Metropolitan Ambrosius of Helsinki (Orthodox Church of Finland)[/caption][caption id="attachment_3351" align="alignright" width="165"]
Rev. Dr Mari-Anna Pöntinen, general secretary of the Finnish Ecumenical Council, and Very Rev. Ilkka Sipilainen from the church council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland[/caption]On Saturday, 11 June, around 80 delegates from 21 European countries made their way to the Cultural Centre Sofia near Helsinki for the 11th Assembly of the European Christian Environmental Network. The Assembly offers a broad ecumenical platform and strengthening cooperation among representatives from different churches in Europe.
The delegates enjoyed dinner together and then joined for a plenary opening session. CEC Study Secretary and ECEN Secretary Peter Pavlovic offered first greetings to the group, who last gathered in Balatonszárszó (Hungary) in 2014. Metropolitan Ambrosius of Helsinki (Orthodox Church of Finland) welcomed the Assembly to Sofia, a retreat centre located in the woods by the sea. The Rev. Dr Mari-Anna Pöntinen, general secretary of the Finnish Ecumenical Council, and Very Rev. Ilkka Sipilainen from the church council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland introduced delegates to the local context in Finland.
More news will be posted to the CEC website at the end of each day.