Philip Potter (church leader)

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Philip Potter at the World Council of Churches congress in Utrecht
(1972)

Philip Alford Potter (19 August 1921 – 31 March 2015) was a leader in the

General Secretary of the World Council of Churches
(1972–1984).

Early life and work

Potter was born at

Catholic
father.

He was active in church matters from an early age, and then became a lay

Oslo, Norway, then was a spokesperson for youth at the first two assemblies of the World Council of Churches (WCC), at Amsterdam (1948) and Evanston (1954). In 1984 Potter received an honorary doctorate
from the Faculty of Theology at Uppsala University, Sweden. [1]

World Council of Churches

Potter moved to Geneva in 1954 to work in the WCC’s youth department, and remained with the WCC until his retirement. He was the chairperson of the World Student Christian Federation from 1960 to 1968. From 1972 to 1984, he served as the WCC’s General Secretary. He was the first president of WSCF's Centennial Fund. He is considered a leader in world ecumenism.

In a speech on the occasion of his 85th birthday, at the WCC's 9th Assembly at

Porto Alegre, Brazil in February 2006, Samuel Kobia (then General Secretary of the WCC) remarked, "Great strides were taken by the World Council of Churches under Philip Potter’s leadership; among the most memorable were the development of the theological consensus document Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry, the continuation of a courageous campaign against apartheid in southern Africa and other forms of racism throughout the world, a vigorous debate on the nature of post-colonial Christian mission, a co-ordinated witness for peace amid East-West tensions and the threat of nuclear annihilation, as well as an exploration of new forms of spirituality, worship and music
drawing on the diverse traditions of the churches."

In November 2009 the WSCF launched the Philip Potter Fund. This Fund is to support Ecumenical Leadership Formation of young people through the WSCF. In conjunction with the WSCF event in November the WCC renamed its library The Philip Potter Library.

Personal life

Potter's first wife, Doreen, the daughter of a Jamaican Methodist minister, died of cancer in 1980. In 1985, Potter married Bärbel Wartenberg, later Bishop of Lübeck, Germany 2001-2008. He died on 31 March 2015 in Lübeck, Germany.[2]

References

  1. ^ "Honorary doctorates - Uppsala University, Sweden". Uu.se. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  2. ^ "World Council of Churches lauds Philip Potter, one of its most famed leaders". Ecumenical News. Retrieved 1 April 2015.

External links

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