The Rev Canon Dr John Saint Helier Gibaut of the Anglican Church of Canada has been appointed to head the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission on Faith and Order, starting from January 2008.

Dr Gibaut is currently a teacher at the faculty of theology of St Paul University in Ottawa, Canada, and is a specialist in liturgical and historical theology. Dr Gibaut also has much ecumenical experience, especially in the area of national and international bilateral church dialogues.

The Commission on Faith and Order has a mandate to study questions of faith, church order, and worship which relate to the unity of the church. Faith and Order is also charged with examining social, cultural, political, racial and other factors which impact on church unity.

Speaking of his new role, he said that the work of the Faith and Order Commission to "call the divided churches to healing and reconciliation... [is] as exciting and demanding today for the ecumenical movement as it was in the 1920s and beyond", reports the Anglican News Service

He continued, "The ongoing challenge is to broaden the circles and conversations around Faith and Order issues."

Dr Gibaut will be taking over from Rev Dr Thomas F Best who is retiring at the end of November. Dr Best is a pastor of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the USA and has been with the WCC for 23 years. He has served as director of Faith and Order since 2004.

The Commission is made of 120 people and includes representatives fro WCC member churches as well as non-member churches like the Roman Catholic Church. It has been described as one of the most representative church-based theological forums in the world.