PAN-CHRISTIAN CONFERENCES. — Protestants clearly distinguish three classes of such conferences, called world or pan-Protestant conferences. Those that dealt with social, economic and international problems are known as the conferences of “Life and Work” (*Life and Work*); those whose purpose was the study and examination of doctrinal differences and ecclesiastical discipline, with a view to a possible union hoped for as a precept of the divine will, are called the conferences of “Faith and Order”; finally, those devoted to missionary questions are included under the name of world missionary conferences (*World’s Missionary Conference*). It should be said once and for all that none of these conferences were attended by official representatives of the Catholic Church, while in some there were delegates from the Eastern schismatic Churches. They were almost all carefully prepared; all sessions were preceded and followed by some act of worship performed in common, and all conclusions (*findings*), before having any force or authority, had to be submitted to the decision of the individual sects, which were free to accept, modify or reject them.
SUMMARY: I. Conferences of “Life and Work,” II. Conferences of “Faith and Order,” III. World Missionary Conferences.
I. CONFERENCES OF “LIFE AND WORK.” — This is the name given to the two conferences held in Stockholm (1925) and Oxford (1937). Their purpose was to study the thought of Christ “as revealed in the Gospel” in the face of major social, industrial and international issues, in an attempt to lay the foundations of a Christian-social doctrine on which all sects could agree; for this reason care was taken to avoid any dogmatic questions.
1. The Stockholm Conference (19–30 August 1925). With the stated aim, more than 600 delegates and invitees from 31 Christian “communions,” including some Eastern schismatic Churches, gathered in Stockholm under the presidency of the Lutheran archbishop of Uppsala, Nathan Söderblom (1866–1931). The topics discussed were: a) the Church and economic and industrial questions; b) the Church and social and moral questions; c) the Church and international relations; d) the Church and Christian education; e) methods of cooperation and federation of Churches. Among the papers and studies presented to the conference there were some of genuine topicality and importance, both in subject matter and in development. Two currents were observed in the discussions: the Lutheran, which wished the spirit of the Gospel to permeate all social questions but without descending to concrete problems; and the Anglo-Saxon, which sought to apply the ethics of the Gospel to particular cases, such as the condemnation of war and the approval of the League of Nations, etc. Some awkward issues also arose, such as that of responsibility for the war of 1914–18, which the president adroitly sidestepped by recommending prayer for the reconciliation of peoples. Some expressed pessimism about the final outcome of the conference, citing the lack of a common creed, the absence of the Roman Church, and the apathy of many Churches on social questions, among other reasons. The conference refrained from offering precise solutions to the questions posed and from confirming the results of the discussions by vote. Protestants have compared this conference to the Council of Nicaea, but without the anathemas. To continue the work of the conference, a “Continuation Committee” was established.
2. The Oxford Conference (12–26 July 1937). Twelve years later, the second conference of “Life and Work” was held in Oxford. About 400 delegates and invitees, belonging to 117 Christian “communities,” including 26 delegates from 13 autocephalous Eastern Churches, attended. The conference was presided over by the archbishop of Canterbury, Cosmo G. Lang. The Jewish conflict that had arisen in various nations, the doctrines and theories developed on the concept of nation, State, race, and totalitarianism (which is confused with authoritarianism), and the repercussions these had on the international social order, led the new conference to focus primarily on these problems. The topics discussed were: a) the Church and the nation; b) the Church and the State; c) the Church, the nation, the State and the economic order; d) the Church, the nation, the State and education; e) the universal Church and the economic order. As in the previous conference, well-prepared papers and studies were read. This time, some conclusions were formulated, including the following, summarized in the final message: “There must be no racial questions within the Church; the Church must claim the right to provide its children with Christian instruction and education; the Church cannot recognize any earthly authority as supreme.” Two currents were again noted at this conference: that of the “Barbarians,” who, with their doctrine that the Church is a gift of God without human participation, shunned any sociological application of the Gospel; and that of those who tended to reduce the message of Christ to a canon of social action. In this conference, an error into which the promoters of the “Life and Work” conferences had fallen was corrected. Led by Protestants to separate what is united, since they view Christianity in sectors rather than in its totality, they had believed it possible to separate sociology (“Life and Work”) from eschatology and dogma (“Faith and Order”). This mistake was rectified by the decision to propose at the next “Faith and Order” conference, which was to be held that same year in Edinburgh, the union of the two movements.
