Kunter, Katharina & Schilling, Annegreth (eds) (2014) Globalisierung der Kirchen: Der Ökumenische Rat der Kirchen und die Entdeckung der Dritten Welt in den 1960er und 1970er Jahren. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. - 379 p.

The book under review is a collection of articles devoted to the changes that took place in the World Council of Churches (WCC) in the 60s-70s of the XX century, caused by the appearance of third world countries on the historical arena.

The book was published in Göttingen (Germany) by Vandenhoeck publishing house & Ruprecht in 2014. The collection is quite large in volume and consists of several sections, which include an introduction, 3 thematic chapters and appendices. The editors ' approach to grouping articles into chapters is interesting: in each of them, two articles are written in German, the other two in English, while articles written by the authors in English have annotations in German and vice versa. This bilingualism persists throughout the entire collection.

The book is the result of the research project "Towards a Globalized Christianity: European Ecumenism and the Discovery of the Third World between 1966 and 1973", which took place between 2009 and 2011 under the supervision of Dr. Katharina Kunter (1968), a research associate at the University of New York.-

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group" History and Modernity " of the Ruhr University in Bochum (Germany). K. was interested in the WCC as an object of research. Kunter's research on the Cold War included an analysis of the first experiences of Christians in the East and West after the end of World War II and the fall of the Berlin Wall. The interaction of the northern churches with the churches of the global South affected the WCC and its member churches equally during this period.

In 2009, Katarina Kunter led a project that focused on the process of transformation of the WCC from its foundation in 1948 to 1960-1970 - a period when the WCC is becoming a global interreligious and international pluralistic organization. The results of the research were presented at an international conference at the Bosse Ecumenical Institute (Switzerland) on 4-6 March 2011. Their publication has two important goals: first, to contribute to the discourse of contemporary studies on church history in the 1960s and 1970s, both from a global and international point of view; and second, to show how Christian churches, which up to this point had been perceived only in passing in world history, have become increasingly important in the past. they come to the fore, becoming global players on the historical scene, which allows the reader to take a completely new look at the history of the second half of the XX century.

A separate section in the collection contains the introduction. This is a joint work of Katharina Kunter and Annegret Schilling, which is called " A Christian is not afraid of change. The World Council of Churches in the field of tension of decolonization, disintegration and politicization".

In the introduction, the authors assess the new understanding of global Christian responsibility, international ethics, and political action in the 1960s and 1970s. K. Koontar and A. Schilling follow the concept of the British historian Arthur Marwick (1936-2006), who believes that the sixties were the true turning point of the 20th century-the period from 1958 to 1974. Based on this historical concept, the authors argue that the WCC underwent a complex transformation between 1955 and 1973, during which its theological, political, cultural and structural orientations changed significantly. The key question of the article remains: at what times and in what ways do Christians and Churches come from different countries?-

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His worldview influenced the changes that transformed the WCC from a post-war organization primarily focused on Europe and North America to a world organization. K. Kunter and A. Schilling see these changes as a historical process of globalization, characterized by elements of decolonization, devesternization, and growing political awareness among WCC member churches.

The first chapter, "From post-war Society to the World Community," provides a historical overview rather than the thematic one that characterizes the second chapter. In the first chapter, the reader gets acquainted with the history of the first 4 WCC Assemblies, gets closer to understanding the origins of the globalization process, and learns the features of E. Lange's ecumenical utopia.

The book opens with the article "The Founding Fathers and the New Vision. World Council of Churches, 1948-1958". This is the smallest article in terms of volume and the only one in the collection devoted to the early history of the WCC. Its author, Andrew Chandler (1965), is the director of the George Bell Institute at the University of Chichester (UK).

E. Chandler offers a kind of immersion in history, which takes the reader back to the time of the WCC foundation, in the late 1940s, when the 1st Assembly was held in Amsterdam (the Netherlands). It was attended by representatives of 147 Churches from 44 countries of the world. The Assembly was very fruitful: the WCC Charter was adopted, the conditions for joining it were determined, and the priority areas of the WCC's activities were named.

