Geoffrey Fisher
Archbishop of Canterbury who chaired the session at Amsterdam on 23 August 1948 at which the World Council of Churches was constituted, and was nominated one of its first six presidents.
Fisher attended the first assembly of the World Council of Churches as a delegate of the Church of England (World Council of Churches, First Assembly: Official Report, p. 243, list of delegates, Church of England). He was in the chair on the morning of 23 August 1948 and, when the resolution had been adopted, declared the formation of the council completed (World Council of Churches, First Assembly: Official Report, pp. 27–28). The assembly’s nominations committee named him one of six presidents of the council (World Council of Churches, First Assembly: Official Report, p. 217, nominations of Presidents). See the World Council of Churches Is Founded.
In the timeline
- 23 August 1948, firm dateThe World Council of Churches Is Founded
Delegates of 147 churches from 44 countries, meeting in Amsterdam, constitute the World Council of Churches as a fellowship of churches that accept Jesus Christ as God and Saviour. The Roman Catholic Church takes no part.