All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC, or CETA) is an ecumenical fellowship that represents more than 200 million African Christians in 204 national churches and regional Christian councils in 43 African Countries. AACC's head office is in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

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, and there is a regional office in

Lomé Lomé is the capital and largest city of Togo. It has an urban population of 837,437

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

. AACC also has an office in

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

which serves as its Liaison Office to the African Union. Its current General Secretary is the Rev. Dr. Fidon Mwombeki, Minister of the Lutheran Church in Tanzania. The Desmond Tutu Conference Centre in Nairobi is an affiliate of the AACC.

History

In 1958 the ecumenically dedicated

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

Akanu Ibiam Akanu Ibiam (29 November 1906 - 1 July 1995), was a distinguished medical missionary who was appointed Governor of Eastern Region, Nigeria from December 1960 until January 1966 during the Nigerian First Republic. From 1919 to 1951, he was kn ...

initiated a conference of Christian organisations and churches in Africa, which led to the foundation of AACC at its first assembly on 20 April 1963 in

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Ruba ...

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

. The theme of the first assembly was “Freedom and Unity in Christ”. The delegates addressed the colonial situation in the spirit of nationalism that permeated the political scene of the continent at the time. The delegates identified themselves with the aspirations of the peoples of the continent towards development of dignity and a mature personality in Christ and exhorted the churches "to participate wholeheartedly in the building of the African nation". The AACC has accompanied the churches in their engagement in the

decolonization Decolonization or decolonisation is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. Some scholars of decolonization focus especially on separatism, in ...

and

nation-building Nation-building is constructing or structuring a national identity using the power of the state. Nation-building aims at the unification of the people within the state so that it remains politically stable and viable in the long run. According to ...

processes. It played a significant role in the dismantling of

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

in Southern Africa. The journey towards unity and freedom initiated at Kampala has continued through the following assemblies. Thus, the AACC continues to stand with the churches in addressing relevant issues that confront the continent, and to provide a platform of collective voices and collective action. Its foundational programmes are theology, mission and evangelism, ecumenical growth and interfaith relations. Core issues on its agenda include social and economic justice (overcoming poverty), health and wholeness (

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

) and international relations (governance, ethics and morality). It is engaged in a thorough process of reconfiguring ecumenical relationships and cooperation in the continent, by integrating the churches, national councils, sub-regional fellowships and the continental body itself into a coherent network. AACC has celebrated its 50th anniversary with a Jubilee Assembly held from 3 to 9 June 2013, also in Kampala.

Members

AACC has 204 members in 43 African countries. The membership comprises Churches, National Christian Councils, Theological and Lay Training Institutions, and other Christian organisations. For operational and administrative reasons AACC has divided the continent into five sub-regions: Northern Africa (5 countries), Eastern Africa and Indian Ocean (7 countries), Southern Africa (10 countries), Central Africa (8 countries) and Western Africa (10 countries). This division ensures that every region is adequately represented in AACC's decision-making bodies. It also enables the AACC to have a better understanding of specific social economic and political issues facing the regions and thus be able to serve them better.

References

External links

All Africa Conference of Churches websiteAACC on the website of the World Council of Churches
{{DEFAULTSORT:All Africa Conference Of Churches Protestantism in Africa Regional councils of churches Members of the World Council of Churches Eastern Christianity in Africa Christian organizations established in 1963

History

Members

References

Further reading

External links