Ioan Sauca appointed acting general secretary of the World Council of Churches

Ioan Sauca has been appointed acting general secretary of the World Council of Churches until the WCC executive committee meets in June. The executive committee had planned to meet at the end of March, but that gathering was postponed due to concerns about COVID-19.

Sauca, who most recently served as deputy general secretary of the WCC’s ecumenical formation project, is from the Orthodox Church in Romania. Before joining the WCC in 1994, Sauca taught mission and ecumenism in Romania. He holds a doctorate degree in theology from the University of Birmingham, UK, and is also an alumnus of the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey.

Sauca will replace Olav Fykse Tveit who, after serving as WCC general secretary for two five-year terms, chose not to seek reappointment in 2020. —Christian Century staff