Meeting religious leaders
Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III...
...welcomed Samuel Kobia and the WCC delegation to the Holy Land. He expressed deep appreciation of the WCC's contribution to the cause of Christian unity, which, he said, goes beyond a simple "rapprochement" between Christian denominations. © Christo Asfour/WCC
Anglican Bishop Suheil Dawani...
...affirmed the importance, in building peace, of working at the grassroots of society and of including education for peace in schools. In the photo, the WCC delegation [from left to right]: Metropolitan Emmanuel (Adamakis) of France from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople; Ruth and Samuel Kobia; Bishop Dawani; Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, head of the Church of Norway's Council on Ecumenical and International Relations; and WCC central committee and youth body member Christina Biere, from the Evangelical Church in Germany. In the second row, Rev. Husam Naoum. © Christo Asfour/WCC
Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Michel Sabbah...
...told the delegation he welcomed the establishment of the WCC's Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum and stressed the need for concrete action to take place. "We are deeply grateful this initiative has been launched; now we want to see action." Roman Catholics are members of the regional ecumenical organization, the Middle East Council of Churches.
Armenian Apostolic Patriarch Torkom Manoogian...
...told Kobia he was following the creation of the Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum with great interest. "Israelis and Palestinians should live together side by side as children of God." © Christo Asfour/WCC
Syrian Orthodox Archbishop Swerios Malki Murad...
...gave the WCC delegation a detailed account of a major problem the Christian communities of East Jerusalem and the West Bank are facing - the lack of land and housing and the difficulty of getting building permits from the occupation authorities. © Christo Asfour/WCC
Lutheran Bishop of Jerusalem and the Holy Land Munib Younan...
...considers the recently launched Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum an expression of churches' willingness to take seriously the issue of a just peace in the region. "We, as a suffering church of Arab Christians, need churches of the world to help us to keep the hope," he says.
At a meeting with Maronite Archbishop Paul Sayah...
...the issue of inter-religious dialogue and cooperation was raised. He pointed out that in order to be effective, inter-religious dialogue in the region has to go down to the grassroots and involve young people. © Christo Asfour/WCC
Judaism
Issues of education for peace and reconciliation, inter-religious dialogue, public policies and common values were raised at a meeting with the two chief rabbis of Israel, Ashkenazi Rabbi Yona Metzger [center] and Sephardi Rabbi Shlomo Amar [right].
Islam
The Mufti of Jerusalem and Palestine, Sheikh Mohammed Hussein [center], stressed the good relationships that Muslims and Christians have enjoyed in Jerusalem during centuries. Mr Yusef Daher [left], executive secretary of the Jerusalem InterChurch Center, was a key local organizer of the WCC visit.
Shabbat service
The WCC delegation attended a Shabbat service at the synagogue Kol HaNeshama in West Jerusalem. When Rabbi Levi Weiman-Kelman [left] invited a prayer for peace at the close of the service, Kobia responded - in Swahili and English - with the St. Francis of Assisi prayer, "Lord, make me an instrument of your peace".
All photos © Peter Williams/WCC except when indicated otherwise
High resolution versions of these pictures are available upon request.