Course

Ecumenical Peacebuilding in Times of War: The Legacy of Stockholm 1925

Distance course with compulsory meetings online. Campus seminars provided.

In year 2025, a century has passed since Christians from different nations and church traditions gathered in an ecumenical world conference, the “Stockholm Conference.” The gathering, which took place in the anxious times of the inter-war period, involved engagement for peace and unity. This summer course entails in-depth study of the Stockholm Conference with a focus on ecumenical peace resources in face of conflicts today. The course implies exploring how the conference in 1925 laid foundations for an ecumenical movement that still today connects peacebuilding with dialogue, conflict management, and mutual learning between Christians from different traditions, nations, and cultures.

The teaching period takes place in June and the examination in August. The course provides the opportunity to participate in and contribute to the programme of the Ecumenical Week in Stockholm in August. In case financial support is needed for journeys and accommodation during the Ecumenical Week, the student applies for funding. See further information about the course on the UCS home page.

After the course the student is expected to:

  • demonstrate basic knowledge about ecumenical peacebuilding and its development during the last century;
  • display in-depth knowledge about the Stockholm Conference in 1925 and its impact on ecumenical peace work and cooperation between churches internationally and in Sweden;
  • show ability to analyse texts and speeches that concern issues of peace, unity, and coexistence between different traditions, nations, and cultures;
  • demonstrate ability to reflect critically and constructively the themes of the Stockholm Conference in relation to current issues in the contemporary field of ecumenism.

Abrecht, Paul (2004). “The Development of Ecumenical Social Thought and Action”. In A History of the Ecumenical Movement, Vol. 2 1948-1968. Fey, H. C. ed. Geneva: WCC Publications. 25 p. Accessible on the course platform.

ACT Alliance & World Council of Churches (2022). Called to Transformation: Ecumenical Diaconia. Geneva: WCC Publications. 60 p., selection. Accessible on the course platform.

Anaya Jimenez, Lani, Robinson, Matthew Ryan (2022). “Youth Agency in Peacebuilding: Reframing the Relationship between Youth, Leadership, and Religion”. The Ecumenical Review, Vol. 74 No. 5 2022. 22 p.

Bell, G. K. A. ed. (1926). The Stockholm Conference 1925. The Official Report of the Universal Christian Conference on Life and Work held in Stockholm, 19-30 August, 1925. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 110 s., selection. Accessible on the course platform.

Brown, Stephen red. (2024) 100 Years of Ecumenical Social Ethics and Action. The Ecumenical Review Vol. 76 No. 4 October 2024. 155 p.

Edwards, Denis (2016). “Earth as God’s Creation: The Theology of the Natural World in Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’.” Phronema Vol. 31 No. 2, 2016. 16 p.

Ehrenström, Nils (2004). “Movements for International Friendship and Life and Work 1925-1948.” In A History of the Ecumenical Movement Vol. I, 1517-1948, Rouse R. & Neill S. C., eds. Geneva: WCC Publications. 51 p. Accessible on the course platform.

Enns, Fernando (2022). “Toward an Ecumenical Theology of Companionship: The Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace as a Kenotic Movement.” The Ecumenical Review. Vol. 74 No. 2 2022. 16 p.

Gehlin, Sara (2024). “Hope and Imagination: Ecumenical Aspirations for Overcoming Violence.” Communio Viatorum: A Theological Journal Vol. 66 No. 1 2024. 23 p.

Gehlin, Sara (2020). Pathways for Theology in Peacebuilding: Ecumenical Approaches to Just Peace. Leiden: Brill. 48 p., selection.

Janjic, Milutin (2024). Theosis through Kenosis: Exploring the Legacy of Nicaean Ethics through the Lens of Orthodoxy, chapter in English from the anthology Detta är endast en begynnelse: Ekumeniska mötet i Stockholm 1925. Skellefteå: Artos. 16 p. Accessible on the course platform.

Karlström, Nils (2004). “Movements for International Friendship and Life and Work 1910-1925.” In A History of the Ecumenical Movement Vol. I, 1517-1948. Rouse R & Neill S. C., eds. Geneva: WCC Publications. 33 p. Accessible on the course platform.

Kunther, Katharina (2024). “Peak of Pacifying Ecumenism: Navigating Disillusionment and Challenges in Stockholm 1925.” Chapter in English from the anthology Detta är endast en begynnelse: Ekumeniska mötet i Stockholm 1925. Skellefteå: Artos. 11 p. Accessible on the course platform.

La Mela, Vera (2020). “An Ecumenical Key for Social Peace: Universal Fraternity in the Writings of Chiara Lubich.” In On Nations and the Churches: Ecumenical Responses to Nationalism and Migration: Proceedings of the 20th Academic Consultation of the Societas Oecumenica, Creemers J. & Link-Wieczorek U., eds. Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt. 11 p. Accessible on the course platform.

Murray, Paul D. et al. (2022) Receptive Ecumenism as Transformative Ecclesial Learning: Walking the Way to a Church Re-formed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 45 p., selection. Accessible on the course platform.

Pratt, Douglas (2021). “Looking Back, Looking Ahead. WCC Engagement in Interreligious Dialogue,” Current Dialogue/The Ecumenical Review Vol 73. No. 5 2021. 14 p.

Sereti, Maria G. (2018). “The Contribution of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to the Configuration of an Ecumenical “Integral Theology,” The Ecumenical Review Vol. 70 No. 4 2018. 10 p.

Compendium with historical source material: ca 80 p. Accessible on the course platform.

Literature for individual case study: 50 p.

Literature last revised on March 13, 2025.

The schedule is available at the latest one month before the course starts. We do not recommend that you print the schedule as some changes may happen.

Open the Schedule

Course Coordinator

Sara Gehlin

Teol. dr, Senior lecturer, Head of subject

sara.gehlin@ehs.se

Vera la Mela

Part-Time Lecturer

Grades

A = Excellent, B = Very good, C = Good, D = Satisfactory, E = Sufficient, Fx = Insufficient, F = Insufficient

Examination Format

  • Papers
  • Seminars

General requirements for university studies.

  • Completion of a course requires a minimum of 80% attendance at lectures and 100% attendance at seminars/group work and other assignments. Absence beyond that can be compensated by supplementing assignment(s) if the instructor finds it possible. In case of an absence of 50% or more, the course is considered as interrupted, even if assignments have been completed.
  • Students have the opportunity to take the exam according to the original course syllabus within two years after the course. If there are special reasons, such a re-examination can also take place later. Normally, teaching is not given according to an older syllabus. The possibility of exemption shall be decided by the president or vice president.
  • If a student due to disability has a decision from the EHS on special pedagogical support, the examiner shall, if necessary, adapt the examination and conduct the examination in an alternative way.

Established by Subject Representative College at Enskilda Högskolan Stockholm on May 8, 2024.