In the continuation of the article, the author describes the changes and transformations that took place during the first decade of the WCC's existence. During this period, the 2nd WCC Assembly was held in Evaston (USA) in 1954, marking the growth of the newly formed WCC. The number of delegates increased by 150, and the number of member churches increased by 15. The Assembly's special attention was focused on discussions between representatives of European and North American churches on understanding Christian hope. According to the author, the example of the 2nd Assembly clearly shows the European and North American orientation of the WCC.

The end of the first decade of the WCC's history was the preparation for the 3rd Assembly, which played a very important role in the history of the ecumenical movement. It was at the end of the first decade after the WCC was founded that preparations for its accession began.-

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It includes 4 Eastern Orthodox Churches: Russian, Bulgarian, Polish and Romanian. Their entry was marked by a change in the WCC's charter, the Basis of which was added a trinitarian formula, which is fundamentally important from the theological point of view for Orthodox Christians.

In conclusion, the author once again notes the importance of the first decade of the WCC, which became the foundation and impetus for the further development of the ecumenical movement, which took place in direct connection with the events of world history. As a final example, E. Chandler draws a parallel with the already formed United Nations.

The next two articles in the first chapter are devoted to the 4th WCC Assembly, held in Uppsala, Sweden, in 1968. It was attended by twice as many churches, as well as twice as many delegates from WCC member churches, compared to the first Assembly in 1948.

The Uppsala Assembly was marked by the active participation of the Roman Catholic Church (RCC). During the Assembly, it was announced that the RCC could join the WCC, but this did not take place. Even today, the RCC is not a member of the WCC, but works closely with it. The RCC regularly sends its representatives to major WCC conferences, as well as to Central Committee meetings and General Assemblies.

One of the reasons for this rapprochement between the Russian Orthodox Church and the WCC was the Second Vatican Council, which was held in the period from 1962 to 1965, immediately before the 4th Assembly of the WCC. Two years before the council began, in 1960, Pope John XXIII established the Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity, now the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. It was this Secretariat that prepared several final documents of the Second Vatican Council, including those related to ecumenism. For example, the Unitatis Redintegratio decree. The secretariat also appointed 12 representatives to the WCC Commission on Faith and Church Organization and collaborated with the WCC to prepare materials used during the annual week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

After the Second Vatican Council, representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church began to actively attend various ecumenical conferences and Assemblies of the WCC, demonstrating a keen interest in the problems of inter-Christian communication being solved there. So, a joint commission of representatives of the RCC and WCC developed the document " Ka-

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folicity and apostolicity", on the basis of which the report "The Holy Spirit and Catholicity of the Church" was prepared specifically for the Assembly, which was put forward for discussion.

By the time the 4th WCC Assembly began, Pope Paul VI sent a message to the Assembly's President. This was the first direct address of the Pontiff to the leadership of a leading ecumenical organization. In addition, 14 delegates from the Russian Orthodox Church attended the Uppsala Assembly, as well as several official guests.

Among the achievements of the Assembly is the call to strengthen missionary activity and expand the dialogue of churches with the world. WCC member churches were encouraged to study each other's prayer practices together. In addition, new administrative programs have been adopted and new committees and commissions have been established, such as: on combating racism, on dialogue with representatives of other religions, on justice and service, and others.

The authors of the following two articles examine the Uppsala Assembly from different angles: historical and communication. The first of them and the largest in terms of volume in the entire collection is called " 1968 and Ecumenism. WCC Assembly in Uppsala as the beginning of a new era?" Its author, Annegret Schilling (1981), is a researcher at the Department of Ecumenical and Dogmatic Theology at the Ruhr University in Bochum (Germany). Currently working on a study on how Latin America was represented at the WCC in the 1960s and 1970s.

In his article, the author describes the ecumenical movement in 1968, a period that is defined as a turning point that marked the end of the so - called early ecumenism and the beginning of a new era in the development of the WCC. A. Schilling challenges the traditional understanding of the significance of the Uppsala Assembly, and also explores the reasons for its significance through an analysis of the main themes and conflicts that during the 4th Assembly.

Among the interesting conclusions of the author, it is worth noting the relationship between the Assembly in Uppsala and the student protests of 1968, known for being directed against US participation in the Vietnam War. However, in addition to this, the protesters also fought for human rights, spoke out against racism, spoke out in support of feminism and environmental protection-they touched on the very topics and issues that were raised.-

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You were present during the 4th Assembly and later became a symbol of major changes in the ecumenical movement, which is still strongly associated with the Uppsala Assembly today.

