International Council of Unitarians and Universalists

International Council of Unitarians and Universalists

The International Council of Unitarians and Universalists (ICUU) is a world council bringing together Unitarians, Universalists and Unitarian Universalists. The original initiative for its establishment was contained in a resolution of the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches of the United Kingdom in 1987. This led to the establishment of the "Advocates for the Establishment of an International Organization of Unitarians" (AEIOU), which worked towards the establishment of the council. The Rev. David Usher, a British Unitarian minister of Australian origin, proposed the 1987 resolution. However, the General Assembly resolution provided no funding.

The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) became particularly interested in the establishment of a council when it had to deal with an increasing number of applications for membership from congregations outside North America. It had already granted membership to congregations in Adelaide, Auckland, the Philippines and Pakistan, and congregations in Sydney, Russia and Spain had applied for membership. Rather than admit congregations from all over the world, the UUA hoped that they would join a world council instead. The UUA thus became willing to provide funding for the council's establishment.

As a result, the council was finally established at a meeting in Essex, Massachusetts on March 23-26, 1995. Rev. David Usher became the ICUU's first President.

The size of the member organizations varies widely. Some member groups have only a few hundred members; while the largest, the Unitarian Universalist Association, has over 200,000 members and is larger than all the other member groups put together.

Members

Members

*Australia and New Zealand Unitarian Association (ANZUA)
*Canadian Unitarian Council
*Deutsche Unitarier Religionsgemeinschaft, Germany
*European Unitarian Universalists
*First Unitarian Church of Nigeria
*General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches, United Kingdom & Ireland
*Ijo Isokan Gbogbo Eda (Unitarian Brotherhood Church), Nigeria
*The Council of Unitarian Churches in India, which includes the Khasi Unitarian Union and the Unitarian Christian Church of Madras
*Kosciol Unitarianski (Unitarian Church in Poland)
*Náboženská společnost českých unitářů (Religious Society of Czech Unitarians)
*The Unitarian Church in Hungary
*The Unitarian Church of Transylvania (Romania)
*Unitarian Church of South Africa
*Unitarian Universalist Association, USA
*Unitarian Universalist Association of Sri Lanka
*Unitarian Universalist Church of the Philippines
*Unitarian Universalist Society of Finland
*Unitarian Universalist Society of Spain
*Unitarians and Universalists, Pakistan
*Unitarisk Kirkesamfund, Denmark
*Indonesia Global Church of God

The Unitarian Universalists of Russia were a founding member of the ICUU. Its membership in the Council was officially dropped in 2007 because of persistent lack of activity.

Provisional members

Churches and religious associations which have expressed their will to become members of the Council may be admitted as "Provisional Members" for a period of time (generally 2 or 4 years), until the Council decides that they have shown their organizational stability, affinity with the ICUU principles and commitment to deserve becoming Full Members of the Council. The latest Provisional Member of the ICUU was the Indonesia Global Church of God, which was admitted to full membership in 2007. Provisional Members are invited to Council meetings through a delegate but cannot vote.

Emerging groups

*Burundi
*Congo
*Cuba (2 groups: the Unitarian Universalist Church and the Unitarian Universalist Religious Society)
*France ( [http://afcu.over-blog.org Assemblée Fraternelle des Chrétiens Unitariens] )
* [http://italianunitarian.christian.net/index.html Italian Unitarians]
*Kenya
*Latvia (inactive)
*Mexico (2 groups: the [http://www.lcum.blogspot.com/ Free Unitarian Congregation of Mexico, (LCUM)] and the Unitarian Universalists of Mexico AC)

Associates

*Ulster Christian Unitarian Fellowship
* [http://www.uu-uno.org/ Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office (UU-UNO)]
* [http://unitarforbundet.org/ Norwegian Unitarians] (Unitarforbundet Bét Dávid)

