Editorial

The first German "Ecumenical Kirchentag” (ÖKT), on the theme "You Shall Be a Blessing”, was a great festival of Christians, overwhelming all previous dimensions for church conventions. It was held 28 May – 1 June in Berlin, in glorious sunshine. For both major churches in Germany, Catholic and Protestant, it was a milestone on the way to more trust and cooperation between them. Hardly a trace of reserve by either confession towards the other was in evidence.

There were hundreds of ecumenical worship services, but also – as agreed – separate Evangelical Communion services and Catholic celebrations of the Eucharist. Unforgettable was the closing worship service on Republic Square in front of the Reichstag (parliament) building, at which the Kirchentag participants, after saying the Lord’s Prayer together, exchanged the sign of the cross in water – as a blessing, but also in remembrance of baptism, which forms a bond among all Christians.

Among over 190,000 full participants and about 250,000 occasional guests, it was usually impossible to tell to which confession they belonged. Conversations developed freely and easily. There were many opportunities: after the opening worship service at the get-acquainted evening, on the way from the Brandenburg Gate to Alexander Square, enjoyed by over 400,000 Kirchentag participants and citizens of Berlin; during the audience reaction times included in most of the 3,200 events [we offer here only four examples of the many topics discussed]; or at meals, in the underground, on the sunbathing lawn at the fairgrounds, or even on the way to Berlin in over 30 special trains. There were also many conversations in the private homes where over 76,000 Kirchentag guests were lodged.

The full five-day participants included 70,000 Catholics, almost twice as many as at the last "Katholikentag” in Hamburg. Women were in the overall majority with 59%. Half of all participants were aged 40 and over.

According to the overwhelming majority of both participants and church commentators, there must be, and there will be, more Ecumenical Kirchentag conventions in the future. The next possible date would be in 2008. But the Katholikentage to be held until then, in 2004 in Ulm and 2006 in Saarbrücken, and the Protestant Kirchentage in 2005 in Hanover and 2007 in Cologne, will be breathing the ecumenical spirit of the Berlin Kirchentag.

(Translator’s note: Although "Tag” means "day” in German, "tag” in "Kirchentag” is short for "Tagung”, a conference. The Evangelical Church in Germany has been holding a Kirchentag, open to all who are interested, every two years since 1949; Katholikentage have been held biannually since 1858)

Editorial

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