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EEA3 will start on September 4, 2007. A colorful welcome party in the historic city of Sibiu/Hermannstadt will officially open the 3. European Ecumenical Assembly (EEA3) on Thursday, September 4, 2007.

Besides greetings of representatives of the host organizations, the Conference of European Churches (CEC) and of the Consilium Conferentiarum Episcoporum Europae (CCEE), the contacts of the participants are to the fore. There will be dancing, music, food and drinks on the three big places in the city.

Die persönliche Begegnung der Menschen ist ein wichtiger Aspekt der Versammlung, sagt Colin Williams, KEK-Generalsekretär. "Wir müssen uns besser kennen lernen und erfahren, welche Freuden, Sorgen und Hoffnungen die anderen beschäftigen.? In den nächsten Tagen erwartet die Delegierten ein dichtes Programm mit vielen verschiedenen Themenfeldern.

Die Begegnung von Ost und West, die Herausforderung der Säkularisierung und die Identität der Kirchen gehörten für ihn zu den wichtigsten Themen der Versammlung, erklärte Aldo Giordano, Generalsekretär der CCEE, zum Auftakt.The personal contacts of people is an important aspect of the assembly, Colin Williams, the secretary general of the CEC says. “We have get to better know each other and learn what kind of pleasures, problems and hopes the others are concerned in.” During the next days the delegates will have to cope with a tight schedule, including a large range of topics. In his opinion the encounter of East and West, the challenge of secularization and the identity of the churches seem to be the most important issues of the assembly, Aldo Giordano, the secretary general of the CCEE explains.

Today even terrorism, climate change and bioethics rate among those issues the churches had to deal with. „Christians self-confidently and hopefully may state: “We have to tell Europe something“, the president of the CEC, Jean-Arnold de Clermont, says. As an example he gives a reforestation program in Romania, which is sponsored by voluntary contributions of the participants.

Moreover, he hopes “that Sibiu will give a signal for more praying together, more singing together, more reading the bible together and more listenting to the Holy Spirit together.”1.538 delegates of the European churches are expected to come to Sibiu/Hermannstadt, to be added 44 guests and 23 persons, who will give a lecture.

A team of 42 persons, supported by 116 stewards and 300 volunteers, make sure things run smoothly. 300 journalists have registered in order to report about the the plenary sessions, the discussion forums and the other events. Part of the official list are also 46 artists, who provide for the social program. 15 translaters attend to the provision of the texts in the five conference languages English, French, German, Italian and Spanish.