Statement on Zimbabwe by the General Secretary of the World Council of Churches
Concerned about the integrity of elections, the World Council of Churches Central Committee stated recently that, "...in democratic systems, elections serve as a way for people to confer legitimacy on a participatory democratic political system. In order to ensure that an election truly reflects the will of the people, attention should be paid to pre- and post-electoral mechanisms."
24. April 08
Syria sets example for good relations between Christians and Muslims and hospitality to refugees
"Islam cannot be studied like grammar," Patriarch Ignatius IV (Hazim) of the Greek Orthodox Church in Syria, told a delegation led by Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), who had come to Syria wishing to learn from the country's long experience of Christians and Muslims living peacefully together. "We have to see the real people and share with them. Muslims are sharing with you by living...
24. April 08
WCC delegation met with Syria's Assad
Syrian president Bashar al-Assad emphasized the value of religious diversity in the Middle East in talks with a WCC delegation in Damascus recently, including Syria's historic Christian communities. Assad also said he sees a possible opening for negotiations with Israel. The delegation appreciated Syria's efforts in dealing with a large influx of Iraqi refugees.
Former WCC general secretary honored by South Africa
(ENI) The Rev. Philip Potter, a former general secretary of the World Council of Churches, has been honoured by South Africa for his efforts to combat racism and apartheid in southern Africa.
22. April 08
WCC delegation visits Christians in the UAE
Appreciation for the good work done by churches in the Gulf region was expressed by the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia at the end of a 17 to 19 April visit to the United Arab Emirates.
18. April 08
The passing of Krister Stendahl, an eminent ecumenist
Krister Stendahl, eminent ecumenist, New Testament scholar, former bishop of Stockholm and dean of the Harvard Divinity School, died Tuesday in Boston at 86 years of age. Best known in the wider ecumenical movement for his attempts to bring Christians together at the ecumenical table, he challenged them to see the beauty and value in other religious traditions.
17. April 08
Migration: Welcoming the stranger is not optional, says WCC
"Migration is a fact of life. It is as much an instinct to survive as it is an inevitable consequence of globalization. We can neither turn our backs on it, nor control it," declared in a statement participants at a 15-16 April Public Hearing on Migration and the Changing Ecclesial Landscape in Beirut, Lebanon. "Migrants are not commodities, illegal aliens or mere victims, they are human beings."
17. April 08
"Ignored by the whole world" - a visit to Yambio, Sudan
Metropolitan Dr Zacharias Mar Theophilus, from the Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malabar, India, was a member of an ecumenical team that recently visited Sudan's Yambio region. The capital city of West Equatoria state, close to the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Yambio is green and fertile. "But the people we met there feel ignored," says Metropolitan Theophilus, "ignored by Khartoum, ignored by Juba, ignored by...
15. April 08
Lebanon: Muslims and Christians tackle migration together
"Migration is a human concern, not a Muslim or a Christian one, and therefore Christians and Muslims must act on it together." Representatives of Lebanon's six most numerous faith communities shared this view as the Public Hearing on Migration and the Changing Ecclesial Landscape was officially opened in Beirut on April 14.
14. April 08
Bringing hope to a broken world
"The ecumenical movement is only faithful to the Gospel, if it is a movement of hope confronting itself with the reality of the severe threats to life that people are facing in today's world", said the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia in Lunteren, the Netherlands, on Friday 11 April.