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Dear readers,

Church and Peace: is a European ecumenical network of peace churches and peace church-oriented congregations, communities and service agencies.
Editorial Staff: Terri Miller, Birgit Dobrinski, Christian Hohmann, Layout: Terri Miller
International Office: Ringstraáe 14, D-35641 Schöffengrund; Tel: +49 6445/ 5588; Fax +49 6445/ 5070; E-mail: [email protected]; Web Site: http://c3.hu/~bocs/chp.htm
Regional Offices: GB-Clun, F-Strasbourg, H-Székesfehérvár
Subscription: �10 for one year, $15 for outside of Europe. � 2,50 single issue.
Bank account GB: Co-operative Bank, Watford. Sort code 0890 78. Account number 50 34 28 31 Payment by cheque to Gerald Drewett, 20 The Drive, GB-Hertford SG14 3DF
Bank account D: Raiffeisenbank, Wetzlar. Sort code 515 602 31. Account number 23 65 103
Dear Readers,

The most recent issue of the Quarterly placed much emphasis upon an event which has been labelled quite correctly as "the biggest and most representative meeting of European Christians in this century": the Second European Ecumenical Assembly in Graz (23-27 June 1997).

Many members and friends of Church and Peace attended and assisted in preparing this assembly. Their reports in this issue illustrate that more than 10,000 people from across Europe experienced a time of meaningful fellowship and sharing in Graz.

Under the theme "Reconciliation: Gift of God and Source of New Life", persons of extremely varied confessional and political backgrounds showed their readiness to discuss openly the conflicts shaping the political and ecumenical landscape of Europe and to search for feasible paths of reconciliation.

In Graz many realised for the first time that which Johannes Dantine, acting president of the Austrian Council of Churches, noted before the Assembly,
"To walk on the way of reconciliation means to accept that reconciliation will not be achieved easily; not simply by collecting a list of appeals, nor through symbolic actions nor by fellowship which doesn't recognize our differences."
Many found it difficult to face this ecumenical reality. Thus it was not surprising that press coverage of the Assembly resulted in more negative headlines than positive.
Persons from nearly all of the churches in Europe also became aware of the numerous initiatives addressing peace, justice and integrity of creation concerns in a practical way. Much planning took place for collaborative work following the Assembly. Interaction between members of the clergy and Christian lay groups brought about changes in certain set preconceptions and official positions. An example of this is the recent "official" rehabilitation by the Hungarian Catholic Church of Father György Bulányi, founder of the Bokor Movement.

Here we would like to thank you our readers for your financial support of the Peace House. In this manner you have made a very noticeable contribution to the success of this "first European Church Conference".

Over the past year printing and mailing costs for the Quarterly have unfortunately gone up once again. Thus it is necessary to increase the subscription cost for 1998 to �12 ($25 outside Europe). We ask for your understanding in this matter.

The editorial team thanks all of you for your encouragement this past year. We look forward to receiving your contributions in the coming year. We appreciate your support through feedback as well as reports of church and peace-related activities in your churches, communities and organisations.

Christian Hohmann
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