European Christians: More Time Needed for God’s Creation in Christian Calendar

|TOP|Christians from across Europe gathered in Geneva last week for a special four-day consultation on the celebration and continued preservation of God’s creation.

Twenty-five theologians and liturgists gathered from all across Europe and all denominations for the consultation on Christian Spirituality organised by the European Christian Environmental Network (ECEN) and the International Reformed John Knox Centre.

It was unanimously agreed at the consultation that more space was needed to honour God as Creator and reflect on the preservation of the environment within the Christian calendar.

“We have reaffirmed the proposal to establish a ‘Creation Time’ within the Christian yearly calendar,” said Swiss theologian and chair of the consultation, Lukas Vischer.

|AD|The proposal for Creation Time was initially brought forward by the Second European Ecumenical Assembly (EEA2) in Graz, Austria, 1997.

“We are determined to re-launch it in view of the Third European Ecumenical Assembly (EEA3) to be held in Sibiu, Romania, in September 2007,” he said. “This proposal does not ask for formal changes in the church year, but is meant to help Christians rediscover the cosmic character of the Christian liturgy.”

The Creation Time initiative follows the invitation of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople in 1989 for all Christians to set apart Sept. 1 as a day of thanksgiving for the gift of creation and prayer for its preservation.

The date was picked up by the EEA2 and is now celebrated by a number of churches including various Protestant Churches and the Roman Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of the Philippines and Italy. It has been proposed that Creation Time should run from Sept. 1 until Oct. 15th .

The issue of the Eucharist also arose at the consultation which ran from Apr. 2nd to 6th.

“As we try to respond together to the ecological crisis the division of Christians at the Lord’s table becomes increasingly unbearable,” said Prof. Vischer. “The consultation developed perspectives on the Eucharist which might be relevant as we seek a spiritual response to the degradation of the environment”.

A report from the consultation will be presented at the forthcoming Sixth ECEN Assembly on the theme “Living in a New Energy Era” which will take place in Sweden from Sept. 27 to Oct. 1st.