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Asked about the Russian objections, CEC's general secretary, Dr Keith Clements, told ENI: "CEC's position has always been that the Charta can only receive the authority which the member churches of CEC and the bishops' conferences give to it. Therefore the signatures of the two presidents of CEC and CCEE will appear under a statement attached to the Charta that commends the Charta to the churches for reception, study and adaptation to different contexts.

"Therefore it is not as though the presidents of CEC and CCEE are signing on behalf of the members of their respective bodies, but are only commending and transmitting the Charta to them."

Clements said that the process of drafting the Charta had taken into account the reactions of CEC's member churches and Catholic bishops' conferences, including those of the Russian Orthodox Church and a consultation of Orthodox church theologians in Crete in July 2000 at which a representative of the Russian church was present.

"Obviously not everything in the text will completely meet the expectations of every European church. Where misgivings remain, we hope these will be used as the occasion for further and intensified dialogue and not the end of conversations."

He added that the Charta itself "cannot damage ecumenical relations nor can the Charta simply as a document improve them. Everything depends on the spirit with which it is received and discussed."

Copyright © 2001 ENI.

The Conference of European Churches promises to offer on its Web site this week information on the Charta Oecumenica.

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April (Web-only) 2001, Vol. 45