Willem Adolph Visser t’Hooft

Nationality

Netherlands

Date of Birth

1900

Date of Death

1985

Political
Preference

Willem Adolph Visser ‘t Hooft was a Dutch theologian and ecumenist. After studying theology at the University of Leiden, Visser ‘t Hooft worked in the Dutch Committee for European Student Relief and the World Alliance of Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) in Geneva. A member of the Dutch Reformed Church, Visser ‘t Hooft edited the ecumenical magazine The Student World from 1929 to 1939. Visser ‘t Hooft played a key role in the ecumenical movement and theology, for example through the design of a salvation-historical biblical theology discussing the meaning of Christ in history. Due to his ecumenical and theological work, he was suggested as the general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), while still only 37 years old, in 1938. During the Second World War, Visser ‘t Hooft organised a secret network between the resistance groups across occupied Europe, and governments-in-exile in London. He believed that the post-war Netherlands should undergo both a spiritual-ecumenical, as well as a political-progressive transformation. An advocate for the spiritual unity of Europe since before the war, Visser ‘t Hooft’s war-time experiences led him to support a federalization of Europe politically as well. He wrote a blueprint with Dietrich Bonhoeffer in 1941 titled ‘The Church and the New Order in Europe’. After the war, in 1949, he reiterated his views on European unity in ‘The Regeneration of Europe’.

When the WCC was finally established in 1948, Visser ‘t Hooft retained his position of secretary-general, which he held until 1966. During his time at the WCC, he advocated for unity between the member churches of the Council, and against individual churches identifying with any particular ideology.