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WCC welcomes meeting of Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill for unity and peace

Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), has issued a statement on behalf of the Council hailing the historic meeting of Pope Francis, pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, and Patriarch Kirill, primate of the Russian Orthodox Church.The two leaders met on 12 February in Havana, Cuba.

Annual meeting on interreligious dialogue

During World Interfaith Harmony Week, officials of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and WCC Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation staff met in Geneva for their annual meeting.

Presbyterian Church in Taiwan delegation visits WCC

A delegation from the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan, led by general secretary Rev. Lyim Hong-Tiong, was welcomed in Geneva by the WCC general secretary. Discussions focused on the situation of Christians and especially the situation for indigenous people in Taiwan.

Methodist Church in Kenya consecrates second woman bishop

A WCC member church in Kenya has consecrated its second woman bishop, Rev. Alice Muthoni Mutuma, on 31 January in Meru. Rev. Pauline Wanjiru Njiru, East Africa regional coordinator for the WCC Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiatives and Advocacy, attended the service and brought greetings from WCC.

Papal encyclical sparks reflections in International Review of Mission

Ecumenical cooperation among Christian traditions is “an indispensable path to evangelization,” according to the 2013 apostolic exhortation from Pope Francis titled Evangelii Gaudium, or “the joy of the gospel.” The latest issue of the journal International Review of Mission analyses the encyclical’s teaching in light of two other documents on mission agreed by the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism and the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization.

Latvia celebrates Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

In addition to ecumenical prayer and celebration – with the participation of Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic, Baptist, Adventist, Pentecostal, Methodist churches, and sometimes even representatives of the Old Believers’ community – Christian unity in Latvia usually takes the form of practical cooperation.

WCC/UN conference calls for coordinated action on refugee crisis

Following the WCC/UN High Level Conference on the Refugee Crisis in Europe, which took place at the Ecumenical Centre Geneva on 18-19 January, a statement has been issued entitled "Europe’s Response to the Refuge Crisis, From Origin to Transit, Reception and Refuge, A Call for Shared Responsibility and Coordinated Action”.

The moral dimension of climate change – and of courage to address it

Implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change sharpened discussion of the 2015 papal encyclical Laudato Si’ at a UN conference initiated by the Holy See and several permanent missions to the UN on 15 January in Geneva. Among the presenters were the president of the Pontifical Council of Justice and Peace, the apostolic nuncio to the United Nations and the WCC general secretary.

Jürgen Moltmann leads ecumenical reflections in Geneva

At the start of a new year of work at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, respected German theologian Jürgen Moltmann led a day-long series of presentations and discussions as a guest of the WCC on Wednesday, 13 January. He also responded to comments and questions on his new book, The Living God and the Fullness of Life (WCC Publications, 2016).

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity set to begin

As they prepared materials for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2016, Christians in Latvia reflected on this year’s theme from 1 Peter 2:9, “Called to proclaim the mighty acts of the Lord.” The week of prayer is traditionally celebrated from 18-25 January (in the northern hemisphere) or at Pentecost (in the southern hemisphere).

United Bible Societies: A world fellowship serving the churches

Bible Societies are working in more than 200 countries and territories around the world to make known the Word of God. At the heart of the work – from the translation of Holy Scripture to publishing, distribution and advocacy, and engagement activities – is the principle of collaborating with and serving the churches.