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Archbishop Chrysostomos II, head of the Church of Cyprus died on 7 November at age 81 after a long battle with cancer.

An Inter-Orthodox Pre-Assembly held last week affirmed “the utmost importance of love” and a “call for unity, reconciliation, justice, and peace,” according to a communique jointly released from the 50 participants, which included delegates from 20 Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches.

Local host and head of the Church of Cyprus, Archbishop Chrysostomos II, welcomed members of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Inter-Orthodox Pre-Assembly at his residence in Nicosia, Cyprus, on 12 May, the Feast of Saint Epiphanius. The meeting acknowledged contributions from the Church of Cyprus to the ecumenical movement, as well as the aspiration of churches to see a united island, partitioned as result of the Turkish invasion in 1974.

Orthodox churches convened in Cyprus this week to prepare for the World Council of Churches (WCC) 11th Assembly, as well as to pray and reflect together on how to keep dialogue open amid the world’s grave challenges.

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”.

In the wake of recent crisis with the refugees in Europe, it is “absolutely and critically necessary that all European states take their proper responsibility in terms of reception and support for people seeking refuge, safety and a better future for themselves and their families. This cannot be left only to the states where they enter first,” says the WCC general secretary.

The “pilgrimage is both a way to continue working for the one ecumenical movement and a way to move forward in our times that offer new dimensions, opportunities and practices,” said the WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit.