ENI – Two global Protestant bodies, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and the Disciples Ecumenical Consultative Council, say they are looking to establish a closer relationship.
"It is significant that several united churches around the world are already members of both bodies and have been a voice encouraging us to pursue closer relationships in the future," said Rev. Robert Welsh, the general secretary of DECC.
The Geneva-based WARC said in statement that leaders of the two groups had agreed at a meeting in Nashville, Tennessee this summer to continue talking about "the development of a comprehensive partnership in pursuit of the visible unity of the Church".
WARC has roots in the 16th-century Reformation led by John Calvin, John Knox and others, as well as in earlier church reform movements such as the Waldensians in the Piedmont valleys, and the followers of Jan Hus in the Czech lands. It brings together 75 million Christians in 214 churches.
The Disciples of Christ (which in some parts of the world is known as Churches of Christ), grew out of an early 19th century movement with origins in both the United Kingdom and the United States of America. The DECC is a council of 19 Disciples of Christ, Churches of Christ, United and Uniting churches established in 1979, and represents 4.5 million Christians around the world.
