There’s a reason why Orthodox theologian and human rights lawyer Natallia Vasilevich prefers to speak of the role of Christians rather than the role of churches in Belarusian society.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) has, since the first day of the war in Ukraine and even in the months before, been working and praying earnestly for peace in this conflict and throughout the world. From the beginning, the WCC has called for an immediate end to armed hostilities, to stop the war and has appealed also for an immediate end to indiscriminate attacks with an escalating impact on civilians in Ukraine. WCC News met online with the WCC acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca to get the latest update on the work of the WCC.
After an armed gang in northern Nigeria killed eight people, injured two dozen more, and abducted some of the 400 passengers on a train, the Christian Association of Nigeria repeated demands for greater government security.
The Churches' Commission for Migrants in Europe - CCME released a statement that speaks about the response of Europe to refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine. The statement addresses the concerns of discriminatory treatment of non-Ukrainians and minority ethnic people in this context and the more general question that the generosity shown in recent weeks often has not been extended to those fleeing from elsewhere.
Below, Dr Torsten Moritz, general secretary at the Churches' Commission for Migrants in Europe, reflects on why church leaders requested such a statement, and what lies at the heart of some of their different inputs.
On 24 March, the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs of the World Council of Churches (WCC) hosted a webinar conversation which tried to answer the following question: “Statelessness, A Product of Racialized Nationality?”
Over hundreds of years, Sami El-Yousef’s ancestors have participated in the Holy Fire procession, carrying a banner representing one of the 13 oldest Christian Orthodox families in Jerusalem.
Father Issa Thaljieh can’t imagine living anywhere but the place where Jesus was born. He has been a Greek Orthodox parish priest at the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem for a decade.
This second publication of biblical reflections on statelessness presents new perspectives, including indigenous voices and reflections on the meaning of land. These texts can be valuable tools for discussion and reflection during Bible studies in congregations and communities around the world.
A campaign guide for churches concerned about autonomous weapons systems, also known as “killer robots,” has been released in English,French,German,Spanish,Arabic andPortuguese.
For Samira Dajani-Budeiri, the very soil on which she stands in Sheikh Jarrah is sacred. Her home and the ground on which it stands is wrapped in memories of her parents, her neighbors—and her wish to live in peace and dignity.
A church leader in South Sudan is urging the international community to keep its focus on the growing humanitarian crisis in the world’s youngest nation, as the globe beams its attention on the conflict in Ukraine.
The following feature story is part of a series that continues this year’s Easter Initiative, which offers a glimpse into the daily lives of Palestinians, Muslims and Christians, living in and around Jerusalem, some of the challenges they face, and what gives them hope. The concept of sacredness underscores these stories. Below, Sheikh Maher Assaf’s story, set in Bethlehem, speaks to the sacredness of worship, and how freedom of religion is key to achieving peace.
The following feature story is part of a series that begins this year’s Easter Initiative, which will offer a glimpse into the daily lives of Palestinians, Muslims and Christians, living in and around Jerusalem, some of the challenges they face, and what gives them hope. The concept of sacredness underscores these stories. Below, Yacoub Rajabi’s story speaks to the sacredness of human dignity—and the sacredness of life itself.
A five-day online training workshop, “Achieving Racial Justice Through Human Rights Mechanisms,” from 21-25 February, drew over 30 participants from 13 different countries.
While the World Council of Churches (WCC) deeply appreciates peace-building efforts in South Sudan, the WCC is also calling attention to the dire circumstances in which the people of South Sudan are still forced to lead their daily lives.
After heads of churches in the Holy Land voiced their objections to a proposal to expand Jerusalem Walls National Park to include property owned by several churches in the city, Israel's Nature and Parks Authority announced on 21 February that it was backing down from the plan.
At the end of a 9 February press conference — which followed a long day of videoconference meetings — Dr Agnes Abuom and Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauce fielded a surprise question: what first got them involved in the ecumenical movement?
A recent webinar, “Voices from Bethlehem: Christian Unity in the Birthplace of Jesus,” organized by the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome and the Methodist Liaison Office Jerusalem, offered a discussion of the importance of Christian unity in contemporary times in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus.
One hundred and thirty Jewish volunteers planted 400 olive trees last week in Palestinian villages, continuing their work even following at least one violent attack.