II. CONFERENCES OF “FAITH AND ORDER.” — This is the name given to the two world Protestant conferences held in Lausanne (1927) and Edinburgh (1937). Their immediate purpose was not the doctrinal union of all Protestants, but the presentation, examination and discussion—not in the manner of debate or controversy but “in the effort of mutual understanding, esteem and love”—of points of discussion, in order to prepare for the future union of all sects and Churches into one. By the terms union or reunion, Protestants do not mean submission to a central authority of unity, magisterium and government headed by the pope; on the contrary, they exclude II. Indeed, the final item in the official outline of questions to be addressed at the Lausanne Conference states: “Questions concerning the necessity of a central authority are certainly of the greatest importance; but the Conference, while recognizing such importance, deems it inappropriate to include this in its program.” With this essential foundation for unity of faith and discipline removed, it follows that for Protestants the word union has different meanings. For some it is the aggregation or federation of all existing Christian religions, each retaining its own doctrines and ecclesiastical regime and united only by a certain federal bond; for others it means a union through compromises, understandings and comprehensive interpretations, so that under a single formula of ambiguous words each sect may preserve its own doctrine; and there are not a few who understand it as a reunion on a minimal foundation of beliefs accepted by all, such as those proposed in the “Lambeth Quadrilateral” (v. CONFESSIONS OF FAITH); finally, others would prefer organic union, that is, in faith.
1. Conference of Lausanne (3–21 Aug. 1927). On the appointed day more than 400 delegates and guests, belonging to more than 100 Christian “communions,” gathered at Lausanne under the presidency of the bishop of the Episcopal diocese of Western New York, Charles H. Brent. There were also fourteen representatives of as many autocephalous Eastern Churches. The Catholic Church had forbidden its faithful to take part. In fact, “pro bono pacis,” all the sects and rival Churches were treated as equals, as if each were the true Church of Christ; yet all were expected, should the desired union require it, to defer to some doctrine or to make some doctrinal compromise with the others—something the Catholic Church, which alone is the true Church of Christ, could absolutely not accept. The topics discussed were: a) the appeal for unity; b) the Gospel, the Church’s message to the world; c) the nature of the Church; d) a common creed for the whole Church; e) the ministers of the Church; f) the Sacraments; g) the unity of Christianity and the relationship among existing Churches. The preparation and organization of this first Conference on “Faith and Order” were carried out with the utmost care; many of the studies presented were notably Protestant in character, and references to the Catholic Church were respectful, with regret expressed that she had not accepted the invitation to participate. All openly confessed that the divisions among the Churches were contrary to the will of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Yet in the end they approved a kind of appendix containing opposing doctrines, concluding that “each Church will continue to make use of its own special profession of faith.” The Easterners stood apart, firmly refusing to compromise on matters of faith and conscience, as did the Quakers. Pope Pius XI made the position clear in the encyclical Mortalium animos (6 Jan. 1928), demonstrating that the path being followed did not lead to unity. This displeased Söderblom, who replied (29 Jan. 1928) in an article that, with its light and even ironical tone, contrasted sharply with the encyclical’s grave manner. In it Söderblom showed that he had not grasped the encyclical’s meaning or the true problem of union.
2. Conference of Edinburgh (3–18 Aug. 1937). After the Lausanne Conference, the “Faith and Order” movement took on new development. Partial unions occurred among divisions within the same denomination, such as between English Methodists (1932) and Scottish Presbyterians (1929), and even between different denominations, as in the United Church of South India, whose scheme was approved in 1933, and the Church of Christ in China (1927). The problem of union prompted Catholic (Congar, Pribilla, etc.) and Protestant (Mackenzie, Douglass, etc.) writers to produce important books; indeed, some unresolved issues from the Lausanne Congress gave rise to significant works on grace (various authors), the Eucharist (Brilliooth), and ministers and Sacraments (Headlam). To this must be added the proposal, already advanced by the Oxford Conference, to unite the two movements “Faith and Order” and “Life and Work.” Under the leadership of the Anglican archbishop of York, William Temple, 414 delegates and guests from 120 different Churches met in Edinburgh to discuss the proposed themes. A notable contingent of twenty-six delegates from the Eastern Churches took part in the discussions. The topics were: a) grace; b) the Church of Christ and the Word of God; c) the communion of saints; d) the Church of Christ, its ministers and Sacraments; e) the unity of the Church in life and worship. As in the previous conference, the preparation, study of themes, and organization were carried out with great care; the Catholic Church was spoken of respectfully, and some expressed genuine regret at her absence. Catholic observers who attended but did not participate were treated with great kindness; the harm of doctrinal divisions and the need to return to unity were emphasized. Yet, to satisfy all the Churches represented at the conference, the same expedient was adopted as at Lausanne: dissenting opinions were appended to the conclusions, and vague, abstract expressions were used to secure agreement. Finally, the Edinburgh Conference approved, as Oxford had requested (and according to one congressman perhaps the only practical result of the conference), the creation of a World Council of Churches, uniting the “Life and Work” movement with the “Faith and Order” movement. This council was to serve, according to the wording of the draft, as a bond of union for the Church, a coordinating center, and was to give the Christian world an organ that would enable all Churches to “speak with one voice.” Some Protestant critics, however, viewed such a council with horror as a kind of Protestant papacy (v. PROTESTANT ECUMENISM).
