14 workshops, the participants have been able to deepen into the content of the motto and on burning issues of current ecumenism, such as: Primacy and Synodality at the service of unity from the Anglican, Protestant, Orthodox, and Catholic perspectives; Mysticism and Protestantism ;Teresa of Jesus and Martin Luther, etc.
As Christian pilgrims in search of unity, the IEF highlights acceptance and appreciation of the various ways of celebrating faith. This has allowed the participants to attend the celebration of the Lutheran, Anglican and Catholic liturgies. Also, in the afternoon of July 27, they attended Orthodox Vespers presided by Archimandrite P. Demetrius, of the Greek Orthodox Church, accompanied by a great Romanian Orthodox choir.
On July 28, Bishop Jesús García Burillo welcomed the participants at Avila Cathedral for the celebration of the Catholic Eucharist. His warm and fraternal welcome, in the spirit of Vatican II, made the celebration a true closing for the Congress.
Work GroupSince the Congress took place in the city of Ávila, the Castilian mystics had to be present. Thus, we had scheduled a prayer with Teresa of Jesus at the Monastery of the Incarnation, in the chapel of the Transverberation, led by Ms. Itziar Aguinagalde. Another one with Saint John of the Cross took place at CITeS, led by the Fr. Francisco Javier Sancho, who introduced John of the Cross as healing through Love.
The cultural dimension could not be missed. We organized two guided tours, one to the city of Avila, and the other to Toledo, with the desire to come close to the presence of three cultures and religious traditions in the latter city: Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Since the Archbishop of Toledo was at WYD in Rio de Janeiro, the participants were welcomed at the Cathedral of Toledo by the Dean, Fr. Juan Sanchez Rodriguez, and the diocesan delegate for interfaith and ecumenical relations, Fr Juan Manuel Uceta. In the chapel there was an ecumenical prayer centered on chapter 17 of the Gospel of St. John.
Several ecclesiastical and civil authorities attended the Congress. The opening ceremony was attended by the Bishop of Avila, Jesus Garcia Burillo; the Mayor of Avila, Mr. Miguel Angel García Nieto; Deputy Mayor Ms. Patricia Rodriguez; Councilwoman Maria del Pino Gomez; the President of the Catholic University of St. Teresa of Avila, Ms. Begoña Lafuente; and the director of the University of Mysticism, Fr. Francisco Javier Sancho.
In the closing ceremony, a group of young people made a presentation they had prepared in one of the workshops to show how to build together the Church of today and tomorrow.
Closing Ceremony
At the close of the Congress we heard the following words:
"Maria Skobtsov, in 1932, received a mission from the hands of Metropolitan Eulogius: “Go, speak and act in the desert of human hearts."
So today we are also sent. Sitting at the well with Jesus, we understand his words: "The time will come when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth" (John 4: 23).
This requires living our lives in truth. The next Congress of the IEF, to be held in the Czech Republic, will help us with this. The temple of God is not just a place, it is an infinite space; it is also our own lives, our communities, our churches. When His presence fills each moment and each of our gestures and actions, we become a reflection of the source of light and warmth that enlightens and encourages us. This source is God Himself. We are sent as living stones, marked by the clarity of his Spirit, to build a more just world for all humanity, and a more united Church, more house of the Father for all.
Teresa of Jesus would tell us that we are the living stones for those that are to come. Saint John of the Cross repeated: "Tell them that, because our Lord has taken them a first stones, they are to look at what they should be," because others must be based on solid foundations.
Praying the Our FatherSpiritual and service ecumenism opens a new horizon for the IEF and to all who are here today!
Maria Skobtsov also said that the new historical conditions have transformed the life of the whole Church, even in its daily dimension. The Church people must create a new ecclesial way of life, and they must question themselves about the true meaning and the essential objectives of the Church. It is not enough to just follow a tradition inherited from the past and perpetuate it; you need to open roads to the Christianity of the future.
Trust!
This afternoon Christ Himself calls us in the Gospel.
We are sent together to give witness to the love of Christ in the world through our unity. Today is a great day: a day of joy for all of us. Because of this, we are glad (Psalm 125) . "
Inmaculada González
President of the International Ecumenical Fellowship