Abstract

PLAATJIES VAN HUFFEL, Mary-Anne. From justifying war to justifying peace: a historical overview of the discourse in ecumenical circles (1905-2014). Studia Hist. Ecc. [online]. 2016, vol.42, n.1, pp.1-21. ISSN 2412-4265.  http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/2412-4265/2016/94.

Justice and peace have been central concerns for the World Council of Churches (WCC) since its foundation in 1948. A notable transition from a just-war position to a just-peace position has taken place during the course of time. This paper will attend to statements regarding just war and just peace, justice, peace, armaments and disarmaments issued during the past decades, as well as the Historic Peace Churches' influence on the discourse. At the end of the paper I will attend to the changeover of the global culture of violence in the direction of a culture of just peace and the movement of peace to the centre of life and witness of the church. Earlier the WCC embraced the theory of just war - currently just peace is being underscored. The Historic Peace Churches played a pivotal role in this transformation.

Keywords : World Council of Churches; just peace; just war; pacifism; crusade; Historic Peace Churches; armaments; disarmaments.

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