Shoki Coe: An Ecumenical Life in Context

Shoki Coe (1914-1988) was a pastor of the Taiwan Presbyterian Church who grew up in Japanese-occupied Taiwan and went on to become a champion of Taiwanese freedom, a pioneer of Asian theology, and an advocate of Christianity in the global south. This is his story, well researched and engagingly written by Jonah Chang. Coe was educated under Japanese rule and went to Cambridge for his ministerial education. He was involved in the ecumenical movement from the early 1950s, became a seminary president in Taiwan and championed a contextual approach to ministry and mission. He served from 1965 to 1979 with the Theological Education Fund, where his deep influence helped to change the paradigm for theology and ministry internationally. Coe's story documents not only the growth and maturity of the world-wide ecumenical movement and the navigation of East-West and North-South tensions but also the birth and legitimation of a distinctly contextual approach to world Christianity. This is translated from the Chinese.