In the conclusion of the article, however, Schilling argues that the changes began much earlier, back in the very beginning of the 1960s, and the Assembly held in the late 1960s was more a visible manifestation, the midpoint of the growing turbulence in the ecumenical movement, than its beginning.

Another article that continues the theme of the 4th Assembly is entitled " Coe ... everything is new. Uppsala 1968 and filmed Ecumenism". Its author is Nicolai Hannig (1980), a researcher at the Ludwig-Maximilian University of Munich.

N. Hannig offers the reader a completely new approach to the 1968 WCC Assembly, viewing it through the prism of the changes that took place in the media during this period. The author proceeds from the axiom of the strong influence of the press, radio and television in the emerging society and culture, noting that the WCC took it into account in time. Especially for the upcoming Assembly in Uppsala, the documentary film "Lo, I create everything new"was released. Such a media move, on the one hand, served as a means of advertising the church, on the other hand, it became a form of documentation.

In the article, N. Hannig analyzes the film from the point of view of the peculiarities of its shooting, the technique of presenting information, and visual effects in the context of Church-media relations, emphasizing the fact of the growing medialization of religion in the XX century. The connection between secularization and medialization, which is taken for granted in modern conditions, is seen in perspective in the film. In fact, the film represents a kind of integration of churches into the modern media society. In conclusion, the author focuses on the accessibility of the film, which is both a source on the history of the WCC and the globalization of churches.

The final article of the first chapter continues the topic already raised- " Globalization and unity of Churches. The Ecumenical Utopia of the German theologian Ernst Lange". Its author, Stephen Brown (1958), is the executive editor of the portal on Theology and Ecumenism Globethics.net in Geneva (Switzerland).

The article describes the debates that took place in the WCC in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

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search for an answer to the question: how do the concepts of "unity of the Church" and "unity of humanity" relate from the point of view of the Protestant theologian and reformer Ernst Lange (1927-1974).

The author introduces the reader to a brief biography of E. Lange, paying special attention to Lange's commitment to the WCC, in particular in the light of the formation of a new understanding of unity in the WCC in the 1960s. After the end of World War II, Ernst Lange studied theology in Berlin, Sigtun (Sweden) and Göttingen (Germany). He began his ecumenical work in 1954 as a youth delegate to the 2nd WCC Assembly in Evanston, USA. In 1963, Ernst Lange became a professor of practical theology at the Theological Seminary in Berlin, but soon left this position for health reasons, nevertheless remaining a pastor in Berlin. In 1968, Lange joined the WCC as Director of the Department of Ecumenical Action, which was soon transformed into the Department of Education and Renewal.

Ernst Lange is still considered one of the most important German church reformers of the 20th century. The Faith and Church Organization Conference in Leuven in 1971 had a great influence on Lange and served as a starting point for the development of a theory of church activity. According to her, in a world that is under threat of disintegration, the Church is called to be an example of unity, an instrument of reconciliation and a reliable guardian of peace. However, the Church can play this important role only at the ecumenical level, i.e. at the level of the WCC. Lange is confident that the WCC will do its job by ensuring full equality between the unequal, the strong and the weak, the rich and the poor in all decision-making processes. This conviction was the basis of Lange's ecumenical utopia, which the author of the article speaks about critically, especially in the light of the historical context in which it arose.

After a short historical excursion, you should turn to thematic issues. In the second chapter, which is called "Human rights, socialism and liberation. The struggle for unity between East and West, North and South", raises the theme of the growing involvement of Christians from third world countries in the work of international ecumenical organizations. Issues of ecumenical solidarity in serving the needs of the suffering and oppressed, in the joint defense of human rights, justice, peace, ecology and the whole of humanity.-

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The collection continues to focus on the importance of cultural creation, assistance to refugees, migrants, and persecuted ethnic groups and national minorities, the response to the decolonization process, and Latin America's contribution to changes in the work of the WCC.

