On March 14, 2024, at a meeting in Hanover, Germany, it was decided to appoint German pastor Frank Dieter Fischbach as the new Secretary General of the Conference of European Churches. He took this position after Jørgen Skov Sørensen, a representative of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark. This appointment continued the changes that took place last year, when a new presidium was elected at the CEC General Assembly in Tallinn. Then Nikitas (Lulias), Archbishop of Thyateira and Great Britain, Orthodox hierarch of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, became president of the CEC.
The Secretary General leads a team of 14 employees who work at the CEC at the main place of work. Since 2014, the CEC has been headquartered in Brussels. The CEC seeks to contribute to reconciliation in Ukraine. In particular, in response to the challenge of the war, the “Pathways to Peace” plan was adopted in December 2022. It is assumed that in the coming months the CEC delegation will visit Ukraine.
The Conference of European Churches was founded in 1959 and aims to bring Christian Churches closer together and to help Churches of different denominations achieve mutual understanding. It unites the Orthodox, Anglican, Old Catholic and Protestant Churches of Europe. Today CEC members include 114 churches of different countries of Europe, two of which represent Ukraine – Reformed Church in Transcarpathia and Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
One can find a list of current CEC member churches at https://ceceurope.org/who-we-are/member-churches. On our website (https://www.academic-initiative.org.ua/en/2023/06/20/assembly_cec/) you can find news about the participation of the Ukrainian delegation in the CEC General Assembly in 2023.
