The Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians (EATWOT) is a network of theologians coming primarily from Africa, Asia, and Latin America and interested in creating theology that is relevant for their contexts. The group tended to critique traditional Christian theology as being too European and underscored the need for theology that addressed the challenges of poverty and oppression.

History

O. K. Bimwenyi from the

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was one of the key figures of the formation of EATWOT. While Bimwenyi was studying in

Catholic University of Louvain The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, he visited the general meeting of the

Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary The Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM), founded as the Daughters of the Most Holy and Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is a Catholic religious teaching institute for women. The institute was founded in the Catalan city of ...

in India in December 1974 and discussed the need for a network of theologians to address the pressing concerns of poverty and oppression in the third world. In 1976, the first official meeting of EATWOT would be held in Dar es Salaam,

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

with

Joshua Russell Chandran Joshua Russell Chandran (1918–2000) was an Indian Christian theologian, who served as President of Senate of Serampore College, Bengal (1970–1), and as President of the United Theological College, Bangalore (1954–83), and was for some year ...

as its first president until 1981. From this early start, the organization would produce a bi-annually published theological

journal A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of what happened over the course of a day or other period *Daybook, also known as a general journal, a ...

entitled ''Voices from the Third World''. In the beginning, the organization would not allow women to be members. It would only be at the New Delhi meeting in 1981 that women were beginning to be allowed to have a voice in EATWOT. Female figures such as

Virginia Fabella Virginia Fabella, M. M. is a Filipina theologian and Maryknoll sister, known for her works in Asian feminist theology and postcolonial theology. Biography Fabella was born in Manila, Philippines. After graduating from the Assumption Convent in ...

and Mercy Amba Oduyoye, the latter who eventually became EATWOT's first female president (1997–2001), would continually challenge the absence of female leadership in the global church and in EATWOT. These efforts would result in the formation of the Women's Commission of EATWOT.

References

External links

Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians
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Records of the Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians, 1975-2001
{{Liberation theology World Christianity Indigenous Christianity

History

See also

References

External links