APD (Adventist Press Service): At its meeting on November 22, 2021, the board of directors of the Ecumenical Council Berlin-Brandenburg (ÖRBB) elected a new chair. Monsignor Dr. Hansjörg Günther (52) from the Archdiocese of Berlin is the new chairman of the ÖRBB in the 2021-2024 term of office. The council leadership elected Pastor Dietmar Päschel (42) from the Free Church of the Seventh-day Adventists as his deputy.
In recent years, Hansjörg Günther has worked in the Archdiocese of Berlin in a variety of tasks in the administration of the diocese, in education and training and most recently 10 years in human resources management. Since October 2021, the sociologist and doctor of theology has been head of the central service point for ecumenism in the Archdiocese of Berlin. At the same time he is the representative for the dialogue with Judaism. “In view of the diversity of society,” said Günther after his election, “it is good that the Ecumenical Council represents such a large denominational diversity. The churches thus offer many opportunities for access for people from a wide variety of milieus. I am also looking forward to a dialogue at eye level within ecumenism.”
Dietmar Päschel heads the convention of Adventist parishes in Berlin and is currently chairman of the Ecumenical Working Group of Free Churches in Berlin-Brandenburg. His theological interest is contemporary Christianity in the urban environment and the relationship between Christianity and Judaism, on which he has also published.
Günther and Päschel succeed Bishop Emmanuel von Christoupolis (Chairman) of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis in Germany and Prov. Dr. Christina-Maria Bammel (deputy chairwoman) from the Evangelical Church Berlin-Brandenburg-schlesische Oberlausitz (EKBO), who, according to the statutes, could not stand again after two terms of office.
Ecumenical Council Berlin-Brandenburg
The Ecumenical Council Berlin-Brandenburg (ÖRBB) is a regional district of the Working Group of Christian Churches in Germany (ACK). The ÖRBB has 33 member churches, which include the Evangelical Church Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia (EKBO) and the Archdiocese of Berlin, as well as numerous Orthodox churches, free churches and other Christian churches.
Prophetic Link:
“And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?” Revelation 13:4.
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