Ecumenism: Tallinn, CEC Assembly appoints Archbishop Nikitas as president. Commitment to “building bridges and relationships”

The General Assembly of the Conference of European Churches (CEC) elected its new leaders in Tallinn today. The new president is Archbishop Nikitas of Thyateira and Great Britain of the Ecumenical Patriarchate; Rev. Dagmar Winter and Rev. Frank Kopania are the new vice presidents. Archbishop Nikitas is the coordinator of the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s Task Force on Human Trafficking and Modern-Day Slavery. He was the chairman of the Patriarchate’s Committee on Youth and the co-chair and steering committee member of the Elijah Inter-faith Foundation. He is currently co-president of the European Catholic-Orthodox Forum. The archbishop said he has always believed that being a Christian means entering into dialogue with other people and other Christian communities. “Yes, of course we have our differences but we have so much in common: Jesus Christ”, he said. “We need to know each other; we need to work together”. For the archbishop, becoming CEC president means becoming a shepherd of a flock. “Most importantly, I want to build bridges and relationships”. And he went on to say: “I want my relationships to be ones of Christian love, ones of truth and honesty”. “I want to help build stability in CEC’s offices, economic structure, and relationship-wise”, he concluded.
Gianni Borsa