The second chapter opens with the article "Allies against the Imperial West. Josef Lukl Hromadka, the Ecumenical Movement and the Internationalization of the Eastern Bloc since the 1950s". Its author, Peter Moree (1964), is an associate professor of Church History at the Faculty of Protestant Theology at Charles University in Prague (Czech Republic).

Peter Moret's article is dedicated to Josef Hromadka (1889-1969), a Czech theologian and active member of the ecumenical movement. Josef Gromadka, member of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd WCC Assemblies, member of the WCC Executive Committee, the WCC Central Committee, the Presidium of the Czechoslovak Peace Committee (since 1950) and the Bureau of the World Peace Council (since 1952).

The author of the article cites some interesting facts from the ecumenical biography of J. Hromadka, for example, that he tried to establish a dialogue between the WCC and the World Peace Council. This attempt, however, was rejected by the WCC leadership, and subsequently continued. Hromadka initiated the creation of the Christian Peace Conference. Peter Moret does not deny the fact that opinions regarding the views and activities of Y. Hromadka diverge to this day. Especially in the 1990s, the controversy surrounding his identity became very acute in the Czech Republic. Many people appreciate him as a theologian and respect him as a charismatic personality. At the same time, not everyone can accept his political position, especially favoring the communist authorities of the Czechoslovak SSR.

Nevertheless, P. Moret focuses on the indisputable merits of J. Gromadka. Among them - the formation of the ecumenical organization "Christian Peace Conference" in Czechoslovakia, which he headed in June 1958. From the very beginning of its foundation Y. Hromadka set himself the task of uniting all Christians in the defense of peace on earth, meaning both Christians from Eastern and Western Europe, and Christians from Third world countries. He began to actively and energetically involve the latter in the work of the Christian Peace Conference, which rightly remains his merit and undoubted achievement in the development and transformation of the ecumenical movement.

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The topic of inclusion of Christians from third world countries in the WCC and other international organizations is closely related to issues of human rights, as well as liberation from colonial dependence, to which the following article is devoted: "The WCC and human rights in the context of the Cold War and decolonization". Its author, Christian Albers (1976), studied Protestant theology at universities in Mainz, Göttingen (Germany) and Glasgow (UK).

The author analyzes the degree of involvement of the ecumenical movement in issues related to human rights, and also notes important changes in this area during the 1970s. K. Albers 'attention is focused on the correlation between the various "dimensions" of human rights and how they were understood in the Commission of Churches on International Affairs of the WCC. Of particular interest to the author are the Commission's consultation held in St. Pelten (Austria) in 1974, as well as the 5th WCC Assembly in Nairobi (Kenya) in 1975, which were major milestones in the history of the ecumenical movement's involvement in human rights issues.

K. Albers sees the transformation of the understanding of human rights in the WCC primarily in the fact that issues related to them are no longer considered in isolation, but, on the contrary, are often raised as directly related to other areas, for example, the problem of militarism, interreligious dialogue, etc. The discussion of human rights gradually goes far beyond the narrow circles of politicians, scientists and diplomats, and continues both at the WCC headquarters and on international platforms during ecumenical meetings and meetings of various levels, regional consultations, and local colloquiums. A special resource center for human rights in Latin America is being created. Many WCC units find human rights issues directly related to their activities, so human rights are gradually becoming an integral part of WCC policy. At the same time, the increasing involvement of Christians from third world countries in the work of the WCC contributes to the understanding of the concept of human rights as indisputably universal and integral for the North and South, East and West, opening up the possibility of communication on equal terms in the language of human rights.

The next two articles in the second chapter focus on Latin America. They open up the possibility for the reader to look at questions globally-

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from a completely new and unknown perspective, so to speak, through the eyes of Latin Americans.

The first of them is called "Democratic Socialism, Humanization and Liberation. Latin America's contribution to the globalization of ecumenism". In it, the author Annegret Schilling (1981) examines the globalization of the WCC from a Latin American perspective between 1966 and 1975, based on a study of the ways in which representatives of Latin American Protestantism have questioned the European and North American understanding of Ecumenism and ecumenical cooperation.

The main platform for discussion was both the international ecumenical conferences and the WCC headquarters in Geneva, where, starting in the late 1960s, a group of Latin American leftists joined the staff and thus influenced the ecumenical policies and strategies of the ecumenical movement directly from within.

