The World Council of Churches was formally constituted on 23 Aug. 1948 in Amsterdam. In Feb. 2018 member churches numbered 348 from more than 110 countries.
Origin. The World Council was founded by the coming together of Christian movements, including the overseas mission groups gathered from 1921 in the International Missionary Council, the Faith and Order Movement, and the Life and Work Movement. On 13 May 1938, at Utrecht, a provisional committee was appointed to prepare for the formation of a World Council of Churches.