National Council of Churches in Australia

For other uses, see NCCA (disambiguation).

National Council of Churches in Australia

Founded	1994
Website	ncca.org.au

The National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA) is an ecumenical organisation bringing together a number of Australia's Christian churches in dialogue and practical cooperation.

The NCCA works in collaboration with state ecumenical councils around Australia. It is an associate council of the World Council of Churches, a member of the Christian Conference of Asia and a partner of other national ecumenical bodies throughout the world. "Act for Peace" is the international aid agency of the NCCA, which aims to empower war-torn communities to protect refugees, reduce poverty, prevent conflicts and manage disasters.^[1]

Background

The modern ecumenical movement began to take shape at the end of the 19th century. Initiatives among students and between church mission agencies led the way. In Australia these included the Australian Student Christian Movement, formed in 1896, and the National Missionary Council, created in 1926.

Organised ecumenism in Australia at the national church level was first formalised through the Australian Committee for the World Council of Churches (1946). This movement initially involved only the Anglican and Mainline Protestant churches. In the 1960s and '70s, however, Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches joined the ecumenical movement. This developed into the Australian Council of Churches (ACC). Following the Second Vatican Council, the Roman Catholic Church in Australia began exploring possibilities for relationships with other churches. In 1994 the National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA) succeeded the ACC, with the Catholic Church as a member.

Logo

The symbol of the boat has long been used to represent the ecumenical movement, and its origins are unclear - perhaps in the Gospel story of the calling of the Galilean fishermen to be disciples - "fishers of men". The boat represents the Christian Church as a ship sailing the sea that is the world. The mast, in the shape of the cross, recalls the Christian faith.

The NCCA's version of the boat includes waves and the Southern Cross and was adopted at the formation of the NCCA in 1994. The use of the Southern Cross identifies the NCCA's geographical location.

An updated version of the logo, pictured above, was adopted in 2006.

Member churches

The NCCA has 19 member churches:

Member Church	Head of Church
Anglican Church of Australia	Archbishop Philip Freier
Antiochian Orthodox Church	Archbishop Paul Saliba
Armenian Apostolic Church	Bishop Haigazoun Najarian
Assyrian Church of the East	Archbishop Metropolitan Mar Meelis Zaia
Chinese Methodist Church in Australia	Bishop James Kwang
Churches of Christ in Australia	Janet Woodlock
Congregational Federation of Australia	Dr Joe B Goodall
Coptic Orthodox Church	Bishop Suriel - Bishop of Melbourne and Affiliated Regions & Bishop Daniel - Bishop of Sydney and Affiliated Regions
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia	Archbishop Stylianos
Indian Orthodox Church	Yuhanon Mar Dioscoros
Lutheran Church of Australia	The Revd John Henderson
Mar Thoma Church	Bishop Joseph Mar Barnabas
Religious Society of Friends	Julian Robertson
Roman Catholic Church	Archbishop Denis Hart
Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of Australia and New Zealand	Bishop Mihail (Filimon)
Serbian Orthodox Church	Bishop Irinej
Syrian Orthodox Church	Archbishop Mor Malatius Malki Malki
The Salvation Army	Commissioner James Condon and Commissioner Floyd Tidd
Uniting Church in Australia	Mr Stuart McMillan

Presidents

Year	Name	Denomination
2013 - present	The Revd Mike Semmler	Lutheran Church of Australia
2009 - 2013	Bishop Michael Putney	Roman Catholic Church
2006 - 2009	Bishop Richard Appleby	Anglican Church
2003 - 2006	The Revd James Haire	Uniting Church in Australia
1999 - 2001	The Revd Lance Steicke	Lutheran Church
1997 - 1999	Archbishop John Bathersby	Roman Catholic Church
1994 - 1997	Archbishop Aghan Baliozian	Armenian Apostolic Church

General secretaries

Year	Name
2015-present	Sr Elizabeth Delaney sgs
2009 - 2014	Tara Curlewis
2001 - 2009	John Henderson
1994 - 2001	David Gill

Source: National Council of Churches in Australia website^[2]

References

External links

Christianity in Australia

Denominations	Christian denominations in Australia Churches in Australia by state or territory

Conferences	Katoomba Christian Convention Hillsong Conference

Interdenominational organisations	National Council of Churches Youth Alive

Mission and service organisations	Anglicare Caritas Australia Church Mission Society Compassion Australia UnitingCare Wesley Mission World Vision Australia

Theological and research organisations	Christian Research Association National Church Life Survey

University ministries	Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students Australian Student Christian Movement

Media organisations	Australian Christian Channel 1WAY 2CBA 2WLF 3GCB 3TSC 4CAB 5RAM Ultra106five Rhema FM Vision Radio Network

Publishers and booksellers	Bible Society In Australia Koorong Matthias Media Reformers Word

Influenced political groups	Australian Christian Lobby Australian Christians Christian Democratic Party Democratic Labour Party Family First Party Festival of Light Australia

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