An historic gathering of 250 Christian leaders from all over the world will take place in Edinburgh next year.

Leaders from the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Evangelical and Pentecostal churches, including the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, who will deliver a keynote address, are expected to attend Edinburgh 2010.

The five-day international, multi-denominational summit, commemorating the 1910 World Missionary Conference, runs from 2-6 June at the Church of Scotland Assembly Hall on the Mound and the Pollock Halls, Holyrood Park Road, where it is hoped new perspectives for Christian mission for the 21st century will emerge.

The Rev Andrew Anderson, chair of the Edinburgh 2010 General Council, and minister at the city’s Greenside Parish Church, said: “This is a complex and challenging event to organise, given the wide range of representation from the World Church, but it is immensely exciting and we have received already the kind of world-wide support and commitment that promises to make it really successful."

He added: “This is a unique project bringing together in an unprecedented way the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Pentecostal, Anglican and Evangelical Protestant Christians from around the world to work out a common vision for mission in the 21st century."

On the final day of the conference, delegates are expected to be joined by 900 local and international visitors for worship, with many more following the proceedings online.

There is already a global discussion set up on Facebook, Twitter and the Edinburgh 2010 website (www.edinburgh2010.org) as well as a youth writing and multimedia contest.