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World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay, on behalf of WCC member churches, said that the WCC cannot reconcile the Decree of the XXV World Russian People's Council describing the conflict in Ukraine as a “Holy War.” 

World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay, on behalf of the global fellowship, expressed grave concern regarding the recent escalation of violence in the Middle East following the first direct confrontation between Iran and Israel.

World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay sent a pastoral letter to Haitian brothers and sisters whose lives are lived in a land with hatred, violence, and suffering. “Although we might be physically distant, we are close to you in heart, in the spiritual sense,” wrote Pillay. “We all are children of God. We belong to one family, as Jesus Christ himself said.”

World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay condemned the killing of aid workers in Gaza, and extended condolences to the families and friends who are in shock and mourning upon hearing the news that an Israeli airstrike killed seven people working for World Central Kitchen.

The Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem published an Easter message that confirms Christ’s triumph over sin and death.

With an intervention delivered by Max Weber, a student at the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey, the World Council of Churches expressed deep concern for human rights in Haiti. 

On Palm Sunday, accompaniers from the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel walked in the traditional procession, carrying messages of solidarity with Gaza Christians during an especially painful time. 

The World Council of Churches (WCC) has published online new materials related to the 2024 WCC-EAPPI Easter Initiative: “Out of the darkness – Easter solidarity with the Holy Land.”

A World Council of Churches (WCC) Easter Initiative will lift up the call to roll away the heavy stone of violence, war and occupation, pain and suffering, and to remind the world of what is needed to bring about peace, to transform swords into ploughshares.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Jerusalem Liaison Office Advisory Group convened on 20 February under the leadership of WCC general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay. 

On the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay lamented the destruction of so many lives and called for an immediate end to the conflict.

Israeli president Isaac Herzog formally received World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay on 20 February, to discuss the current situation in Israel and Palestine, and the war in Gaza. 

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay and delegation met with Sheikh Azzam Khatib, director of Islamic Waqf in Jerusalem on 18 February, reiterating the WCC’s commitment to maintaining Jerusalem as a city of all three Abrahamic religions. 

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay met with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, West Bank, on 19 February, urging an end to the “seemingly endless cycle of violence and suffering.” 

Member churches, religious leaders and local Christian groups in Palestine and Israel—as well as Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli president Isaac Herzog—will meet with World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay as he visits the area beginning 16 February. 

On the 2024 International Day of Human Fraternity, observed 5 February, special events—including the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity—focused on bridging divides and promoting a culture of peace. 

Six ecumenical accompaniers have returned to Palestine and Israel, resuming in-person operations for the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel. Ecumenical accompaniers, who were evacuated beginning of October 2023, had been continuing their support and accompaniment online. 

The World Council of Churches (WCC), in partnership with CAPNI and UFUQ, is reaffirming its ongoing commitment to fostering sustainable peace through justice and inclusive citizenship in Iraq. This reaffirmation follows successful completion of a project to revise national educational curricula, promoting inclusive education and pedagogy.

As the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting commenced in Davos beginning 15 January, World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay urged the gathering to renew its commitment to multilateral cooperation for the longer-term good of all people. 

The forum is convening under the theme “Rebuilding Trust.”