Porto Alegre, Brazil, Feb 25

Walter Altmann, Gennadios of Sassima and Margaretha Hendriks-Ririmasse are, respectively, the new moderator and vice moderators of the WCC central committee.

Rev. Dr Walter Altmann is the president of the Evangelical Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil (IECLB). He was the president of the Latin American Council of Churches from 1995-2001. From 1972-1974 he was a parish pastor in southern Brazil, and since 1974, has been teaching systematic theology at the Theological College in São Leopoldo. His theological work is focused on Martin Luther, Latin American liberation theology, and ecumenism. From 1981-1987, he headed the Theological College in São Leopoldo and was director of the Ecumenical Institute for Postgraduate Studies from 1989-1994.

Metropolitan Dr Gennadios of Sassima (Limouris), of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (Turkey), is professor of theology in various universities. He was a vice-moderator of the WCC’s Faith and Order Commission from 1998-2006. From 1983-93, he was a staff member of the WCC's Faith and Order secretariat in Geneva. He is involved in a number of bilateral dialogues involving the Orthodox, the Roman Catholic and the Lutheran churches among others. He has been a member of the WCC executive and central committees since 2002. He is the author/editor of numerous publications.

Rev. Dr Margaretha Hendriks-Ririmasse is dean of the Theological Faculty of the Indonesian Christian University in Moluccas, and teaches Old Testament subjects. She serves as vice moderator of her church, the Protestant Church in the Moluccas. Hendriks-Ririmasse helped initiate an interfaith peace and reconciliation initiative in the conflict-ridden Moluccas region of Indonesia. She also served as one of four chairpersons of the Communion of Churches in Indonesia and was the vice-chairperson of the Association of the Theological Schools in Indonesia.

The new WCC executive committee is made up of the following central committee members:

Africa
Dr Agnes Abuom, Anglican Church of Kenya
Bishop Ivan Manuel Abrahams, Methodist Church of Southern Africa (South Africa)
Pastor Antonio Pedro Malungo, Evangelical Reformed Church of Angola
Ms Iyabo Oyekola, Church of the Lord Aladura Worldwide (Nigeria)

Asia
Rev. Dr Margaretha M. Hendriks-Ririmasse, Protestant Church in the Moluccas (Indonesia)
Ms Hae-Sun Jung, Korean Methodist Church
Bishop Samuel R. Azariah, Church of Pakistan

Caribbean
Ms Nerissa Celestine, Church in the Province of the West Indies (Grenada)

Europe
Bischof Dr Rolf Koppe, Evangelical Church in Germany
Ms Inger Aasa-Marklund, Church of Sweden
Mr Graham G. McGeoch, Church of Scotland

Latin America
Rev. Dr Walter Altmann, Evangelical Church of Lutheran Confession in Brazil

North America
Ms Carmen Rae Lansdowne, United Church of Canada
Rev. Dr Tyrone Pitts, Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc. (USA)
Rev. Dr Larry Pickens, United Methodist Church (USA)

Pacific
Rev. Sanele Faasua Lavatai, Methodist Church of Samoa

Eastern Orthodox Churches
Metropolitan Prof. Dr Gennadios of Sassima, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
Bishop Dr Hilarion of Wien and Austria (Alfeyev), Russian Orthodox Church
Archbishop Nifon of Targoviste, Romanian Orthodox Church
Bishop Dr Vasilios of Trimithus (Karayiannis), Church of Cyprus
Ms Outi Vasko, Orthodox Church of Finland

Oriental Orthodox Churches
Metropolitan Bishoy, Coptic Orthodox Church (Egypt)
Bishop Vicken Aykazian, Armenian Apostolic Church (Holy See of Etchmiadzin) (USA)

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