Friday September 12 2014
'"CHRISTUS VICTOR"
Christian Youth meet at Amsterdam
“AH, you come from Scotland? I recognise the symptons.” With these word a Chinese greeted a kilt-clad member of the Scottish delegation to the World Conference of Christian Youth held in Amsterdam from 26th July – 2nd August. One had every sympathy with him, for not all the delegates wore a national dress that was easily recognisable. It was, therefore, in the early stages at least a joy to discover among the 1350 official delegates from 71 countries – representing 220 separately organised religious groups and national churches – some one whose “symptoms” of dress or colour gave an immediate clue to the land of his birth.
What was this World Conference of Christian Youth at Amsterdam? For many it was a living lesson in geography – meeting people from Iraq and Iran, Bohemia and Bulgaria, China and Chile, Mauritius and Madagascar, Syria and Transjordania. To others it was a lesson in Church History – a place where Orthodox, Lutheran and Reformed all met under the banner “Christus Victor.”
To many of us in Scotland it meant the discovery of our own differences; for in a delegation numbering nearly 40, the Church of Scotland had 10 places, while the United Free Church, the Original Secession, the Baptist, Congregational, Methodist and Episcopal were also represented – to say nothing of the S.C.M., the Y.M.C.A., and the Y.W.C.A.
It was a memorable sight on that Monday afternoon as we gathered expectantly in the massive Concert Hall at Amsterdam to receive an official message of greeting from Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, and heard a personal greeting from Prince Bernhard.
That same evening we reassembled to worship under the leadership of the Archbishop of York. For most of the members this was the first experience of worship in three languages, and the opening hymn “All creatures of our God and King” sung, each in his own tongue, by the English-, French-, and German-speaking delegates, will long remain a memory. As someone said, “It was an experience of something between the Tower of Babel and Pentecost.”
Each day started with a period of worship, when the form used was either one of the traditional forms, or one of those being evolved among the younger Churches. The remainder of the morning was spent in smaller groups in Bible Study. Here again, though different approaches to the Bible were evident, the uniting factor of sitting together at the feet of Christ and of studying God’s Word brought a real and permanent value to the individual members. The afternoons were all too short for sight-seeing in a town so rich in interest as Amsterdam, but by 4.30 we were all back again in the small groups studying and discussing under expert guidance one of the seven topics prepared.
So much for a general outline of the Conference. It only remains now to share one or two impressions, to tell of moments that live. The first is of the Friday night. The hall was full, listening to Dr T. Z. Koo of China. There was a silence that was eloquent as we heard him speak of the change from a false nationalism to a true Christianity that he himself had undergone. “Brotherhood is for the internationalist a goal to achieve,” he said. “For the Christian it is a present reality, and therefore I must love the Japanese who are my brothers.”
On the Sunday there was a celebration of Holy Communion for Anglicans at 8.30 a.m., and again for Lutherans at 6.30 p.m. The majority of the delegates attended the simple celebration of the Lord’s Supper in the historic Nieuwe Kerk. As those intending to communicate moved up, according to the Dutch Reformed practice, and took their seats, 100 at a time, at the table prepared, one could not but be impressed by the scene. There, with Prince Bernhard, ordinary members of the congregation, and Conference delegates, all seated round the Lord’s Table, one felt that indeed it was becoming true that
In Christ there is no East or WestIn Him no South or North.
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