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The World Council of Churches’ Ecumenical Institute at Bossey is inviting emerging and senior scholars from diverse Christian traditions to join an international conference that will delve into the ecumenical significance of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea (325 CE) and its relevance in today’s rapidly changing world. 

The smiles of students graduating from the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey picking up their credentials showed they experienced something unique that will bind them as they return to their different corners of the world.

Students from the World Council of Churches (WCC) Bossey Ecumenical Institute will begin an 8-day study visit to Rome on 19 January, with a full programme that includes lectures, tours of the Vatican, and opportunities to interact with leaders from the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity.

As the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting commenced in Davos beginning 15 January, World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay urged the gathering to renew its commitment to multilateral cooperation for the longer-term good of all people. 

The forum is convening under the theme “Rebuilding Trust.” 

Applications are open for the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey’s 2024 interfaith summer course, during which students earn a Certificate of Advanced Studies in Interreligious Studies.

In a message after COP28, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay reflected more deeply on the disappointments, successes, and future agenda related to climate justice.

From 4 to 9 December 2023, thousands of people convened in Harare, Zimbabwe, for the 22nd International Conference on Aids and STIs in Africa (ICASA). Scientists, medical experts, advocates, people living with HIV, and civil society organizations came together under the theme “AIDS IS NOT OVER: Address inequalities; accelerate inclusion and innovation.” Participants from many faith traditions were a meaningful part of many of these representative groups but also took up a space of their own.

Though COP28 failed to produce a credible plan to phase out fossil fuels, there is still reason for hope that the world can move toward climate justice, said World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay as COP28 concluded.

His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew addressed an assembly of religious leaders gathered at the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Centre on 12 December—the day before the opening of the Global Refugee Forum. 

A COP28 side event on 10 December, entitled “Faith communities have a moral imperative to address Water-food-climate Justice,” reimagined a world in which climate action policies help create a habitable world for all.

On 9 December, during a COP28 side event titled "Faith communities & resilient frontliners responding to the nexus of food-water-climate change,” 12-year-old Faith Sebwa had a clear message to the world. 

On 10 December, Blue Communities across the world—including the World Council of Churches (WCC)—are urging all levels of government to protect water resources from financial markets and corporate interests. 

Faith communities have delivered a statement to COP28, expressing their alarm over the over the accelerating climate emergency, and calling for phasing out fossil fuels. 

The World Council of Churches (WCC), in collaboration with the Anglican Consultative Council, South African Faith Communities Environment Institute, and the Episcopal Church in the USA, hosted a COP28 side event on 6 December. 

On 5 December, the World Council of Churches (WCC) signed a “2050Today” charter that commits to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The Geneva-based 2025Today is a climate action forum where institutions of Geneva come together and commit to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions.