In the words of St Gregory the Theologian: "The Holy Spirit always was, and is, and will be, neither beginning nor coming to an end, but always ranked and numbered with the Father and the Son". We believe that the Holy Spirit that called the Church into being continues to sustain and inspire the Church. This Church, the People of God, the Body of Christ, the Temple of the Spirit, is the central concern of the ecumenical movement. We are called, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to work for its unity and to be together in bringing God's love and reconciling power to God's world.
On this day of Pentecost we are challenged to discern the signs of God's Holy Spirit calling together our divided churches. What does the Spirit say to the churches this Pentecost as we seek to be faithful to Christ's prayer that 'all may be one'? While we are assured that the preservation and unity of the Church are ultimately in God's hands, we know that we are called to co-operate, here and now, with the Spirit by using our gifts to preserve unity and to bring together separated churches so that the world may believe.
Today we experience difficult times. The world around us seems to take us back to the chaos and disorder described in Genesis in fearful images "the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep..." (Gen 1:2) We need to remember that the effects of the Spirit's work are both eschatological and social and God calls us now in the power of his Spirit to be churches together acting for the healing and transformation of our world.
May the Church of Jesus Christ, brought together in the power of the Holy Spirit, never fail to praise the Lord in every part of the world with joy and with the psalmist cry continually - "Come, Spirit of God, and renew the face of the earth" (Ps 104:30).
The Presidents of the World Council of Churches
Archbishop Dr Anastasios of Tirana, Durrës and All Albania, Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania
Mr John Taroanui Doom, Maòhi Protestant Church, Tahiti
Rev. Dr Simon Dossou, Protestant Methodist Church in Benin
Rev. Dr Soritua Nababan, Protestant Christian Batak Church (HKBP), Indonesia
Rev. Dr Ofelia Ortega, Presbyterian-Reformed Church in Cuba
Patriarch Abune Paulos, Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
Rev. Dr Bernice Powell Jackson, United Church of Christ, United States of America
Dr Mary Tanner, Church of England, Great Britain
