Im Omar—as named after her eldest son—mother of six, must scrape every day for something most people take for granted: water. For her, water is scarce—and it’s directly connected to her family’s livelihood.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is beginning a project with local partners in four countries—India, Dominican Republic, Indonesia, and Jamaica—to bring back HIV and AIDS response to the national agendas, this time with a focus on sustainability.
Three new theological reflections are available to help people prepare and reflect for the World Week of Peace in Palestine and Israel, to be held 15-22 September.
Osama Sayegh has a heart for numbers: four in Deir Ghazaleh, 35 in Kufr Kad, 50 in Toubas, 35 in Jalameh, 67 in Burqin, 130 in Jenin.
He counts the number of Christians left in these communities across the northern part of the West Bank. He reaches with his heart for the people behind those numbers: why are young Christian families leaving? How can he convince them to stay?
A World Council of Churches (WCC) delegation led by WCC acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca visited Jerusalem and the West Bank from 14-17 July, meeting with patriarchs and heads of Christian communities as well as local clergy and laity.
After being received by representatives of the churches managing the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem on 15 July, President Joseph Biden was accompanied on a short tour to the site of the birth of Christ, where he was awaited by Patriarch Theophilos III, the Custos Father Patton, and the Armenian Orthodox Patriarch Norahan Manugian, all of whom took Biden on a tour and exchanged discussion with him in the presence of a number of Palestinian officials.
أعربت اللجنة المركزية لمجلس الكنائس العالمي في بيان عام ركز على الأراضي المقدسة عن "تضامنها العميق مع الكنائس الأعضاء والمسيحيين في المنطقة في حياتهم وعملهم، وابقاء إيمان وشهادة المسيحيين في الأراضي المقدسة مفعمان بالحياة والنشاط، وكذلك جميع شعوب المنطقة."
In a public statement focused on the Holy Land, the WCC central committee expressed “deep solidarity with the member churches and Christians of the region in their life and work, keeping the Christian faith and witness in the Holy Land alive and vibrant, as well as with all people in the region.”
Um Ismail, in her 50s, loves her children fiercely and wholly, as mothers do all over the globe. But for Um Ismail, who lives in the Khan Al-Ahmar Bedouin community, finding enough water for her ten children plunges the family daily into near catastrophe.
باقتراب الأسبوع العالمي للسلام في فلسطين وإسرائيل لعام 2022 الذي يُحتفل به في أيلول/ سبتمبر، يدعو مجلس الكنائس العالمي الشعوب والكنائس في جميع ربوع العالم إلى الصلاة والمناصرة والوقوف تضامناً مع الشعب في الأرض المقدسة.
As the 2022 World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel approaches in September, the World Council of Churches (WCC) invites people and churches all over the world to pray, advocate, and stand in solidarity with people in the Holy Land.
قال القس البروفيسور الدكتور يوان سواكا الأمين العام بالنيابة لمجلس الكنائس العالمي إن الأحداث الأخيرة في فلسطين وإسرائيل بيَّنت بشكل مأساوي ومرة أخرى الحاجة الماسة إلى سلام عادل في المنطقة للفلسطينيين والإسرائيليين على حد سواء.
Recent events in Palestine and Israel have, tragically, once again underscored the critical need for a just peace in the region, for both Palestinians and Israelis, said World Council of Churches acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca.
As Orthodox institutions and individuals called for unimpeded access to the Holy Sepulcher for Holy Fire Saturday and Easter, the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem rejected restrictions announced by Israeli police.
Easter for Christians, Passover for Jews, and Ramadan for Muslims coincided on the weekend of 15-17 April this year. Still, violence in the holy city of Jerusalem shared by the three faiths was a reminder of the fragility of their relationships.
Following an 11 April statement of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem expressing grave concerns over announced police restrictions on Holy Fire Saturday, the World Council of Churches (WCC) strongly condemned such measures restricting access to places of worship as violations of religious freedom in the Holy Land.
While Christians around the globe prepare to celebrate Easter, high holidays for Muslims and Jews—Ramadan and Pessach—are also being celebrated at the same time period in 2022. At this confluence of sacred celebration, the very sacredness of Jerusalem is especially evident for locals and visitors alike. But the sacredness of the Holy City and its inhabitants is increasingly threatened by consequences of the ongoing occupation, such as discrimination and violence.
لا يستطيع الأب عيسى ثلجية أن يتصور العيش في أي مكان غير المكان الذي ولد فيه يسوع، وهو قس أبرشية أرثوذكسية يونانية في كنيسة المهد في بيت لحم منذ عقد من الزمن