In the article, the author insists that the presence of this group of Latin Americans in the WCC staff was not only a symbol of the geographical globalization of the WCC, which is traditionally pointed out in this context. A. Schilling reveals the deep contradictions that existed then in the understanding of responsible joint activity, revolution, socialism and liberation, in the light of which the new Latin American approach, which, thanks to their direct participation in the work of the WCC, they were able to present and implement.

The topic of Latin America is continued by an article by Odair Pedroso Mateus (1955), a lecturer in ecumenical theology at the Bosse Ecumenical Institute (Geneva) of the World Council of Churches and a member of the Secretariat of the WCC Commission on Faith and Church Organization. His article is titled "Miguel Bonino and the Struggle for Christian World Unity in the 1970s".

At the very beginning, the author offers a brief historical overview, during which he identifies changes in the understanding of the relationship between God, the Church and the world that were observed in the period from the founding of the WCC to the early 1970s, emphasizing that since the late 1960s a new, alternative and even critical vision of Christian unity has been emerging.

Fr Mateusz's next step is to analyze the participation of the Argentine Methodist

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theologian Miguel Bonino participated in two major conferences of the Commission Faith and Church Structure of the WCC. Both of these conferences were devoted to the theme of visible unity of the Church. The first took place in Leuven (Belgium) in 1971, the second took place two years later in Salamanca (Spain) in 1973.

The author pays special attention to the personality of Miguel Bonino (1924-2012), since the critical understanding of Christian unity in the 1970s was expressed by this determined Latin American theologian. He wrote a large number of books of very different content, but united, however, by the general idea of the social and economic struggle of the oppressed. It should be noted that M. Bonino was one of the leading participants in Protestant liberation theology. Its leitmotif was the awareness of the fact of oppression of the masses in Latin America. Representatives of this trend tried to rethink the entire content of Christianity, based on the requirements of liberation, but liberation not only from original sin, but from all forms of oppression, including participation in the struggle for the liberation of the peoples of Latin America from social, political, and economic oppression. The general line developed by the World Council of Churches, following the Assemblies in Uppsala (1968) and Nairobi (1976), became the main reference point of the developing liberation theology. In the light of this understanding, it is difficult to overestimate M. Bonin's contribution to overcoming divisions on the path to Christian unity.

Finally, the final third chapter is entitled " The Development of Global Consciousness. Interethnic forms of religious interaction". It opens with the article " A divided Nation in a Divided World. The Council of the Evangelical Church of Germany and the globalization of German Protestantism from the 1950s to the 1970s." Its author is Benjamin Pearson (1976), an assistant professor of History at Tusculum College in Greeneville, USA.

Using the example of the Council of the Evangelical Church of Germany, the article examines the changes in the West German Protestant attitude to the Third World from the late 1950s to the early 1970s. During this period, the Protestant churches in West Germany experienced a real explosion of interest in ecumenical and international affairs. By the late 1960s and early 1970s, however, there was a heated debate among Protestant churches about barriers to the development of tre countries.-

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the need to promote global equality and social justice, as well as ways in which European Christians could express their solidarity with the social and political revolution taking place around the globe were discussed.

In conclusion, B. Pearson draws attention to the fact that during the period under study, the topic of Third World countries moves from the periphery to the very center of Protestant discourse. At the same time, the interests of Protestant thought shifted more and more from issues of mission and charity in a new direction to the themes of peace and social justice. Of course, these changes occurred for a number of reasons. The author of the article emphasizes, in particular, the links between the described change and the reinterpretation of German identity in the context of the Cold War and the Nazi past.

The following article transports the reader from the West German regions to the far South-East Asia, opening for him from a new angle the events of one of the largest military conflicts of the second half of the XX century. It is called " The Vietnam War as a global challenge for Protestant Churches in Germany and the World Ecumenical movement." Its author is Katharina Volkert (1983).

To. Wolkert studies the Vietnam War, a serious military conflict that left an indelible mark on the culture and history of not only Vietnam, but also the countries of Europe and America. In this context, the author is interested in the positions of various churches in this military confrontation, as churches in both Europe and North America were aware of the political and social issues that took place during the Vietnam War. It is in this vein that the author considers the reactions to military actions both on the part of the Evangelical Church of Germany and the WCC, as well as other religious groups and individuals related to the church.

