The World Council of Churches' (WCC) Faith and Order Plenary Commission looked closely at the topic of church unity this week in a gathering purposed to "define the will of the churches on the issue of unity and to redefine the nature of the unity we seek," according to the WCC.

"We are called upon to open new horizons, trace new perspectives and specify our new visions in this call for unity, in order to emerge from the stalemates and crises of the ecumenical movement," said Metropolitan Vasilios of Conantia-Ammochostos in Cyprus on Wednesday before the gathering of a 152 theologians.

Commenting on the event's theme of, "Called to Be One Church," Vasilios said it's a theme that, "touches on the work of Faith and Order in its entirety, from its earliest beginnings as a movement for church unity and later as a WCC commission."

Opening the day's proceedings was former Faith and Order moderator Mary Tanner, who emphasized looking to previous achievements of the commission as a necessary means to sustain the integrity of the group's work.

"It's hard to read through the pages of Faith and Order's history without being struck by a deep spirituality, grounded in prayer," she shared, "which blossoms in friendships and in an experience of fellowship which inspires a commitment to unity."

Tanner recalled several important points from previous Faith and Order plenary sessions, including the three "requirements for visible unity" among churches, which she noted as, "the common confession of the apostolic faith; common sacraments and ministry; and ways of deciding together and teaching with authority."

Tanner also cited an exhortation given at the 1993 World Conference on Faith and Order, which said, "There is no turning back from either the goal of visible unity or from the sing ecumenical movement that unites concerns for the unity of the Church and concern for the engagement in the struggles of the world."

"We must find a way to build on what we have achieved, or else it will evaporate," she noted.

Scheduled to run until October 14, the Faith and Order Plenary Commission is seen as Christianity's most representative theological forum, according to WCC.