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His All Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew arrived in Crete on 15 June, pledging to proceed with the Holy and Great Council, the long-planned meeting of Orthodox Churches there.

Vibrant opening worship held at Luyanó Presbyterian Reformed Church in Havana, Cuba marked the beginning of the executive committee meeting of the World Communion of Reformed Churches in Havana, Cuba from 7-13 May. The meeting was hosted by the Presbyterian Reformed Church in Cuba, a member church of the WCC.

The 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017 should be a profoundly ecumenical, as well as European and international celebration, according to Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, chair of the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany.

Reflecting on the relevance of religion in today’s world, WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit spoke at a sustainable development seminar in Rome on 4 May, posing a question to the participants: “Is religion able to bring hope to people of today?”

Future collaborative work of the Roman Catholic Church with the WCC was the focus of the latest meeting of executives of their Joint Working Group in Geneva.

Prayers for peace in Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas of Armenia and Azerbaijan were offered on 4 April in the chapel of the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland. Joining in the Geneva service of common prayer were staff from ecumenical and other international organizations including the WCC and the LWF.

The Faith and Order Commission’s convergence text “The Church: Towards a Common Vision” continues to be discussed by churches on a journey toward revealing the unity of the church and how it is inextricably bound on a pilgrimage of justice and peace.

Pope Francis was presented two publications of the World Council of Churches on 24 February, at the close of a papal audience in the Vatican attended by members of the WCC’s Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME).

Anglican, Roman Catholic and Methodist Churches in Aotearoa New Zealand are forming an ecumenical entity to pursue closer ties and share understandings.

In an age of religious pluralism and of religious justification of all manner of atrocities, how do religious communities contribute authentically to the public good?

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.

Twenty-seven international students from the Bossey Ecumenical Institute, Switzerland, are embarking on a future of ecumenism, dialogue and unity that began with months of intense study and fellowship.

The Lutheran World Federation and the Catholic Church will hold a joint ecumenical commemoration of the Reformation on 31 October in Lund, Sweden.

Anglican parishes in the United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough in the Republic of Ireland are seeking new paths and projects for 2016 after considering the results of a survey that identified successes and concerns among laity.

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.

The WCC Ecumenical Water Network is inviting member churches and supporters to reflect on water during Lent. For many in the world, water is either taken for granted or in desperately short supply.

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.

A small diaspora congregation of the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church observed the Joint Ecumenical Sunday of the Communion of Churches in India (CCI) in Geneva on 24 January.

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.

An ecumenical worship service on 21 January at St. James Cathedral in Riga, held during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2016, was vivid confirmation of the ecumenical efforts of Christians in Latvia.