Katharina Wolkert focuses on the analysis of two main examples: 1) the refusal of the Evangelical Church of Germany to accept an ecumenical delegation from the United States of America, which was a manifestation of growing anti - Americanism, but at the same time indicated the position of the West German churches concerned about the speedy establishment of peace in Vietnam; 2) a letter of protest from Eugene Carson Blake, General Secretary of the United States of America.

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The WCC, formerly the long-serving Minister of Presbyterian Churches in America, to Richard Nixon, President of the United States, demanding an end to the bombing campaign in Vietnam. This letter particularly excited the Evangelical Church of Germany, which actively discussed it at various levels. The discussions surrounding the letter have given rise to numerous disputes within the Evangelical Church itself, primarily regarding the role and place of the church in the modern world, as well as the church's ability to act as a political entity.

Thus, in this article, the author not only considers the Vietnam War as a prolonged and violent episode of the Cold War, but also illustrates the discussions and unrest that took place among the Protestant churches in Germany, which led them to distance themselves from the WCC and even to a crisis of confidence in the ecumenical movement.

The following article smoothly moves the reader from globalization to glocalization , a concept that emerged in the late 1980s and early 1990s as a reaction of researchers to the understanding of globalization processes. This is discussed in the article "Anti-Racism Program and the 'Glocalization' of Churches", authored by Sebastian Tripp (1980).

S. Tripp refers to the origins of the concept of "glocalization", which is a certain model that could combine simultaneously coexisting opposite trends to indicate the relationship between global and local processes. One of the key positions in the study of this phenomenon was taken by the English sociologist Roland Robertson (1938). In his opinion, global and local trends are complementary and mutually permeate each other.

Sebastian Tripp uses the concept of glocalization to analyze the impact of the global ecumenical movement on local and regional levels in the late 1960s and early 1970s. As an example, the author cites the anti-racism program and claims that it served as a catalyst in raising awareness of the ecumenical movement, which in the 1960s was limited almost exclusively to theological elites. Thus, it concludes that the events that took place within the global ecumenical movement significantly influenced the discussions

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and processes within regional churches and local parishes.

The collection concludes with a very interesting and at the same time difficult article entitled " The End of Colonial Thinking. Apartheid as a Challenge for Protestant Churches in the Netherlands", written by Erica Meijers (1966). The author is the editor-in-chief of de Helling, a leading political and cultural periodical in the Netherlands.

Considering the issue of decolonization, E. Meyers argues that global changes and topics discussed at the international ecumenical level played an important role in the peculiar "change of mind" that Protestant churches in the Netherlands underwent between 1945 and 1972. Such topics include discussions about the Church and society, the end of colonialism, the development of third world countries, the formation of international organizations, including the WCC-all of which radically changed the worldview of Dutch Protestants, which became especially noticeable during the debates in these churches about apartheid in South Africa. In this article, the author traces the transition from the critical attitude of Dutch Protestants to apartheid in the 1950s, to a rethinking and clear rejection of apartheid in the early 1970s. As a result of these discussions, in which the WCC actively participated, South Africa was no longer considered a white country with a black problem, but was perceived as a black country under white domination. The issue of apartheid literally prompted Protestant churches to rethink their role in the colonial arena and led to the formation of a new view of the church and society. The fierce debate about apartheid profoundly changed the Protestant churches themselves, which were no longer closed traditional church communities, but instead became more open to discussing the issues and challenges of our time.

Finally, the last section of the book, the appendix consists of 5 parts and allows the reader to learn more about the following information:

1. Tables and diagrams showing the number of representatives from Africa, Asia and Latin America in the World Council of Churches in the period 1948-1975.

2. Brief biographies of people somehow connected with the WCC and the ecumenical movement in the period 1960-1970.

3. List of abbreviations

4. Short biographies of the authors of articles

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5. Alphabetical index

Despite the many diverse and often seemingly unrelated topics, the collection turned out to be quite holistic and high-quality. It will be of interest to a wide range of researchers who are directly involved in the WCC and the ecumenical movement, as well as in the relevant period of world history.

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