The National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA) is an ecumenical organisation bringing together a number of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

's Christian churches in dialogue and practical cooperation. The NCCA works in collaboration with state ecumenical councils around Australia. It is an associate council of the

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most ju ...

, a member of the Christian Conference of Asia and a partner of other national ecumenical bodies throughout the world. "Act for Peace" is the international aid agency of the NCCA, which aims to empower war-torn communities to protect refugees, reduce poverty, prevent conflicts and manage disasters.

Background

The modern ecumenical movement began to take shape at the end of the 19th century. Initiatives among students and between church mission agencies led the way. In Australia these included the Australian Student Christian Movement, formed in 1896, and the National Missionary Council, created in 1926. Organised ecumenism in Australia at the national church level was first formalised through the Australian Committee for the World Council of Churches (1946). This movement initially involved only the

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

and Mainline

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

churches. In the 1960s and '70s, however, Eastern and

Oriental Orthodox The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysite Christology, with approximately 60 million members worldwide. The Oriental Orthodox Churches are part of the Nicene Christian tradition, and represent ...

churches joined the ecumenical movement. This developed into the Australian Council of Churches (ACC). Following the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...

, the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in Australia began exploring possibilities for relationships with other churches. In 1994 the National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA) succeeded the ACC, with the Catholic Church as a member.

Logo

The symbol of the boat has long been used to represent the ecumenical movement, and its origins are unclear - perhaps in the Gospel story of the calling of the Galilean fishermen to be disciples - "fishers of men". The boat represents the Christian Church as a ship sailing the sea that is the world. The mast, in the shape of the cross, recalls the Christian faith. The NCCA's version of the boat includes waves and the Southern Cross and was adopted at the formation of the NCCA in 1994. The use of the Southern Cross identifies the NCCA's geographical location. An updated version of the logo, pictured above, was adopted in 2006.

Member churches

The NCCA currently comprises 18 member churches:

Presidents

General secretaries

Source: National Council of Churches in Australia websiteNational Council of Churches in Australia website
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References

External links

Official website

State ecumenical councilsAct for Peace
{{Authority control Christian organisations based in Australia

Christian organizations established in 1994 1994 establishments in Australia