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Boy looking out of the window of the train

As Europe feels the suffering of war, WCC Lutheran member churches share perspectives on war and peace

Sharing the concerns of World Council of Churches (WCC) Lutheran member churches around the world, a Lutheran confessional meeting took place during the recent central committee meeting at the Ecumenical Center in Geneva.

24 June 2022

WCC Pilgrim Team visits Armenia, stands in solidarity with those in need

After the recent war and its impact on the whole of Armenia and particularly in the region of Artsakh/Nagorno Karabakh, some pilgrims from the fellowship of the World Council of Churches (WCC) visited Armenia from 27 May to June 1.

14 June 2022

Among Sami community in Norway, “Invisibility has been our survival strategy”

From 31 May to 3 June, representatives from the Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace Reference Group, Working Group on Climate Change, and the Young People in the Ecumenical Movement of the World Council of Churches formed a Pilgrim Team Visit to indigenous Sami communities in the south of Norway.

13 June 2022

WCC-ACT delegation visits Russia, sees church response to refugees from Ukraine

Following a mid-March visit to Ukraine and the bordering countries of Hungary and Romania, a World Council of Churches (WCC) and ACT Alliance delegation visited the Russian-Ukrainian border area around Rostov-on-Don on 22-26 May.

02 June 2022

WCC visit to Italy harvests examples of the churches’ unconditional support to refugees and migrants

The Central Mediterranean route is the overseas crossing from North Africa to Italy. Those migrating on this route generally aim to reach Italian shores but leave from a variety of North African countries bordering the Mediterranean. Though in past years most migrants have departed from Libya, which is a destination for migrants as well as a transit country, there is also a proportionally small but growing number of departures from Tunisia, Egypt, and Algeria.

27 May 2022

Natallia Vasilevich: Christians in Belarus do not fear to be messengers of justice and peace

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.

28 April 2022

Man dressed in Orthodox religious garb speaking at podium.

Fr Ioan Sauca: “God is on the side of those who are suffering”

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.

14 April 2022

Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca and Dr Agnes Abuom outside the Ecumenical centre in Geneva

WCC leaders recall life-changing experiences from early days

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?

10 February 2022

Video feature

Webinar: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the ecumenical witness for justice and peace

Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s complex legacy is still lighting our way, webinar finds

At a 23 September webinar commemorating 90 years since the entry of Dietrich Bonhoeffer into the ecumenical movement and its witness for peace, speakers reflected on how Bonhoeffer’s wisdom has withstood the test of time and still illuminates the ecumenical movement today.

24 September 2021

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization

Faith communities vital in COVID fight because they are trusted, WHO chief says

Faith communities, governments, international organizations, foundations, the private sector, and civil society organizations are essential in every response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, told an interfaith gathering.

31 August 2021

St Gregory Cathedral of the Holy See of Cilicia in Lebanon.

Very Rev. Fr Hrant Tahanian reflects on how Divine Liturgy in Lebanon brings hope for the world

On Sunday 27 June, WCC central committee member the Very Rev. Fr Hrant Tahanian from the Armenian Apostolic Church (Holy See of Cilicia) attended Divine Liturgy in the Cathedral of the Holy See of Cilicia, in Lebanon.

06 July 2021

WCC-RevProfDr-IoanSauca-2021-photo-by-IvarsKupcis-06.jpeg

WCC acting general secretary reflects on building the bridges that contribute to peace

World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca offers reflections upon receiving the Bridge Builder Award for building bridges of understanding between people, nations, and communities at national and international levels. The award is presented by the Jury of the 14th August Committee Norway together with The Oslo Center.

02 July 2021

Arctic communities to WCC pilgrims: “We need your voice”

Lorraine Netro, who was raised in the Gwich’in First Nation of Old Crow, Yukon (Canada), is part of an indigenous community—but she’s also a global citizen.

“Today’s Arctic peoples are important members of global society,” Netro said. “The survival of Arctic cultures and communities remains tied to the wildlife and landscape of the Arctic Refuge.”

11 May 2021

Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan in the Monastery of Dadivank

War of 2020 was worst for Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan, who lived through three conflicts in Nagorno-Karabakh

Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan was the primate of the Diocese of Artsakh for nearly 33 years, living through three wars in the area known as Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh, and he says the one in 2020 that ended in November was by far the worst because of the lethal weaponry and armies involved.

25 March 2021

Women forced to flee their homes during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

Armenians fleeing war find open doors as churches offer shelter and hope

Armenians forced to flee Nagorno-Karabakh during last year's fighting in a conflict with Azerbaijan are thankful to churches and all those offering them shelter as many of their homes were destroyed by bombing or are now occupied by others.

25 February 2021

In preventing gender-based violence, “together we are stronger and our message is louder”

Rev. Dr Antti Laine is senior advisor for Theology and Ecumenical Relations with Finn Church Aid. He reflects below on how, while the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated gender-based violence, faith-based and humanitarian groups, can provide hope—especially when they work together.

10 December 2020

“Coventry Cathedral continues to speak a word of hope to the world”

The Right Reverend Dr Christopher Cocksworth is Bishop of Coventry, the senior leader of the Church of England in Coventry and Warwickshire in the United Kingdom. On 14 November 2020, Bishop Cocksworth, along with the Archbishops of Canterbury and York as well as more than 30 other bishops, issued a statement welcoming the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and calling on the UK Government to join it. The statement coincided with the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the bombing of Coventry and destruction of its cathedral.

10 December 2020