The Paris Basis is a group of principles guiding the relationships between individual
YMCA
YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...
s.
Ninety-nine
YMCA
YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...
leaders of individual YMCAs from
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
and
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
met for the first time prior to the 1855
Paris World Exposition to discuss the possibility of joining together in a federation to enhance co-operation amongst individual YMCA societies. This meeting resulted in the first World Conference of YMCA from 19 to 24 August 1855,
and the creation of the Paris Basis which is still a guiding principle of the organization today.
It was the idea of
Frédéric Monnier, from the Paris YMCA, who having met
Henry Dunant in 1852 had worked on plans for a basis of general union of local YMCAs around the world. The handwritten draft is held at the World Alliance of YMCAs headquarters, in
Geneva
Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
, Switzerland, and is believed to be the handwriting of Théophile Rivier, although it is understood that the handwritten draft differs from the final draft submitted to the Conference on 24 August 1855.
Two themes resonated during the council:
#the need to respect the local autonomy of YMCA societies and
#the dogma that
Christian church
In ecclesiology, the Christian Church is what different Christian denominations conceive of as being the true body of Christians or the original institution established by Jesus Christ. "Christian Church" has also been used in academia as a syn ...
es are united and the YMCA is a way of manifesting that unity. (Muukkonen, 2002:85)
In 1895 it became the basis for the
World Student Christian Federation, and in 1898 the basis for the
YWCA
The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries.
The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swit ...
. It later became the basis for the
Faith and Order Movement, and through it for 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, most jurisdictions of the Eastern Orthodo ...
itself.
Respect of Local Autonomy
The need for the respect of local autonomy is expressed in the preamble:
The Committee has never upheld the opinion that all the Associations should adhere to the same forms and methods; on the contrary, it fully recognizes the necessity of an individual growth based on the local conditions and the influences of varying circumstances.
Unity of Churches
The main principle of the Paris Basis is expressed:
The Young Men's Christian Associations seek to unite those young men who, regarding Jesus Christ
Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
as their God and Saviour, according to the Holy Scriptures, desire to be his disciples in their faith and in their life and to associate their efforts for the extension of His Kingdom amongst young men.
The main principle of the Paris Basis is often stated as the entire basis and the preamble and other articles are omitted.
There are two versions of the Paris Basis, one in French and one in English. It is thought that the French version is the more accurate representation of the agreement reached and that the English version was a result of a later transcription of notes after the meeting. Some adjustments were made to the English version to align it with the French version in 1955. In the French version the last two words of the main principle are "''jeunes gens''" which more accurately translates as "young people" rather than young men (although all participants in YMCAs at the time were male). (Muukkonen, 2002:90).
References
{{Reflist
See also
*
World Student Christian Federation
YMCA