The setting is an old chateau outside Geneva, where students from around the world come together to learn and practice ecumenism by living and praying with people from different traditions, and sometimes encountering different faiths; it's 80 years old.

It is called Bossey, set in an idyllic country setting away from the madness of the city, with beautiful mountain views and overlooking one of Europe's biggest inland bodies of water, Lake Geneva, where intense discussion often takes place.

The Ecumenical Institute of the World Council of Churches has never had more than a few score of students, but its message has spread worldwide.

Speaking at a ceremony marking Bossey's 80th birthday on Sept. 9, WCC general secretary Rev. Jerry Pillay said, "To remember Bossey faithfully is to ask what Bossey is becoming," Pillay urged.

"We live at a moment of profound global transformation," he said. "In such a world, ecumenical formation is not a luxury. It is a necessity."

Greetings poured in from across the ecumenical arena with the Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarch, Bartholomew, in a video message, expressing affection for the institute, recalling his own studies there.

"Since October 1946, the Chateau de Bossey has welcomed students from every Christian tradition and from every corner of the world," he said.

"It is fitting therefore that this anniversary should be marked by the gathering of Bossey's alumnae and alumni, for they are the truest measure of what these 80 years have accomplished."

Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, noted in a written greeting that Bossey's history is closely interwoven with the deepening relationship between the Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches.

"The establishment of the Joint Working Group in 1965, the first meeting of which was held at Bossey in May 1965, opened a new and enduring chapter of dialogue and practical cooperation," he wrote.

"Bossey soon became one of its particularly fruitful expressions.

Metropolitan Anthony, chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, wrote in a greeting that several Russian Orthodox Church representatives have gained invaluable experience in inter-Christian dialogue at Bossey.

Indeed, since its creation in 1946, the WCC's Ecumenical Institute at the Château de Bossey has described itself as an "ecumenical laboratory."

          -- RIGOROUS STUDY AND DEBATE

It says it offers an academic platform of rigorous study guided by a world-class faculty where acute and complex challenges confronting the churches are debated and analyzed.

At the anniversary ceremony, Pillay reflected on the theme, "From Vision to Viability: Restating Bossey's Mission for a Changing World."  

Bossey students in the chapel of the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey. Photo: Peter Kenny/WCC in 2019

He noted that 80 years is not simply a milestone to be commemorated. "It is a history to be remembered, a vocation to be discerned, and a future to be embraced," he said.

Yet, he also said, "Bossey must move from viability to visibility."

"Here, classrooms have become places of encounter," he said. "Prayer has become a school of communion."

Talk to alumni, staff and those currently studying; they all enthuse about how Bossey shaped their formation, consciousness and awareness of the world around them as they engage in globally unique studies.

Virtually to the person they will tell you it is not just stimulating coursework or the setting that impacts them; it is the interaction with others from different countries, church traditions, and even on occasion from other faiths, with a diverse faculty to offer guidance.

Fr Lawrence Iwuamadi, a Roman Catholic priest, who has served as the academic dean at Bossey since January 2018, always has a twinkle in his eye when he talks about his beloved Institute and notes that what matters each year is not simply the coursework.

The Ecumenical Institute draws students and researchers from around the world for residential academic study.

It focuses on pressing issues in the ecumenical movement and the world through studies in ecumenical theology, missiology, social ethics and ecumenical hermeneutics.

Pillay noted that dialogue has become a form of discipleship. "This is the Bossey we remember," he said. "Yet Christian remembering is never simply nostalgia."

Diversity is a given in Bossey. Take the 2019-2020 year intake of students.

Among the 32 students who started that academic year, 19 countries were represented. These include China, Cuba, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, Korea, Madagascar, Nigeria, Romania, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Ukraine, and the United States of America.

Iwuamadi said back in 2019, "At Bossey, we give the academic content, but I would say that normally the core of our formation comes from what happens outside the classroom.

"That is students living together, praying together, eating together, sharing a life in common. So lived ecumenism is not simply an academic activity. And the uniqueness of this year is the distinctiveness of the students."

In his 2026 speech, Pillay said that the biblical tradition remembers in order to discern God's faithfulness and God's future,

He said. "When Israel remembers the Exodus, it is not merely recalling an ancient event," he said. "It is remembering who God is and therefore how God's people are called to live."

Pillay urged that remembering Bossey faithfully means asking what Bossey is becoming. "We live at a moment of profound global transformation," he said. "In such a world, ecumenical formation is not a luxury. It is a necessity."