A delegation from the World Council of Churches (WCC) is visiting Ukraine on 10-12 May to renew relations with churches and religious organizations and to explore possibilities of joint efforts to achieve just peace in Ukraine.
World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay expressed deep concern about the ongoing ethnic and communal violence which flared up last week in India’s north-eastern State of Manipur, involving the Hindu majority Meitei community and the mostly Christian Naga and Kuki tribal communities.
In a pastoral letter to the churches and people in Serbia, World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay expressed his deep sadness and shock at the tragedy that occurred at the Vladislav Ribnikar primary school in Belgrade on 3 May.
Church leaders in Papua, in a position statement directed toward government officials, said “the current situation is a human tragedy,” expressed grave concern about extrajudicial killings and other violence, and called for immediate measures for a sustainable peace.
A panel session on “Integrity Leadership: Towards Mutual Accountability and Transparency” was held 2 May as part of the Christian Conference of Asia’s Asian Church and Ecumenical Leaders’ Conference.
Pastor Joachim Leberecht, from Herzogenrath/Germany, has won the international Menno Simons Sermon Award from the Center for Peace Church Theology (University of Hamburg) together with the Mennonite congregation Hamburg-Altona.
There is an old Lutheran adage that to be Lutheran is to be ecumenical, so the theme of the upcoming Assembly of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) taking place in Poland, "One Body, One Spirit, One Hope,” is seen as totally appropriate for the times.
The National Christian Council of Sri Lanka, in a statement, expressed its strong opposition to a proposed Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) which aims to replace the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).
Dr Jørgen Skov Sørensen, general secretary of the Conference of European Churches, reflects on hopes for the upcoming assembly Tallinn in June, as well as on the role churches play amid the conflict in Ukraine.
Strengthening the link between Christian perspectives and practical action for human rights, a symposium on human dignity and rights took place in the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey on 25-26 April.
World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay visits Sri Lanka on 24-25 April, meeting with the National Christian Council of Sri Lanka, heads of churches, theologians, and government officials to discuss their deep contribution to the ecumenical movement.
Participating in a Ökumenetag (ecumenical day) in Karlsruhe, Germany, on 22 April, former World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Fr Ioan Sauca reflected back on the WCC 11th Assembly, and expressed deep gratitude to the host churches.
World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay is attending the 29th General Assembly of the National Council of Churches in India from 21-24 April at the Henry Martyn Institute, in Hyderabad, India.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) offered insights and participated in dialogue at the Youth Pre-assembly for National Council of Churches in India (NCCI), held 17-19 April in Hyderabad.
Organized by the India Peace Centre, the Youth Pre-assembly was held under the theme “The Hour has Come: The hour of Youth Building a World of Peace and Sustainability.”
In his first address after his election on 19 April 2005, Pope Benedict XVI pledged to work for the full and visible unity of all of Christ’s followers, Dr Stephen G. Brown, editor of the World Council of Churches journal The Ecumenical Review, has recalled in an address to a symposium in Dublin.
World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay shared warm greetings with the 68th General Assembly Meeting of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT).
After returning from a solidarity visit to Türkiye, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay and ACT Alliance general secretary Rudelmar Bueno de Faria appear in a video interview speaking about what they saw, how churches are working together, and their unique reflections on their visit—held 4-6 April—took place during western Holy Week.
During a solidarity visit to Türkiye in early April, a delegation from the World Council of Churches and ACT Alliance saw firsthand the devastation of the February earthquake, the needs of the affected population, and how churches are responding to that need.
