New York, NY – October 23, 2017
At the invitation of the Kosova Protestant Evangelical Church (KPEC), the Secretary General of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) visited Kosovo to be the main speaker in a series of events highlighting the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation.
Today, Bp Efraim M. Tendero paid a visit to his Excellency Hashim Thaçi, President of the Republic of Kosovo. He was accompanied by Pastor Driton Krasniqi, president of the Kosova Protestant Evangelical Church (KPEC), which is WEA’s member body in Kosovo, and the director for the commemoration of the 500th Anniversary of the Protestant Reformation in Kosovo, Pastor Femi Cakolli.
Bp Efraim Tendero, WEA Secretary General (left), meets with the President of the Republic of Kosovo, Hashim Thaçi. (c) KPEC
During the meeting, Bp Tendero expressed his gratitude to President Thaçi for supporting the weeklong Reformation celebrations. He also commended the President for upholding freedom of religion in Kosovo and promoting religious harmony among different faith groups, encouraging the continuous observance of such provisions for all religions in future amendments of these laws.
President Thaçi responded by expressing his appreciation for the anniversary celebrations, which are consistent with the government’s policy for promoting inter-faith dialogue and understanding among different faith groups in the country. The President also shared about the peace and reconciliation initiatives that his office has undertaken in order to bring closure to the past history of violence in the country. And he appreciated the role of the Protestant Evangelical Church in contributing to religious harmony as well as their engagement in community development.
At the end of the visit, Bp Tendero presented the handbook ‘Evangelicals Around the World’ and a plaque of appreciation on behalf of the WEA. A set of rare publication of titles from the Albanian history of Protestantism was also presented to the library of the Office of the President. Pastor Krasniqi restated the KPEC’s invitation for President Thaçi to address the 500th anniversary commemoration event, where leaders from academia, media, business, religion and government will be present.
Bp Tendero then offered a prayer for the President asking for wisdom and guidance for the progress, peace and prosperity of the Republic of Kosovo.
For more information on Kosovo Protestan Evangelical Church, visit kishaprotestante.net/en/
Download photos in high resolution:
– Photo 1: Bishop Tendero and President Thaçi
– Photo 2: KPEC leaders, Bishop Tendero and President Thaçi
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Over two billion Christians in the world today are represented by three world church bodies. The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) is one of those, serving more than 600 million evangelicals. Launched in 1846 to unite evangelicals worldwide, the WEA continues to be a dynamic movement with 7 regional and 129 national Evangelical Alliances, and over 150 member organizations. WEA's mission is to establish and strengthen regional and national Evangelical Alliances, who in turn enable their national Church to advance the Good News of Jesus Christ and effect personal and community transformation for the glory of God. For more info, e-mail [email protected] or go to Worldea.org.
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