History of the Council
From 1940 onwards Conspiratorial ecumenical meetings held in Warsaw, with about 20 people participating.
14 October 1945 First public address of the Transitional Ecumenical Council.
15 November 1946 The Christian Ecumenical Council (known as the Polish Ecumenical Council since 1958) is officially established in Warsaw in the presence of 46 delegates from the 12 Churches joining the Council. These Churches are: the Evangelical Lutheran, Evangelical Reformed, Methodist, Evangelical Christians (two groups), Evangelical Faith Christians, Seventh Day Adventists, Old Catholic Mariavites, Old Catholic, Polish National Catholic Church, Polish Church of Christian Baptists, Union of Churches of Christ and the Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church (in later years the Church of Evangelical Faith Christians, Church of Evangelical Christians and Union of Churches of Christ merge to form the United Evangelical Church; the Old Catholic Church ends its activity in Poland; the Polish National Catholic Church changes its name to the Polish Catholic Church; and the Church of Seventh Day Adventists withdraws from the Council). Rev. Zygmunt Michelis of the Evangelical Lutheran Church becomes the first president of the Council.
1948 The Young People’s Ecumenical Council comes into being, operating until 1951.
1947-1950 “Universal Church”, the Council’s press organ, is published.
1950 and 1951 Two ecumenical communion services are held with the participation of clergy from the Evangelical Lutheran, Evangelical Reformed, Methodist, Christian Baptist and Old Catholic Mariavite Churches and the Polish National Catholic Church.
1951-55 Because of the difficult political situation, not a single meeting of the Council is held. Several Churches leave the Council. On 7 December 1955 the first Council meeting is held after a four-year break, attended by even those Churches which had previously left the Council.
1957 The Polish Ecumenical Council is given affiliated-council status with the World Council of Churches.
1958 The authorities of the Polish People’s Republic approve the Council’s statute, and the name “Polish Ecumenical Council” is officially accepted. The Council gains legal-entity status by being entered in the register of associations and religious organizations.
From the start of the 1960s The Women’s Commission of the Polish Ecumenical Council organizes World Women’s Prayer Day each year in March.
1960 Bishop Jan Niewieczerzał of the Evangelical Reformed Church becomes president of the Council.
1967 The Council’s new statute is approved.
1974 The Polish Ecumenical Council and the Roman Catholic Church establish official relations by appointing a Mixed Commission of the Polish Ecumenical Council and the Episcopal Commission on Ecumenism. The commission holds 43 meetings up to 1996.
1974 The Commission for Contacts between the Polish Ecumenical Council and the Evangelical Church Council in the German Federal Republic comes into being.
1975 Rev. Witold Benedyktowicz, superintendent of the Methodist Church, becomes president of the Council.
1977 The Mixed Commission of the Polish Ecumenical Council and the Episcopal Commission on Ecumenism appoints a Sub-commission for Dialogue, which is to be concerned with discussions on theological matters. The Sub-commission operates until 1996.
1978 Billy Graham, the well known American Baptist evangelist, visits Poland at the joint invitation of the Church of Christian Baptists and the Polish Ecumenical Council.
Autumn 1980 A Radio Services Commission is established at the Polish Ecumenical Council, whose task is to draw up a plan for broadcasting the Member Churches’ services on the radio. The first service is aired on 24 January 1982.
1980s In response to an appeal by the World Council of Churches, the Churches of Western Europe and North America organize material assistance for a Poland gripped by an economic crisis. The Polish Ecumenical Council gets involved in analysing the need and distributing gifts. The aid covers not only members of the Council’s Member Churches but also those of the Roman Catholic Church, as well as state hospitals and homes.
1981 First meeting between Cardinal Józef Glemp, the Polish primate, and members of the Management Board and Presidium of the Polish Ecumenical Council.
1982 A Commission for Contacts between the Polish Ecumenical Council and the Union of Evangelical Churches in the German Democratic Republic is appointed.
1983 During Pope John Paul II’s pilgrimage to Poland, his first meeting with representatives of the Churches of the Polish Ecumenical Council takes place. Similar meetings will be held during his later pilgrimages to Poland in 1987, 1991, 1997 and 1999.
1983 Bishop Janusz Narzyński of the Evangelical Lutheran Church becomes president of the Council.
1986 Rev. Adam Kuczma, superintendent of the Methodist Church, becomes president of the Council.
1987 Break-up of the United Evangelical Church, from which several Churches emerge. None of them joins the Polish Ecumenical Council.
1990 Bishop Zdzisław Tranda of the Evangelical Reformed Church becomes president of the Council.
1991 During his pilgrimage to Poland, Pope John Paul II visits the Orthodox Cathedral of Saint Nicholas in Białystok and the Lutheran Holy Trinity Church in Warsaw, where he takes part in ecumenical prayer with clergy and members of the Churches affiliated in the Polish Ecumenical Council.
1993 Bishop Jan Szarek of the Evangelical Lutheran Church becomes president of the Council.
1996 The Council’s statute is amended.
1997 The Commission for Dialogue of the Conference of the Polish Episcopate and the Polish Ecumenical Council replaces the Mixed Commission of the Polish Ecumenical Council and the Episcopal Commission on Ecumenism and its Sub-commission for Dialogue. The Commission starts operating on 23 March 1998.
23 January 2000 The Roman Catholic Church and six Churches affiliated in the Polish Ecumenical Council – Evangelical Lutheran, Evangelical Reformed, Evangelical Methodist, Old Catholic Mariavite, Polish Catholic and Polish Autocephalous Orthodox – sign the document “The Sacrament of Baptism – a Sign of Unity” in the Lutheran Holy Trinity Church in Warsaw.
2001 The Council’s statute is amended.
2001 Archbishop Jeremiasz of the Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church becomes president of the Council.
2006 During his pilgrimage to Poland, Pope Benedict XVI meets clergy and members of the Churches affiliated in the Polish Ecumenical Council in the Lutheran Holy Trinity Church in Warsaw.