Kottayam, India, 20 February (ENI)--The head of the World Council of Churches on a visit to India has lamented the decline of Christianity in the West, while also praising rapid growth of the faith in developing countries. "Churches are being sold in Europe and are being converted into bars. It is sad to hear that liquor is being served from pulpits where the word of God used to be preached," WCC general secretary the Rev. Samuel Kobia said in Kottayam in India's southern state of Kerala.

In African and Asian countries,"Christianity and churches are vibrant," Kobia, a Methodist from Kenya, told a 19 February meeting organized by the Kerala Council of Churches, a grouping of 13 Protestant and Orthodox churches. "At a time when the Christian identity is eroding in several parts of the world, especially in the West, it is heartening that churches in developing countries are growing fast," said Kobia on the last stop of his 12-19 February visit to India.

In his speech, the WCC leader also urged the churches to take further steps towards unity. "It is better to pray together than separately," remarked Kobia, at the meeting attended by bishops wearing cassocks of different colours, and at which he was welcomed by the sound of traditional Hindu drummers.

Kobia acknowledged during the past 50 years, "relations between various churches and ecclesiastical bodies have changed radically from that of isolation to one of mutual respect and cooperation". But, he said, there was "need for more dialogue for establishing a Christian identity". The previous day, Kobia had delivered the valedictory sermon at the 112th Maramon Convention, which is said to be Asia's biggest Christian gathering, held at Maramon in Kerala. [301 words]

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Maramon, India, 19 February (ENI)--The general secretary of the World Council of Churches has urged young people assembled at Asia's largest Christian gathering to remain on their guard against threats such as the use of religion to justify the propagation of hatred. "Those who create poverty in the name of investment, those who destroy the environment, those who preach hatred in the name of religion, those who traffic in children and women, they are all trying to punch holes in the boat we are sailing," WCC general secretary the Rev. Samuel Kobia told an estimated 150 000 people gathered at the Maramon Convention, in India's southern state of Kerala.

"You must stop them and remain vigilant," Kobia said in a 17 February speech at the convention, which is organized each year by the Mar Thoma Evangelistic Association. The association is the mission and evangelism wing of the Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malabar, one of the WCC's member churches in India. The WCC general secretary was inaugurating the year-long celebrations of the 75th anniversary of the Mar Thoma Youth Association, which has more than 900 branches in India, the Middle East, Africa, North America and Europe.

The week-long convention gathers Christians from throughout India and other places in the world. They gather on the dry bed of the River Pampa between the villages of Maramon and Kozhencherry, in south central Kerala. "This is an experience of a life-time and it will remain in memory for ever," Kobia told a massive crowd, squatting on the sandy river bed within a vast temporary shed called a pandal covered with the leaves of the coconut trees which give Kerala its name, which means "land of coconuts".

Thousands of people were unable to squeeze into the pandal, although it has a capacity of 100 000. Instead they crowded onto vantage points at the river bank in the shadows of trees offering protection from the blazing sun. "I travel all over the world as WCC general secretary. But, in all my travels, I never had an experience like this - a Christian convention with thousands upon thousands in attendance," acknowledged Kobia.

The week-long gathering started as a Bible convention and is now seen as demonstrating the unity of the Mar Thoma church. Thousands of church members from as far away as the United States plan their visits to India to be able to attend the convention. "I have been attending the Maramon [Convention] for the last 13 years," Thomas Daniel, a New York-based businessman, told Ecumenical News International. Faithful from each of the church's 1200 parishes also make their way to the convention.

The Mar Thoma church was formed in the 19th century, influenced by Anglican missionaries, but traces its roots to the Apostle Thomas, who is believed to have brought Christianity to India in the year AD 52. [487 words]

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Chennai, India, 13 February (ENI)--The general secretary of the World Council of Churches has hailed the 60-year-old union of the Church of South India, while at the same time noting the church still faces future challenges over caste-like divisions that linger from the past. Addressing the leadership of the church at its synod office on 13 February, WCC head the Rev. Samuel Kobia said the CSI's formation in 1947, with the union of six Protestant mission churches, a month after Indian independence - has "contributed to the ecumenical thinking in the world".

"You had the courage to see a new and broader vision of the church," stated Kobia. "Others are still struggling for what you achieved 60 years ago," he said, referring to ongoing church union initiatives in South Africa, Wales and the United States. The WCC general secretary observed that when the CSI was formed "the world stood balanced between the devastation of World War II – in which 'Christian' nations in Europe and North America fought each other tooth and claw – and hopes for a new set of national and global institutions and relationships." And at that time the World Council of Churches was "moving towards its formation in 1948, offering hope for a truly global ecumenical movement within which the churches worldwide would respect and support one another".

In the future Kobia said the CSI faces the "challenge of forming a truly inclusive union – not only theologically or in worship, but humanEly as well". He added, "How will the Church of South India confront divisions within its own society, and ensure that the church is a community which includes both rich and poor, men and women, young and old?" Kobia cited the 2002 International Consultation of United and Uniting Churches, which said in its message that authentic Christian unity "must directly address the issues that divide the human family in our particular settings (e.g. racism in the US, casteism in India, closure to refugees in Europe, and disparity of wealth in the Philippines)."

"Thus, all churches have to ask themselves: does our actual life as a community faith correspond to the inclusiveness of the Gospel?" said Kobia. "How will the Church of South India contribute to overcoming violence between and among the bewildering variety of social, religious and political groups in India? We hear of the spectre of 'communalism', the demonic dynamic by which specific communities – ethnic, regional, religious, caste – focus on their own, exclusive identity and interests at the expense of others."

