World Council of Churches
Editor - The Ecumenical Review
Theodore Gill Jr. joined the World Council of Churches as a Senior Editor in 2002 and, until his retirement in 2016, he has been responsible for many of its publications. The WCC publishes significant ecumenical books and publications, many of which are intended for scholars, students and pastors. A number of these resources are also designed for lay people who wish to be informed about developments within the world's churches.
Prior to joining the World Council of Churches, Theo was an associate for theology and worship in the US national offices of the Presbyterian Church, and also worked directly on communication teams for ecumenical assemblies held in many parts of the world. As an ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church, he frequently preaches in churches and speaks before groups on a wide range of subjects.
Theo's late father, Theodore Gill Sr. was president of the San Francisco Theological Seminary in the early 1960s, during which time he also became one of the founders of the Graduate Theological Union based in Berkeley, California. Ted Gill Sr. was an early public supporter of the civil rights struggle in the United States, marching with Martin Luther King from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in 1965. He was later quoted that “the high point of my career in the ministry was the week that I cost my seminary five million dollars,” after wealthy donors responded to his civil rights activities by withholding their financial support.
During his tenure at the World Council of Churches, Theodore Gill Jr. was editor for The Ecumenical Review, a quarterly theological journal that began publication in 1948 at the same time as the founding of the WCC. The Ecumenical Review is a thought-provoking exploration of the Christian faith that reflects the perspectives of writers who explore the "potential and reality of Christian cooperation in faith and action."
Each edition of The Ecumenical Review covers a selected topic and includes original scholarly articles, editorials, an Ecumenical Chronicle, and book reviews within its pages. Its overall aim is to advance the movement for Christian unity through closer church fellowship and inter-religious dialogue. The topics are wide-ranging and are relevant to both spiritual and social interests throughout the world.
On the occasion of the 10th Assembly of the World Council of Churches held in Busan, Republic of Korea in 2013, Theodore Gill and Erlinda Senturias co-edited a signature publication for the event under the theme: " God of life, lead us to justice and peace. " This official report of the assembly, which drew thousands of registered participants and visitors from a hundred countries, provides a thorough record together with insights relating to the topics covered during the assembly's six plenary sessions.
While the assembly was convened with a primary focus on Christianity in Asia, it conducted 21 "ecumenical conversations" that delved into many of the major challenges currently facing people of the Christian faith and their churches. Questions relating to a radically altered religious landscape were discussed, with much attention devoted to a globalized yet lopsided economy, climate change, gender violence, and important new ecumenical insights about the mission, the church, human spirituality, and Christian service.
The official report of the 10th Assembly of the World Council of Churches speaks to all of these topics, offering expertise and discernment while capturing the "intellectual and religious energy of the assembly's key presentations, discussions, and statements." The assembly and its official report engages the future of the Christian faith and member churches to continue striving for unity, peace, and justice around the globe.
The Encyclopedia of Christian Civilization is a four-volume reference work covering the history and impact of Christianity. The entire set includes over 1,400 entries written by more than 350 scholars and teachers from 24 countries. Article topics relate to the history of Christianity and how that faith has influenced many facets of civilization through: literature, music, art, architecture, education, politics, law, and scholarship.
The Encyclopedia includes a contribution by Theodore Gill about the World Council of Churches that describes the inter-confessional organization as representing more than 340 member churches with an estimated 560 million total communicants. Based in Geneva, Switzerland, the World Council of Churches brings together African Initiated churches, Anglicans, Baptists, Independents, Old Catholics, Orthodox, Protestants, United and Uniting churches as well as some representatives of Pentecostalism.
Additional WCC publications edited by Theodore Gill include:
World Council of Churches Yearbook 2002
Included in this annually revised handbook are lists of the member churches of the World Council of Churches, national and regional ecumenical bodies, specialized ecumenical organizations, members of the Council's central committee and staff, charts of the Council's structure and governance and its constitution and rules. Introductory articles offer a review of the main events bearing on the life and work of the Council in 2001. [ Inventory number 2-8254-1361-5 ]
Dictionary of the Ecumenical Movement (Second Edition)
Each entry has been written by a specialist contributor and the volume edited by a team of experts from a cross-section of the ecumenical movement. Prof. Jaroslav Pelikan of Yale University says of the Dictionary, "An astonishingly thorough and eminently useful reference book... I cannot imagine that anyone who has to deal with relations between churches could do without this work." [ Inventory number: 2-8254-1354-2 ]
These publications can be ordered from the World Council of Churches
