Norwegian to lead WCC

Olav Fykse Tveit, a pastor of the (Lutheran) Church of Norway , was elected general secretary in late August during a meeting of the World Council of Churches Central Committee, its main governing body. Tveit, 48, is currently general secretary of the Church of Norway Council on Ecumenical and International Relations. He succeeds Samuel Kobia, a Kenyan Methodist who was the first African to hold the post. Kobia will step down at the end of the year. The Geneva-based WCC includes 349 member churches, principally Anglican, Orthodox and Protestant denominations.