Message from the General Secretary of the World Council of Churches on the Occasion of the 50th Jubilee of the Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians (EATWOT)

Message from the General Secretary of the World Council of Churches on the Occasion of the 50th Jubilee of the Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians (EATWOT)

msc

Tue, 07/28/2026 - 20:23

Geneva, 23 July 2026

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

It is with profound gratitude and deep joy that I bring you greetings from the entire fellowship of the World Council of Churches (WCC) on this historic occasion, the 50th Jubilee of the Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians. For five decades, EATWOT has been a prophetic voice in the ecumenical movement, reminding us that theology cannot be divorced from the cries of the poor, the struggles of the oppressed, and the hopes of the marginalized.

We give thanks to Almighty God for the vision that brought 22 theologians from Africa, Asia, and Latin America together in Dar es Salaam in August 1976. That meeting, which the great French theologian Marie Dominique Chenu called the "Bandung of theology," marked a decisive turning point in the history of Christian thought. It declared that theology must be done from the perspective of the Global South, separate from its "western moorings," and…