PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Jake Goshert, Coordinator of Information Services
Tel: (212) 686-0710 Ext. 60; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: jakeg@armeniandiocese.org
Website:

June 27, 2006
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GENEVA GATHERING FOR WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES

Bishop Vicken Aykazian, legate and ecumenical officer of the Diocese of the
Armenian Church of America (Eastern), traveled to scenic Bossey,
Switzerland, just outside Geneva, from May 16 to 19, 2006, for a meeting of
the World Council of Churches (WCC) Executive Committee.

The 20-member body oversees the work of the WCC, representing 348
denominations. During this meeting, committee members discussed future
activities of the WCC to tackle important issues in Africa, Asia, Latin
America, and the Middle East.

The committee members focused on the need of international religious leaders
to bring about peace and disarmament. They also discussed various human
rights issues. The planning was for programs and efforts that will take
place from 2007 to 2013.

The program plan approved by the committee members lists six areas which
will provide the framework for the WCC’s activities in that period. These
are: WCC and the ecumenical movement in the 21st century; unity, mission and
spirituality; public witness; justice and "diakonia"; ecumenical and faith
formation; inter-religious dialogue and cooperation.

"We also discussed problems related to terrorists and anti-terrorists and
counter terrorism," Bishop Aykazian said. "It is something that really
concerns the world, the human family around the world."

Bishop Aykazian was elected to the WCC Executive Committee during the
group’s general assembly earlier this year in Brazil.

— 6/27/06

E-mail photos available on request. Photos also viewable in the News and
Events section of the Eastern Diocese’s website,

PHOTO CAPTION (1): WCC officers attending the WCC executive committee
meeting in Bossey, Switzerland. From left: WCC central committee vice
moderator, Metropolitan Prof. Dr. Gennadios of Sassima (Ecumenical
Patriarchate of Constantinople), central committee moderator, Rev. Dr.
Walter Altmann (Evangelical Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil),
general secretary, Rev. Dr. Samuel Kobia (Methodist Church in Kenya),
central committee vice moderator, Rev. Dr. Margaretha M. Hendriks-Ririmasse
(Protestant Church in the Moluccas (Indonesia)), with executive committee
member Bishop Vicken Aykazian. (Photo courtesy World Council of
Churches/Peter Williams)

PHOTO CAPTION (2): Bishop Vicken Aykazian, legate and ecumenical officer of
the Eastern Diocese, far right, attends the World Council of Churches
Executive Committee meeting in Switzerland. (Photo courtesy World Council of
Churches/Peter Williams)