TheMiddle East Council of Churchesannounced that the 22 April each year—the day of the kidnapping of the two Archbishops of Aleppo, Metropolitan Boulos Yaziji and Metropolitan Gregorios Youhanna Ibrahim— will be named “The Ecumenical Day for the Abducted and the Forcibly Absented.”
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.
Marking 10 years since the kidnapping of archbishops of Aleppo Paul Yazigi and John Ibrahim, the Middle East Council of Churches held an “Ecumenical Day for the Abducted and the Forcibly Absented” on 24 April.
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.
Gertrude Oforiwa Fefoame was elected to chair the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. She is also a commissioner for the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission on World Mission and Evangelism, as well as an active member of the Ecumenical Disability Advocates Network.
Between the period of the 13th of September 1993 (when the Oslo Agreement was signed) and the 31st of December 2022: Israel demolished 2787 structures in East Jerusalem including 213 donor-funded structures, and it displaced 5093 persons including 2582 children. These included homes; Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) facilities; and agricultural structures.
"The soldiers went away because you were watching.”
“I am able to herd my sheep near the military base because I feel safe in the presence of ecumenical accompaniers, and settler harassment is much less when you are around.”
“We feel safe when the ecumenical accompaniers are present.”
The World Council of Churches (WCC) released a fact sheet on demolitions in East Jerusalem that serves as a source of credible information for WCC member churches, ecumenical accompaniers, and the media.
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) Commission on Faith and Order is convening for the last time with its current composition before a new commission takes its place.
I am writing this report just after the celebration of Easter in the West, and I have both a sense of rejoicing that Christ is risen, defeating death and treading down evil, but also a pang of sorrow that we are not yet united in celebrating Easter together.
I remember hearing about “Faith and Order” for the first time. I was a freshman in theology reading Fr Georges Florovsky’s biography, and the phrase stuck in my mind.
