Protestant Church in Korea celebrate 80th Anniversary

Seoul, South Korea, Nov. 21, 2004 – A symposium of ecumenical development and a public discussion on the integration of two major Protestant Church bodies were some of the major focus of events that marked the 80th Anniversary of the mainstream Protestant Church in Korea.

The National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK), that celebrated its 80th anniversary on Nov. 1, has as its members two Presbyterian Churches, the Anglican Church, the Assemblies of God, the Evangelical Church of Korea, the Methodist Church and the Salvation Army. The Orthodox Church is an associate member.

Around 50 NCCK officials, pastors, theologians and Church–based activists participated in the symposium in Seoul.

Theologians gave presentations reflecting on problems of the ecumenical movement and discussed creating a single Protestant body for the country.

According to Park Jae–sun, a Presbyterian theologian, "ecumenism" means more than unity among Christian Churches. It implies reconciling and liberating all human beings and creatures in the universe, and the realization of a free and ample life, he said. He called ecumenism without reconciliation and liberation "false unity."

Park charged that the fundamentalist mindset of some "Full Gospel" Churches creates division in the world and the Church. They have anti–communist and other ideologies that are anti–ecumenical, he said.

Since the 1980s the NCCK has worked for peace and reunification of the Korean peninsula with groups in communist North Korean that espouse Christianity.

Lee Jeong–bae, a Methodist theologian, recommended a focus on spirituality rather than Christology as a way to spur ecumenical development. Seeing Christianity and other religions, the Church and the world, as God's works can be the universal foundation for the ecumenical movement, he suggested.

Lee also said in his presentation that while existing Christologies from the West are still valid within Christianity, they are limited in manifesting God's presence and action "outside the Church."

Reverend Kim Dong–seon focused on the issue of integrating the NCCK with the 12–year–old Christian Council of Korea (CCK). He pointed out that an effort to integrate the two bodies, first discussed in April 2003, appears to be happening only at the institutional level. He called for integration at the level of Christian communities.

In the public discussion that followed the symposium, participants agreed that the two bodies have merely carried out "formal procedures" rather than beginning the basic work for integration, such as theological reflection. They pointed out the two bodies have different orientations.

For example, while the more conservative CCK in early October organized one of the largest rallies in support of the National Security Law, the NCCK recently issued a statement strongly demanding repeal of the law. Under that law, enacted in 1948 to defend the country from a perceived communist threat, a person can be arrested and prosecuted for carrying out any activity "praising" or benefiting the "enemy," North Korea.

Most participants, however, admitted that integration of the two bodies will take time. They suggested proceeding first with theological discussions and efforts to build mutual understanding. This was the first public discussion on integration since the two bodies started discussing it.

Reverend Hwang Phil–kyu, director of the NCCK Human Rights Committee, later said that the public discussion showed the two bodies are not yet ready for integration. "They have different goals, views and structures," he explained. The NCCK official said that though the council is open to other groups and committed to ecumenism, "we have a long way to go on this matter."

He added that the Catholic Church would be invited to the NCCK general assembly in mid–November.

Since its establishment in 1924, the NCCK has worked to provide pastoral care to the urban poor, farmers and laborers, and later to protect human rights and democracy, to fight military dictatorships and to advance reunification of the Korean peninsula.