Canadian Council of Churches : The Canadian Council of Churches is the national council of churches in Canada, and an associate council of the World Council of Churches, Geneva, Switzerland. The Council seeks to facilitate inter-church consultation, study and action on important Canadian and international concerns. It relates to local councils of churches in communities across Canada and to national councils of churches in other countries, and assists in promoting the aims and programmes of the World Council of Churches in Canada.
The Canadian Council of Churches was founded in 1944 as an ecumenical fellowship of the major Protestant Churches in Canada. Its original members were the Church of England in Canada, United Church of Canada, Presbyterian Church in Canada, United Baptist Convention of the Maritimes, Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec, Western Baptist Union, Society of Friends, Salvation Army, Churches of Christ (Disciples), and Evangelical Church. Its two main purposes were to co-ordinate co-operative programmes among the churches and to participate in the international ecumenical movement that led to the founding of the World Council of Churches in 1948. A number of earlier co-operative organizations like the Religious Education Council of Canada (created in 1919) and the Christian Social Council of Canada (created in 1907) had been working in specific areas such as Christian education, social work, and mission work. These bodies joined the Council in 1944 and after, often becoming departments in the new organization. Through most of the period from 1944 to 1967, the work of the Council was carried out by the General Secretary, Executive Committee and a number of departments. These included the Department of Christian Education, Department of Social Relations (the Christian Social Council of Canada until 1961), Department of Evangelism, Department of Ecumenical Affairs, and Department of Overseas Missions. The Canadian School of Missions (created in 1921) joined the Council in 1963 as the Canadian School of Missions and Ecumenical Institute. In addition, the Council included several standing committees which were separate from the departments.
The Council reorganized in 1968, replacing the departments with five new commissions: the Commission on Canadian Affairs, Commission on World Concerns, Commission on Services, Commission on Research and Training, and Commission on Community Experiments and Ministries. In addition, the Biennial Assembly was replaced as the governing body of the Council by a Triennial Assembly. A further consolidation of the Council's structure in 1972 reduced the number of commissions to three: Canadian Affairs, World Concerns, and Faith and Order. The Council reorganized again in 1991, replacing these three commissions with three new commissions: Ecumenical Education and Communication; Faith and Order; and Justice and Peace, with which many coalitions (such as the Aboriginal Rights Coalition and the Inter-Church Committee for Refugees) were affiliated. In addition, a Governing Board was created which met twice a year. Otherwise the structure of the Council (Triennial Assembly, Executive Committee, and General Secretary) was largely retained. Subsequently, the Commission on Ecumenical Education and Communication was dissolved.
The membership of the Council has changed over the years and grown more inclusive, most notably with the addition of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops in 1986 and the Orthodox churches at different times. The churches currently represented are the Anglican Church of Canada; Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec; British Methodist Episcopal Church (associate member); Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops; Canadian Diocese of the Armenian Orthodox Church; Christian Church (Disciples of Christ); Coptic Orthodox Church of Canada; Council of Christian Reformed Churches in Canada; Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church of Canada; Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada; Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Toronto (Canada); Orthodox Church in America; Polish National Catholic Church in Canada; Presbyterian Church in Canada; Reformed Church in Canada; Religious Society of Friends--Canadian Yearly Meeting; Salvation Army; Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada; and the United Church of Canada. Related bodies include, among others: the Aboriginal Rights Coalition; Canada Asia Working Group; Canada-Caribbean Working Group; Canadian Christian Jewish Consultation; Canadian Churches' Forum for Global Ministries; Committee on Chaplaincy in the Armed Forces; Consultative Committee on Human Rights; International Affairs Committee; Middle East Working Group; National Muslim Christian Liaison Committee; Project Ploughshares; and the Vellore-Ludhiana Committee.
