Teams participating in bilateral dialogues at the international level must reflect the diversity of the Christian world.


CALLAM CALLS FOR


Balanced Representation in International Dialogues


At the Forum on Bilateral Dialogues held in Dar es Neville Callam said the composition


Salaam, Tanzania, Baptist World Alliance General Secretary


of teams participating in bilateral dialogues at the international level must reflect the diversity of the Christian world. Callam made the remarks on March 10 at the Forum where he represented both the BWA and the Committee of Secretaries of Christian World Communions. He was chosen for this task when the group of international church leaders met last October in their annual meeting in Silver Spring, Maryland, in the United States. The BWA leader said “attention needs to be paid to the relative strength of representation from the Global North and the Global South.” He also called for the agenda of bilateral dialogues to reflect more intentionally the typical concerns of churches in the Global South. The Forum on Bilateral Dialogues


provides


opportunity for churches and families of churches to exchange information and consult one another on emerging issues, trends and concerns that are related to bilateral dialogues. The gathering in Dar es Salaam was the 10th


forum. It brought together 35 Christian World Communion representatives who are involved in bilateral dialogues at the international level. Commenting on the Forum, Callam said it


“lived up to its reputation as a meaningful space for deliberation on the coherence of bilateral dialogues and the way in which the Holy Spirit uses them to advance the process toward the realization of the visible unity of the church.”


. . . toward the realization of the visible unity of the church.


B


Pope Shenouda III of Egypt who died on March 17 Photo courtesy of the official photostream of the White House


CALLAM EXPRESSES SORROW at Orthodox Leader’s Passing


aptist World Alliance General Secretary Neville Callam sent condolences to members of the Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt on the passing of their leader, Pope Shenouda III, who died on March 17, in Cairo, at age 88. In his letter, Callam described Pope Shenouda as “an outstanding Christian leader” who “never wavered in his faith when he was banished to a desert monastery by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.” He said that the leader of Egyptian Coptic Christians was “a community bridge builder par excellence” who made “an outstanding contribution to theological education among Coptic Orthodox students in Egypt.” Pope Shenouda, Callam declared, “contributed significantly to the expansion of the Coptic Church in the service of his people in the diaspora, especially in North and South America and in South East Asia.”


Pope Shenouda III began his papacy in November 1971. He was the


117th Pope of Alexandria and the Patriarch of All Africa of the Coptic Orthodox Church. Approximately 10 percent of Egyptians belong to the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, making up more than 90 percent of the number of Christians in the North African country. “Baptists pledge their prayers on your behalf as you mourn the


passing of an outstanding Christian leader,” Callam wrote in his letter. “May the memory of his witness continue to be a source of inspiration for the Christian family worldwide.”


20 BAPTIST WORLD MAGAZINE


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