CEEAMS
The Central and Eastern European Association for Mission Studies was inaugurated in 2002 on the initiative of those in a leadership position at chairs in missiology in Central and Eastern Europe, or Mission Institutes. Over the last few years missiologists from Central and Eastern Europe met at various conferences. At these meetings we realized that we all face more or less the same struggles in formulating and addressing the missiological issues of our "post-communist" contexts and in introducing a new discipline in the theological curriculum: missiology. It also became clear that we hardly knew of what each of us was doing in the area of research, teaching and publications.
Since this – pioneering – situation in Central and Eastern Europe differs so much from countries in e.g. Western Europe where missiology has been well established for many years, the need was increasingly felt to establish a special Central and Eastern European international and interdenominational platform to serve and coordinate the small initiatives in this field, linked internationally to the International Association of Mission Studies.
The growing significance of the region’s contribution to wider missiological research and discussion is evidenced by the involvement of a number of CEEAMS members in confessional and inter-confessional processes, specifically the European Mission Research Project of the Conference of European Churches, the Leuenberg Fellowship, the International Association of Catholic Missiologists, the Commission for Ecumenical Theological Education of the World Council of Churches, the Council for East European Theological Education, and key Orthodox mission programmes, including a soon to be published biography of Orthodox missionaries.
The aims of CEAMS are similar to those of IAMS:
– To promote the scholarly study of theological, historical and practical questions relating to mission in Central and Eastern Europe
– To disseminate information concerning mission among all those engaged in such studies and among the general public;
– To relate studies in mission to studies in theological and other disciplines
– To promote fellowship, cooperation and mutual assistance in mission studies
– To organize international conferences of missiologists
– To encourage the creation of centres of research
– And to stimulate publications in missiology
To reach those aims the following plans will be pursued:
– To organize annual conferences
– To establish a missiological journal for CEE
– To launch study projects like the IAMS one: "Rescuing the memories of our people".
Membership of the CEEAMS is open to those active in research into or in the practice of Christian mission and to institutions active in this field. A moderate membership fee was established.
