Archbishop Anastasios was unanimously elected as President of the World Council of Churches during the 9^th General Assembly, in which approximately 700 representatives from 348 churches (Orthodox, Anglican, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Methodist, Reformed, Baptist, etc.) participated from 120 countries throughout the world. The theme of the Assembly was “God, In Your Grace Transform the World,” and it took place on February 14-23, 2006, at the Pontifical University of Rio Grande do Sul in Porto Alegre, Brazil.

Around 4,000 people from different backgrounds participated in the Assembly, including participants from the Roman Catholic Church, who have enthusiastically taken part in the activities of the WCC during the last several years. Archbishop Anastasios was the first speaker during the Opening Prayer Section and he was also the moderator for the meeting entitled “Religious Plurality: Embraced or Feared.”

 The Assembly elected 150 members for the Center Committee and 8 Presidents from different continents who are going to direct the World Council of Churches for the next 7 years while simultaneously promoting the ecumenical movement.

 Some of the main themes of the Assembly were: Consensus decision-making, the unity of the Church, Christian identity and religious plurality, economic justice, overcoming violence, overcoming poverty, the problem of AIDS, Latin America and it problems, etc.

 The Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania has been a member of WCC since 1994. Archbishop Anastasios has been a member since 1963.  He has headed many Committees such as the “Dialogue with People of Other Religions, Beliefs and Ideologies.” He also has been the President of the “Committee for Missions and Evangelization” and of the “World Mission Conference” in San Antonio Texas in 1989, and also the main speaker at different world meetings.

 The World Council of Churches has helped the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania in her struggle to rebuild and continues to offer financial assistance for many programs of the Church in Albania.

 Tirana, February 27, 2006