International Council of Unitarians and Universalists
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The International Council of Unitarians and Universalists (ICUU) is a world council bringing together Unitarians, Universalists and Unitarian Universalists. The original initiative for its establishment was contained in a resolution of the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches of the United Kingdom in 1987. This led to the establishment of the "Advocates for the Establishment of an International Organization of Unitarians" (AEIOU), which worked towards the establishment of the council. The Rev. David Usher, a British Unitarian minister of Australian origin, proposed the 1987 resolution. However, the General Assembly resolution provided no funding.
The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) became particularly interested in the establishment of a council when it had to deal with an increasing number of applications for membership from congregations outside North America. It had already granted membership to congregations in Adelaide, Auckland, the Philippines and Pakistan, and congregations in Sydney, Russia and Spain had applied for membership. Rather than admit congregations from all over the world, the UUA hoped that they would join a world council instead. The UUA thus became willing to provide funding for the council's establishment.
As a result, the council was finally established at a meeting in Essex, Massachusetts on March 23-26, 1995. Rev. David Usher became the ICUU's first President.
The size of the member organizations varies widely. Some member groups have only a few hundred members; while the largest, the Unitarian Universalist Association, has over 200,000 members and is larger than all the other member groups put together.
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[edit] Members
[edit] Full Members
- Australia and New Zealand Unitarian Association (ANZUA)
- Canadian Unitarian Council
- Deutsche Unitarier Religionsgemeinschaft, Germany
- European Unitarian Universalists
- First Unitarian Church of Nigeria
- General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches, United Kingdom & Ireland
- Ijo Isokan Gbogbo Eda (Unitarian Brotherhood Church), Nigeria
- The Council of Unitarian Churches in India, which includes the Khasi Unitarian Union and the The Unitarian Christian Church of Madras
- Kosciol Unitarianski (Unitarian Church in Poland)
- Náboženská společnost českých unitářů (Religious Society of Czech Unitarians)
- The Unitarian Church in Hungary
- The Unitarian Church of Romania (Transylvania)
- Unitarian Church of South Africa
- Unitarian Universalist Association, USA
- Unitarian Universalist Association of Sri Lanka
- Unitarian Universalist Church of the Philippines
- Unitarian Universalist Society of Finland
- Unitarian Universalist Society of Spain
- Unitarians and Universalists, Pakistan
- Unitarisk Kirkesamfund, Denmark
- Indonesia Global Church of God
The Unitarian Universalists of Russia were a founding member of the ICUU. Its membership in the Council was officially dropped in 2007 because of persistent lack of activity.
[edit] Provisional Members
Churches and religious associations which have expressed their will to become members of the Council may be admitted as "Provisional Members" for a period of time (generally 2 or 4 years), until the Council decides that they have shown their organizational stability, affinity with the ICUU principles and commitment to deserve becoming Full Members of the Council. The latest Provisional Member of the ICUU was the Indonesia Global Church of God, which was admitted to full membership in 2007. Provisional Members are invited to Council meetings through a delegate but cannot vote.
[edit] Emerging Groups
- Burundi
- Congo
- Cuba (2 groups: the Unitarian Universalist Church and the Unitarian Universalist Religious Society)
- France (Association Fraternelle des Chrétiens Unitariens de France)
- Italian Unitarians
- Kenya
- Latvia (inactive)
- Mexico (2 groups: the Free Unitarian Congregation of Mexico, (LCUM) and the Unitarian Universalists of Mexico AC)
[edit] Associates
- Ulster Christian Unitarian Fellowship
- Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office (UU-UNO)
- Norwegian Unitarians (Unitarforbundet Bét Dávid)
[edit] Unitarian groups which are in contact but with no formal link to the ICUU
- Peace and Harmony Center -- Argentina
- Berlin Unitarian Church (Germany)
- Brazilian Unitarians
- Bolivian Unitarians
- Costa Rican Unitarians (apparently inactive)
- Croatia (UU Section of the Humanitas association)
- Icelandic Unitarians within the National Church of Iceland
- Doojin Christian Church (Japan)
- Free Unitarian Fellowship, Frankfurt-am-Main (Germany)
- Kenyan Unitarians
- Eglise Unitarienne de France
- Spiritual Seekers Society -- Hong-Kong (China)
- UU Fellowship of Puerto Rico
[edit] Principles and Purposes
PREAMBLE TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF UNITARIANS AND UNIVERSALISTS
We, the member groups of the International Council of Unitarians and Universalists, affirming our belief in religious community based on:
- liberty of conscience and individual thought in matters of faith,
- the inherent worth and dignity of every person.
- justice and compassion in human relations,
- responsible stewardship in human relations,
- and our commitment to democratic principles,
declare our purposes to be:
- to serve the Infinite Spirit of Life and the human community by strengthening the worldwide Unitarian and Universalist faith,
- to affirm the variety and richness of our living traditions,
- to facilitate mutual support among member organizations,
- to promote our ideals and principles around the world,
- to provide models of liberal religious response to the human condition which upholds our common values.
