B u d a p e s t – The European Baptist Federation (EBF) regrets that it has been denied closer cooperation with the other Protestant churches of Europe. The “Community of Protestant Churches in Europe” (CPCE) recently refused the EBF associate membership. At sessions of the EBF Executive Council in Budapest on 25 September, EBF General Secretary Tony Peck (Prague) expressed disappointment regarding the decision. Both church umbrella organisations had in the course of several years become better acquainted. Full CPCE- membership would not have been possible for Baptist as they are unwilling to soften their own understanding of baptism. Baptists practice believers’ baptism and view the infant baptism commonly practiced by CPCE-churches as unbiblical. Peck adds that Baptists also cannot accept the sacramental character of baptism as understood by CPCE-churches. A year ago Peck had already noted that Baptists were unwilling to become associate members “irregardless of the cost”. A joint closing paper from 2004, “The Beginning of Christian Life and the Essence of the Church” – Results of the Dialogue Between EBF and CPCE”, asks Baptists whether they are willing “to avoid any appearance of rebaptism when believers from a CPCE-church practising infant baptism come to them”. Peck regards this paper as positive, for it reflects the fact that Baptists are in conversation with other European Protestants. Baptists would have willingly continued these conversations as an associate member.

Yet the CPCE-Council meeting recently in Brussels rejected the Baptist application citing formal reasons. In a conversation with EBPS, CPCE-Studies Secretary Prof. Dr. Martin Friedrich (Vienna) stated: “The Council regards it as essential that the CPCE be in theological terms a church community and not a mere federation, alliance or conference.” One is therefore reluctant to formally create the status of associate member. Yet the Council remains hopeful that further dialogue between Baptist unions and CPCE-churches will take place on regional and national levels. Because the CPCE-Council is interested in expanding its contacts with Baptists, it intends to structure future relations “as if they were an associate member”. Baptists would therefore be invited to theological conversations and larger conferences. Prof. Friedrich also wants to review jointly with an EBF-representative past dialogues and reactions to the closing document and present them at the next CPCE-Council sessions in 2008.

Peck remains critical regarding this form of cooperation. The EBF prefers to structure its ecumenical contacts through the Conference of European Churches (CEC/Geneva).

The CPCE is an umbrella organisation representing 105 Protestant churches sharing “pulpit and table fellowship“. Its founding document is the “Leuenberg Concordia” signed near Basel in 1973. The EBF consists of 54 national Baptist unions and organisations with approximately 800.000 baptised members.