Unitarian groups which are in contact but with no formal link to the ICUU

* [http://www.pazyarmonia.tk Peace and Harmony Center] -- Argentina
* [http://www.unitarische-kirche-berlin.de Berlin Unitarian Church] (Germany)
*Brazilian Unitarians
*Bolivian Unitarians
*Costa Rican Unitarians (apparently inactive)
*Croatia (UU Section of the [http://www.humanitas.hr Humanitas] association)
* [http://icuu.net/membership/otherassociates.html Icelandic Unitarians] within the National Church of Iceland
*Doojin Christian Church (Japan)
* [http://www.unitarier.net Free Unitarian Fellowship] , Frankfurt-am-Main (Germany)
*Kenyan Unitarians
*Eglise Unitarienne de France
* [http://ssshk.tripod.com/ Spiritual Seekers Society] -- Hong-Kong (China)
* [http://www.uupuertorico.org/ UU Fellowship of Puerto Rico]

Principles and purposes

The Preamble to the Constitution of the International Council of Unitarians and Universalists reads:

We, the member groups of the International Council of Unitarians and Universalists, affirming our belief in religious community based on:

* liberty of conscience and individual thought in matters of faith,
* the inherent worth and dignity of every person.
* justice and compassion in human relations,
* responsible stewardship in human relations,
* and our commitment to democratic principles,

declare our purposes to be:

* to serve the Infinite Spirit of Life and the human community by strengthening the worldwide Unitarian and Universalist faith,
* to affirm the variety and richness of our living traditions,
* to facilitate mutual support among member organizations,
* to promote our ideals and principles around the world,
* to provide models of liberal religious response to the human condition which upholds our common values.

ee also

External links

* [http://icuu.net/ International Council of Unitarians and Universalists]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • International Council of Unitarians and Universalists — Der ICUU (International Council of Unitarians and Universalists) ist ein weltumspannendes Netzwerk von Unitariern, Universalisten und „Unitarian Universalists“. Organisationen aus 23 Staaten haben sich in dem im März 1995 in Essex (Massachusetts …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • International Council — may refer to:Religion* International Bahá í Council, an administrative institution of the Bahá í Faith * International Council of Christians and Jews, an umbrella organization of 38 national groups in 32 countries world wide engaged in the… …   Wikipedia

  • Unitarians — • A Protestant sect which holds as it distinctive tenet the belief in a uni personal instead of a tri personal God Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Unitarians     Unitarians    …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • List of Unitarians, Universalists, and Unitarian Universalists — Dynamic listA number of noted people have considered themselves Unitarians, Universalists, and following the merger of these denominations in the United States and Canada in 1961, Unitarian Universalists. Additionally, there are persons who,… …   Wikipedia

  • Canadian Unitarian Council — Infobox Organization name= Canadian Unitarian Council size= formation= May 14th, 1961 extinction= type= Religious Organization headquarters= location= Canada membership= language= leader title= Executive Director leader name= Linda Thomson key… …   Wikipedia

  • Australia and New Zealand Unitarian Association — The Australia and New Zealand Unitarian Association or ANZUA is the organising body for Unitarian and Universalist congregations in Australia and New Zealand. ANZUA was established in 1974. ANZUA is also a member of the International Council of… …   Wikipedia

  • General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches — Die General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches (GAUFCC) ist eine christliche Organisation im Vereinigten Königreich. Die GAUFCC wurde 1928 gegründet. Der Sitz befindet sich in der Essex Hall in London. Die Vereinigung ist Mitglied… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Unitarianism and Universalism — ▪ religion Introduction       liberal religious movements that have merged in the United States. In previous centuries they appealed for their views to Scripture interpreted by reason, but most contemporary Unitarians and Universalists base their …   Universalium

  • Unitarian Universalism — (UUism) is a theologically liberal religion characterized by its support for a free and responsible search for truth and meaning. Unitarian Universalists do not share a creed; rather, they are unified by their shared search for spiritual growth.… …   Wikipedia

  • Unitarianism — This article is about Unitarianism as a theology. For other uses, see Unitarianism (disambiguation). Part of a series on Christianity …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”