Schirrmacher is no longer Secretary General

Thomas Paul Schirrmacher has resigned as General Secretary of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA)

A CONTRIBUTION BY ANNA LUTZ, PRO CHRISTLICHES MEDIENMAGAZIN

As of 1 April, Thomas Schirrmacher is no longer General Secretary of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA). This was announced by the evangelical organisation on Tuesday.

Schirrmacher told PRO that he had problems concentrating, memorising numbers and finding words due to a long Covid disease. In particular, the many journeys that his office entailed had become increasingly difficult for him. For therapy, he would have to withdraw for a longer period of time, which is simply not possible as Secretary General.

According to the WEA, an interim management team, led by the previous Chairman of the International Council, Goodwill Shana, will now take Schirrmacher’s place for a maximum of six months. A new Secretary General is to be found during this time.

No farewell to retirement

Schirrmacher was hopeful that he could be well cured. In the future, he will therefore by no means retire, but will once again be more active as President of the International Institute for Religious Freedom. He has held this position since 2021 and was previously Director of the organisation. On the other hand, there are plans to expand a centre for interreligious dialogue in Bonn, in which he will also be involved.

Schirrmacher is regarded as a leading expert on the persecution of Christians; he has worked as an expert for the German Bundestag on several occasions and will also be speaking in the Human Rights Committee in April. In 2015, Schirrmacher took part in the Catholic Synod on the Family convened by Pope Francis. Schirrmacher is also an advisor to the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches.

Tags: Evangelicals, Evangelikalismus, World Evangelical Alliance