Referring to people of lower castes, who are now known as Dalits, Kobia said "societal divisions do divide the church and as long as they remain, we have to ask ourselves whether church unity has fully been achieved. Dalit Christians see as their natural partners Dalits of other religions in a common experience of having to respond to their powerlessness and dehumanization." A third challenge facing churches in India said Kobia is the challenge of "witnessing to the Gospel promise of abundant life for all, in a society shaped increasingly by economic globalisation".

"In a recent interview with the BBC, the Finance Minister of India affirmed his belief in economic growth as the pathway to increasing prosperity for all Indians," noted Kobia. "To be sure, he recognised the need for regulation of the Market, and the need not just for growth but for an 'inclusive growth' which brought benefits not only to a few, but to all within society." Responding to Kobia's 40-minute speech, Bishop Govada Dyvasirvadam, a member of the WCC's main governing body, its central committee, said the message was clear, "set your house right and come to us". While also welcoming the praise from Kobia, the former CSI synod general secretary said his church has to pursue its "unfinished agenda".

"This is recognition for the CSI - the oldest and largest ecumenically united Protestant church in Asia," Pauline Sathyiamurthy, the CSI general secretary told Ecumenical News International, about the visit of Kobia. [673 words]

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Nairobi, 6 February (ENI)--China and India are growing influences of global change that will transform the way the world is governed and also the meaning of development, the general secretary of the World Council of Churches, the Rev. Samuel Kobia, has said. Kobia was speaking in Nairobi on 6 February at a meeting to elect the first governing officers of ACT Development, which is being administered by the WCC. It is using the name of ACT (Action by Churches Together) International, the emergency aid group that has been its inspiration.

The Geneva-based WCC leader observed that Nairobi is situated at the centre of eastern Africa, and is clearly on the "map of regional and international politics" at the crossroads of the Horn of Africa, the Nile valley, and the Great Lakes region. "The Horn of Africa has a strategic position in regard to the Arab peninsula. Former European colonial powers, the USA and more recently China - all are competing for resources, markets and political influence," noted Kobia.

"We can clearly discern in the region the growing influence of China and India as engines of global change that will shift the present global governance architecture and also the development discourse," said Kobia. This was "something definitely to be taken into immediate consideration by any specialised ministry that is based in the realm of the currently dominant North Atlantic regions".

Kobia noted that a few weeks earlier, more than 60 000 people from all over the world gathered in the Kenyan capital for the World Social Forum, which seeks the development of economic and social systems that are not locked into mainstream profit-only-driven models. "The fragile peace process in Sudan, the catastrophe in Darfur with its destabilising effects on Chad, and the crisis in Somalia - all point to new geopolitical challenges that have a profound impact on the region," said Kobia, a Methodist from Kenya. He said that in what is known as the war on terror, religious tensions are taking new forms.

"The developments in Somalia threaten to fuel already dangerous Christian-Muslim conflicts and to spark new wars in and between other countries. For many years, the rush for oil has been a major factor in the region, especially in Southern Sudan and now also in Chad," the WCC head said. Kobia noted: "The capacity of the ecumenical movement to respond to the challenges of today's world depends to a large extent on more creative and future oriented forms of co-operation and networking."

ACT Development is a voluntary global alliance of Churches and related organizations that work together to promote collaboration in the field of development. Its goal is to promote and facilitate cooperation between participants. Unlike ACT International, it will not assist in the transfer of funds between donors and implementers. The WCC's 348 mainly Protestant, Anglican and Orthodox churches represent more than 560 million Christians. [493 words]

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Thrissur, India, 1 February (ENI)--Archbishop Desmond Tutu has dedicated the receipt of India's highest international honour, the Gandhi Peace Prize, to "the people of South Africa, to the freedom of Darfur and to Aung Sans Suu Kyi", the Burmese leader held under house arrest. The honour was conferred on the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, who is the former Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, at a 31 January ceremony by Indian President Abdul Kalam in the presence of other government leaders. The Indian government said it chose Tutu for the award for his "invaluable contribution towards social and political transformation through dialogue and tolerance". It said Tutu "has been a tireless and staunch exponent of Mahatma Gandhi's methodology of non-violent action".

Tutu caught the Indian leadership unaware by strongly advocating independence for Tibet soon after receiving the Gandhi Peace Prize, the Press Trust of India reported, noting that India has delicate relations with China which insists Tibet is an integral part of it. "We thank you for giving refuge to one of the greatest human beings, the Dalai Lama [the Tibetan spiritual leader], and pray that you help bring about freedom of his Tibet," said Tutu after getting his prize.

The Gandhi award carries a cash prize of 10 million rupees (US$227 000) and was instituted in memory of Mahatma Gandhi, known as a "prophet of non-violence". Gandhi led a non-violent Indian freedom struggle against British colonial rulers and also fought racial segregation in South Africa, where he worked as a lawyer at the beginning of the 20th century.

"After participating in the intensive fight against the prevalence of apartheid system for decades, Archbishop Desmond Tutu has been forging equality in South Africa through dialogue and tolerance as envisioned by Mahatma Gandhi," said President Kalam in his tribute to Tutu.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said: "Today, in conferring the Gandhi Peace Prize, we are only adding our own voice to the global recognition of Bishop Tutu's Gandhism." [340 words]

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