III. World Missionary Conferences
This is the name given to the conferences held in Edinburgh (1910), Jerusalem (1928), and Tambaram, Madras (1938). The great development of Protestant missions in the 19th century and the difficulties arising in mission lands from competition among sects and missionary societies led Protestants to hold congresses in order to reach common agreement. Hence the conferences of 1854 in London and New York, of 1860 in Liverpool, of 1878 and 1888 again in London, and finally of 1900 in New York. The outcome of the last encouraged them to convene a world conference, to which delegates of all Protestant sects and missionary societies would be invited; Edinburgh was chosen as the meeting place in 1910.1. Conference of Edinburgh (14–25 June 1910)
More than 1,000 delegates and guests attended, representing 46 British, 60 North American, 41 continental European, and 12 Australian and South African missionary societies; no representatives of the Eastern Churches were present. John R. Mott was elected president of the Conference in April 1910. The topics discussed were: a) the preaching of the Gospel to all non-Christian nations; b) the Church in missions; c) education as a means of Christianizing national life; d) the missionary message and non-Christian religions; e) missionary training; f) the home bases of missions; g) missions and governments; h) cooperation and the fostering of union. In general, all topics were treated thoroughly, and the first yielded important and curious documents on the state of Protestant missions throughout the world in 1910. The obstacle thatthat of union and cooperation. The difficulty was clearly set forth and discussed; the advice given is Protestant in its excellence, but the conclusion is reached with the observation that the solution to such a complex problem "can only be approached with a spirit of penitence and prayer; of penitence for the arrogance of sin and the lack of foresight, by which a situation has been perpetuated that so retards the progress of the Kingdom of Christ; of prayer because human wisdom sees no solution." It is to be noted that even in this conference the word Church seems to be used as if the Church of Christ were constituted by the sum of all sects or Churches. One of the practical results of this conference was the establishment of a "Continuation Committee," to perpetuate its spirit, promote its conclusions, and prepare for others. This committee was to serve as a center of consultation and advice, but without any other authority than that deriving from the intrinsic value of the services rendered.
2. **Conference of Jerusalem** (24 March–8 April 1928). — The Continuation Committee, after various vicissitudes, was replaced in 1921 by the International Missionary Council, which proposed the convening of a new world conference for 1928 to be held in Jerusalem. This was to be composed of an equal number of delegates from the missionary-sending countries and the missionary-receiving countries. On the appointed day, 230 delegates and guests from 44 different nations assembled, including numerous representatives of the Protestant Churches of China, Japan, and India; some Filipinos and Latin Americans were also present. The Eastern Churches, having no missions, were not invited. The presidency was again held by the dynamic and optimistic G. R. Mott. The topics discussed were: a) Christian life and message in relation to non-Christian systems of thought and life; b) religious education; c) relations between the new and the old Churches (mother Churches and daughter Churches); d) the Christian mission in the light of racial conflicts; e) the Christian mission in relation to industrial problems; f) the Christian mission in relation to rural problems; g) international missionary cooperation. On the first point, excellent studies were presented on Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Islamism, recommending to all missionaries to "avvalorare" (valorize) in these religions those doctrines that were closest to Christianity. On points d), e), and f), topics proper to the "Life and Action" conferences were treated, but applied to missions. The same error regarding the meaning of the word Church was repeated as in other conferences. The final topic of the two conferences was common, but in Jerusalem a further step was taken with the establishment of national secretaries, in which all the missionary societies of each nation were to have a part. These secretaries were to maintain continuous contact with the International Missionary Council, which at this conference was organized in all its parts and, according to one of the conclusions, was to serve for a new Christian union, for corporate life, and for the solidarity of aims and purposes among all who labor to extend the Kingdom of God."
3. **Conference of Tambaram, Madras** (12–29 December 1938). — The third world Protestant missionary conference, convoked by the International Missionary Council, met in British India in 1938. In the ten years since the Jerusalem Conference, important developments had taken place in the Protestant world, such as the two Oxford and Edinburgh Conferences, the union of the two movements "Life and Action" and "Faith and Order," and the famous "Laymen's Inquiry," with the publication of various volumes on Protestant missions in the East and, above all, in the work *Re-thinking Missions*, which was rather unfavorable to Protestant missions and caused great commotion in their missionary world. Four hundred seventy-one delegates and guests from 59 nations, including various Catholic countries, took part in the Conference. Once again, the indefatigable G. R. Mott presided. Due to the breadth and importance of the topics discussed, the general themes and the various studies conducted on each are outlined below: a) the authority of faith (a series of studies on the controversy arising from the publication of the book by *Kremer*, *The Christian Message in the Non-Christian World*), namely