The First International Christian Peace Academy (ICPA)

 

On April 6^th, and 13^th of 2024, HWPL hosted the International Christian Peace Academy (ICPA) online. Over 600 Christian pastors from 61 countries gathered to share and learn about the teachings of the different Christian denominations.

Prior to the ICPA, HWPL hosted the International Religious Peace Academy (IRPA) with the aim of spreading a culture of peace through education. The IRPA, as well as the ICPA, were planned and conducted in line with the UN General Assembly resolution (A/RES/53/243, 1999), and the Sustainable Development Goal 16 of “Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions”, as well as Article 10 of the DPCW (Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War) titled, “Spreading a Culture of Peace”. Religious leaders of the world could gather through the IRPA with sincere aspirations of learning about each other’s religions and teachings, thus embracing a culture of peace.

 

 

Furthermore, HWPL launched the International Christian Peace Academy (ICPA) as a platform where Christian pastors around the world could freely share and learn from each other based on sound doctrinal understanding. This is based on the fact that the divisions between numerous denominations within Christianity are rooted in different interpretations of the Bible, and that they run counter to the Christian spirit that emphasizes love and tolerance. In addition, the ICPA aimed to strengthen cooperation among pastors, lay the foundation for mutual respect, understanding, communication, and peace within Christianity, and resolve conflicts through the establishment of accurate Bible knowledge and exchange of teachings between denominations.

Christian religious leaders from the Anglican Church, Shincheonji Church of Jesus, Presbyterian Church, Orthodox Church, Catholic Church delivered short lectures on the topic of “Matthew Chapter 24 – the Events of Jesus’ Second Coming and Signs of the End of the Age” for the first week and on the topic of “Revelation Chapter 7 – 144,000 and Great Multitude in White of 12 Tribes of Israel Who Are Sealed” for the second week. Through the 15-minute long lectures, attendees were able to explore the doctrinal differences between each denomination and at the same time discover commonalities.

 

 

Dong-soon Lim, pastor of Yesarang Church, a Korean Baptist Christian church, shared his thoughts on the ICPA sessions, saying, “I was able to learn about the differences in views of the Bible between people from different denominations, and how the Bible is understood within each denomination.”

Through the ICPA lectures, HWPL hopes to help Christian leaders around the world gain diverse perspectives and a deeper understanding of biblical knowledge and play a leading role in establishing a culture of peace by resolving conflicts within Christianity.