WCC news: WCC gives thanks for the life of Choan-Seng Song

The general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay, has given thanks for the creative and inspiring work of Rev. Prof. Dr Choan-Seng Song, former WCC associate director for Faith and Order, who has died at the age of 95. Photo: Taiwanese American Archives 28 November 2024 “Choan-Seng Song’s pioneering theological work continues to inspire ecumenists and missiologists alike to give witness to the compassion of Christ who stands with the oppressed,” Pillay in wrote in a letter of condolence to the heads of the two institutions most recently associated with Song, the Pacific School of Religion and at the South East Asia Graduate School of Theology. “With his emphasis on challenging the Western-centric theological framework and his articulation of an Asian Christian theology, Choan-Seng Song can be said to have inspired the notion of ‘broadening the table,’ which is so vital for our current ecumenical work,” said Pillay. After graduating in philosophy at the University of Taiwan and theology at the University of Edinburgh, and having obtained his PhD at Union Theological Seminary in New York, Song was elected president of Tainan Theological Seminary.  He served from 1970 to 1973 as secretary for Asian ministries of the Reformed Church in America before becoming WCC associate secretary for Faith and Order from 1973 to 1982. Among his many activities for Faith and Order and the WCC, Song edited the Faith and Order papers Giving Account of the Hope Today (1976); Growing Together into Unity (1978); and Confessing our Faith Around the World (1980).  “As he wrote in Growing Together in Unity, Choan-Seng Song reminds us that ‘issues such as liberation, racism, feminism, cultural and religious pluralism put the problem of the unity of the church on a very different level,’” said Pillay. “As an advocate of human freedom, social justice, and contextualization, Choan-Seng Song developed an inclusive vision for theologizing,” Pillay added.  Letter from WCC general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay, to Rev. Prof Dr David Vásquez-Levy, President, Pacific School of Religion, and Rev. Dr Sientje Merentek-Abram, Dean, South East Asia Graduate School of Theology Faith and Order Papers edited by Choan-Seng Song: Giving Account of the Hope Today Growing Together into Unity: Texts of Faith and Order Commission on Conciliar Fellowship Confessing our Faith around the World See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 352 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches Chemin du Pommier 42 Kyoto Building Le Grand-Saconnex CH-1218 Switzerland