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- Do Not Do Separately What We Can Do Together
The General Assembly of the Conference of the Protestant Churches of the Latin Countries of Europe (CEPPLE) begins today in Stels, Grisons, Switzerland.
CEPPLE’s members come from all six countries of Western Europe in which at least one of the national languages is rooted in the Latin language of the old Roman Empire. These countries include France, Belgium, Switzerland, Portugal, Spain, and, of course, Italy.
In anticipation of this event, Sabina Baral recently conducted a brief interview with Pastor Gianni Genre, pictured above, who will conclude his service as CEPPLE’s president during this meeting. A transcript of that interview follows:
What have you learned from your service as president of CEPPLE?
It’s been a positive experience, but not without its concerns. On a personal level, my experience has certainly been enriching. As Italian Protestants, we always believe we’re the smallest and the weakest of all religious groups. What we must realize is that we can be a church without letting our diminished size overwhelm us and rob us of our determination, our hope, and our ability to smile.
Alongside this, however, we need to acknowledge the concerns caused by our diminished size with real effort and determination, including during the upcoming CEPPLE General Assembly. The choice to gather in Grisons in Switzerland is no coincidence. That choice was made at a time when some sister churches, especially the Swiss ones, like much of European Protestantism, are experiencing a period of retreat that risks undermining the very essence of ecumenical relations and solidarity. “Do not do separately what we can do together” has been and should continue to be CEPPLE’s watchword. Unfortunately, this watchword risks fading further in all eighteen of our member denominations at this time in which each church feels its first task must be to save itself.
What are the greatest challenges facing Protestants in European Latin countries?
Our history, which is to say the history of Protestants in Latin countries, is “the history of the unknown,” as Paolo Ricca, who frequently attended CEPPLE theological meetings and discussions, defined it.
If Paolo Ricca were still alive, he would perhaps say it is the history of the irrelevant as well as of the unknown. Of course, we wish and pray, at times, for our churches to survive, but we must recognize that our status as an infinitesimal minority can also constitute an opportunity in the ecumenical debate and in the role that churches can and must play in the public sphere. In short, as strongly minority churches, we are also freer to speak and authorized to act (with the few means we have at our disposal) in what Greeks called the agora or what English speakers call the public square that often recognizes us as interlocutors and as a voice to be listened to.
In 2012, CEPPLE became a regional group inside the Communion of Protestant Churches in Europe. Are CEPPLE churches able to influence the European Protestant debate?
I believe that the ideas that we put into circulation are discussed and often shared, but the voices of the larger Christian churches in Europe, including the Roman Catholic Church (with which we have also sought dialogue, for example on the lack of new candidates for ordained ministry), are also increasingly less listened to (for example in relation to their positions on ongoing wars, on social inequalities, on violence against women, and on how migrants are welcomed or not welcomed in our respective countries.)
CEPPLE continues to do small but valuable grassroots work, including encouraging and offering financial support to enable young Europeans to meet. Last summer, thanks to our help, forty young Italian men and women, including Baptists, Methodists, and Waldensians, were able to participate in the “Grand Kiff,” a meeting of young French Protestants. This has also happened on many other occasions for young people from Spain, Portugal, and other countries.
What role do Italian churches play within CEPPLE?
Our Baptist, Methodist, and Waldensian churches have always been attentive to CEPPLE’s work. They are aware that our very existence as churches is due to international relations and the help we have received, both past and present (today, thanks to our Otto per Mille donation, we can also make a significant contribution to many initiatives of foreign churches!)
But why are there still Protestant churches in Latin countries? The reason depends on God because it has no logical justification. The Protestant presence, for example in Italy, still exists only thanks to God; only God knows the reason. Statistically speaking, a Protestant presence in this country should never have existed and should certainly never have survived. Therefore, as Paolo Ricca said, we must resort to a term that is certainly not in fashion: predestination. Predestination is never synonymous with privilege, but rather with vocation and responsibility (including sometimes responsibilities that are very heavy to bear). We must stop worrying too much about our identity and try to find answers (even though the answers we find will always be partial answers) to the question Christ continues to ask us, today as yesterday, “Who do you say that I am?” CEPPLE also exists to try to answer this question, together with all the churches that are members of it.
CEPPLE was founded in September 1950 in Torre Pellice, Italy, at the instigation of the World Council of Churches. Over the years, three Waldensians have served as president of this organization: Pastors Salvatore Ricciardi, Ermanno Genre, and most recently, Gianni Genre.