Press Release No: 16/33
17 October 2016
Brussels

The Conference of European Churches has accepted an invitation from the Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church to hold its 15th General Assembly in Novi Sad (Serbia). The Assembly will be hosted by CEC Member Churches in Serbia, and also other churches of the Vojvodina region. The decision about Assembly location was made by the CEC Presidency based on a mandate from the Governing Board meeting in June 2016. The staff and hosting churches are studying two sets of dates for the Assembly in June 2018 and October 2018.

“Novi Sad is a crossroads in Europe. Crossroads historically, politically, and ecumenically. We are excited by the possibilities this venue offers and by the new perspectives that are opening up for CEC,” commented CEC General Secretary Fr Heikki Huttunen.

CEC President Rt Rev. Christopher Hill KCVO, DD added, "I am delighted to say that Patriarch Irinej of Serbia offers us his warm welcome to Serbia; our visit will signal that CEC is truly ‘Europe-wide’."

Assembly preparations began in earnest last week with a brainstorming session in Budapest (Hungary), the location of the 14th General Assembly. Over three days, representatives from the European National Councils of Churches, Assembly Planning Committee, and secretaries for European affairs discussed the future of Europe and how this will inform assembly preparations. The event was hosted locally by the Ecumenical Council of Churches in Hungary.

For more information or an interview, please contact:

Erin Green
Communication Coordinator

Conference of European Churches
Rue Joseph II, 174 B-1000 Brussels
Tel. +32 2 234 68 42
Fax +32 2 231 14 13
E-mail: eeg@cec-kek.be
Website: www.ceceurope.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ceceurope
Twitter: @ceceurope

The Conference of European Churches (CEC) is a fellowship of 115 Orthodox, Protestant, Anglican and Old Catholic Churches from all across Europe, plus more than 40 National Council of Churches and Organisations in Partnership. CEC was founded in 1959. It has offices in Brussels and Strasbourg.