Between Stockholm and Lausanne

Abstract This article examines the relationship between the two ecumenical conferences in Stockholm in 1925 and Lausanne in 1927, which led to the creation of the movements on Life and Work and on Faith and Order, and which merged in 1948 to form the World Council of Churches (WCC). The conferences took place following the First World War amid fears of a new outbreak of war, and in this situation, fellowship was an important aim of those who met in the two cities. The article examines the search for the fellowship that characterized Stockholm and Lausanne, using the vision of an “ecumenism of the heart,” developed in connection with the WCC's 11th Assembly in 2022. The roots of such a search for unity inspired by deep mutual relationships can be found in the two movements that were inspired by the conferences in Stockholm and Lausanne.