oa Carte blanche voor ‘Getuigen’

The article summarizes some results of a study project on the ‘witness’-theme. The main developments in the witness theology and shifts of meaning of ‘witness’ and derivatives, in the documents of the World Council of Churches, the Vatican, and the Joint Working Group in the period 1948-1985, are indicated. For instance, in recent documents (especially of the JWG) ‘witness’ is no longer a strict missiological category, but it also includes purely ecumenical activities. Finally, the writer tries to explain the success of the concept, especially in recent documents: perhaps more than ‘evangelization’ or ‘mission’ the concept evokes modesty from the Christian witness, who can also talk (and live) out of experience.