Hundreds of Christian leaders see new unity

A broad range of more than 600 Christian leaders ended an eight-day missions conference after hearing a plea from Samuel Kobia, general secretary of the World Council of Churches, that they be a "moral compass" for contemporary society.

The May 9-16 Conference on World Mission and Evangelism, held at a military recreation center outside Athens, was the 12th such meeting since 1910—when the modern ecumenical movement began in Edinburgh—but the first held in a predominantly Orthodox country.

Unlike some other WCC-sponsored meetings in the past, the mission conference was short on political declarations but long on prayer, Bible study and workshops on a range of issues that confront the Christian movement in the new century. They include economic globalization, violence (such as the war in Iraq), AIDS and Christian and interreligious reconciliation and dialogue. (...)