Pluralism, Ecumenism Stressed at WCC Assembly

Christians should solely commit themselves to Jesus, but should be open to pluralistic dialogue when addressing people of other faith, the symbolic head of the world’s Anglican Communion said at the largest ecumenical gathering in a decade.

"We are called to show utter commitment to the God who is revealed in Jesus and to all those to whom His invitation is addressed," the Rev. Dr. Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury said Friday during a session on Christian identity and religious plurality at the World Council of Churches 9th Assembly in Porto Alegre, Brazil.

Addressing the struggle of maintaining a Christian identity while reaching out to a world of pluralistic convictions, Williams warned against what he viewed as two approaches to inter-religious dialogue that were unhelpful.