A Cloud of Witnesses: a message to the churches

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The aims behind this project were: to recognize each other’s witnesses of faith, when this is not mutually exclusive; to find ways of commemorating witnesses from various traditions at ecumenical meetings

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1. Introduction (1)

1.1 We, Christians from different churches and countries, gathered from the 29th October to the 2nd November 2008 at the Monastery of Bose (Italy) – as the Community celebrated the Feast of All Saints – in order to reflect on “A Cloud of Witnesses: Opportunities for Ecumenical Commemoration.”(2) This was a joint initiative of the Monastery of Bose and the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches, a continuation of a process which began with a meeting of representatives from six different confessional families who met at Bose in March, 2004.

1.2 The aims behind this project were: to recognize each other’s witnesses of faith, when this is not mutually exclusive; to find ways of commemorating witnesses from various traditions at ecumenical meetings; to develop or recover the commemoration of witnesses in churches that do not have such a practice; to work towards a common ecumenical martyrology.(3)