Contact: Juan Michel, World Council of Churches, +41-22-791-6153, +41-79-507-6363 media@wcc-coe.org

MEDIA ADVISORY, June 26 /Standard Newswire/ -- The World Council of Churches' search committee for a general secretary met 23-26 June 2009 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The committee was elected by the Central Committee in February 2008 and led by the moderator, Dr Agnes Abuom.

The committee interviewed the six highly qualified candidates identified at the last meeting of the committee in April 2009 in Crete.

After three days of interviews and thorough discussions, the committee decided by consensus to propose the following two candidates for election by the Central Committee during its meeting in August 2009: Rev. Dr Park Seong-won of the Presbyterian Church of Korea and Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit of the Church of Norway (Lutheran).

"The search committee worked in a good spirit of cooperation and Christian fellowship. The candidates are both committed to the ecumenical movement. They come from diverse backgrounds and offer a variety of experiences, gifts and skills," Dr Agnes Abuom, the moderator of the search committee, said following the meeting.

Press release on the search for a new WCC general secretary, 20 February 2008

Background information on Rev. Dr Park Seong-won

Background information on Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit

Additional information: Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 349 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 560 million Christians in over 110 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, from the Methodist Church in Kenya. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.