The Ecumenical Community of Taizé

Wojciech Szukalski

Adam Mickiewicz University , Poland

Abstract

The Ecumenical Community of Taizé is a sign of the attempt to unify all Christians. As its Founder claimed, implementation of the evangelical counsels is crucial to accomplishing this goal. Brother Roger pointed to celibacy, poverty and obedience as means of brotherly love. Celibacy also contributes to living in the spirit of freedom, which in turn results in greater love and becomes an evident sign of the Resurrected Christ and the approaching Kingdom of God. Poverty, which the brothers regard as a community of goods, allows them to have complete faith in God through the spirit of mutual dedication. The implementation of this evangelical counsel also bears fruit in the form of aid to those in need, thus becoming a sign of hope for the world. Finally, mutual service in the community implemented through obedience is the practice of imitating the relations within the Holy Trinity. After all, the purpose of life for each brother is to do God’s will. The implementation of the evangelical counsels is the underlying moral imperative to the Community of Taizé, which thus fulfils its apostolic and missionary vocations.