Geneva — A leading South African theologian, the Revd. Jerry Pillay, has been installed as the ninth general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Geneva. He is the second African to hold the post in the council's 75-year history.
Dr Pillay was previously dean of the Faculty of Theology and Religion at the University of Pretoria and represents the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. The first African to serve as general secretary, the Revd Samuel Kobia, was a Methodist from Kenya.
Pillay was installed during a service in Geneva's Ecumenical Centre Chapel on Friday February 16. The Swiss city hosts the WCC as well as the European headquarters of the United Nations and a number of other international groups and non-governmental organizations.
During the service, Pillay said the church must rise to its challenges in changing times: "We need to stand where God stands, with the poor, wretched, neglected, and suffering in the world," he said. "The question is, as member churches: Where will you stand?"
Church identity crisis
He added that the church today is going through "an identity crisis" as it seeks to adapt to a changing world.
"In our quest for relevance, we think that we have to give in to every new trend, view, philosophy and finding. So, we are always looking for the new thing or the next thing without often asking: 'Is this the right thing? Is this what God wants?'"
Pillay served on the national executive of the South African Council of Churches for many years, and was the first president of the World Communion of Reformed Churches from 2010 to 2017.
The World Council of Churches brings together churches, denominations and church fellowships in more than 120 countries and territories worldwide, representing more than 580 million Christians. It includes most of the world's Orthodox churches, scores of Anglican, Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist and Reformed churches, and many United and Independent churches.
While most of the WCC's founding churches were European and North American, today, most of its 352 member churches are in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, the Middle East and the Pacific.
