This ECPF event was hosted by the Jagellonian Club. The core questions touching the soul of Europe were on the table and attracted therefore a lot of attention and created a lively debate on how Christians should be involved in the public debate and in political live.

As ECPF manager Johannes de Jong had the opportunity to reflect on the trends in cultural and political debates in Europe and to explain the role of the ECPF in these debates. The relevancy in the cultural and political debates of a relational view at man and society was the focus of this kick-off of this seminar.

The second day of the seminar allowed a deeper reflection on the questions regarding the role of Christianity in Europe. Paweł Rojek of the Jagellonian Club reflected deeper on the question whether we can indeed talk about a ‘post-secular Europe’ and how Christians should play their role in Europe. The examples of the Arch of Triumph and the Crystal Palace were placed as the view at Europe as a secular project in the spirit of the French revolution or a multi-faceted Europe that allows religious and other worldviews to play their role in all aspects of society. From the perspective of the Crystal Palace Pawel Rojek drew a line to the role of Christians in this new Europe. He advocated for an approach that is convinced and deeply rooted in faith and vocal and active in civil society. The lecture was a clear starting point for a deep discussion that clearly stimulated a common reflection on the common role of Christians in Polish and European civil society. 

Marcin Kędzierski (President Jagellonian Club) took the challenge of the previous lecture one step further by presenting the ‘economy of communion’ as a Christian model that provides answers that address the roots of the current financial crisis. The economist Professor Luigino Bruni is the ‘father’ of this model for the economy and was also a speaker at the ECPF congress ‘Values, foundations for Europe’s economy’.

Johannes de Jong challenged those present to work together in civil society in his introduction to the final debate. This evoked a thorough discussion with many positive conclusions. Many organizations present decided to start or deepen their co-operation in order to become more effectively involved in Polish and European civil society.