Rome (NEV / Riforma), November 22, 2020 – On Saturday, November 21, from 10 to 13 o’clock, took place the webinar entitled: “The dream of a Protestant Italy. History and current events of a shared journey. Mutual recognition between the Baptist, Methodist and Waldensian churches one hundred years after the first meeting of the Italian evangelical churches”.
The online seminar represents the first stage of a journey that will lead the Baptist, Methodist and Waldensian churches towards the 5th joint session of the General Assembly of the Evangelical Baptist Christian Union of Italy (UCEBI) and of the Synod of the Waldensian and Methodist churches, called “Assembly-Synod”, to be held in 2022.
The path includes a second stage in spring 2021, which will reflect on three thematic areas: theological training, interculture, and territorial collaboration.
The webinar opened with the institutional greetings of: Alessandra Trotta, moderator of the Waldensian Board; Mirella Manocchio, president of the Work for Methodist Evangelical Churches in Italy (OPCEMI); Giovanni Arcidiacono, president of the Baptist Evangelical Churches in Italy (FCEI); Annapaola Carbonatto, secretary of the Protestant Youth Federation in Italy (FGEI).
Emilio Florio, professor of history and philosophy, participated with a historical retrospective of the relations between the Baptist, Methodist and Waldensian churches (BMV) one hundred years after the 1st Italian Evangelical Congress. Gianna Urizio, Claudio Paravati and John Bremner in turns offered an overlook on the future challenges and on the potential of the common path.
This meeting has been an opportunity for the BMV churches to take time to reflect on this multi-year collaboration and to understand how to continue the journey of common witness and fidelity to the Gospel in a society and at a time characterized by particularities and divisions.
