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A World Council of Churches delegation led by general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay has concluded its visit to Armenia after “witnessing dramatic events”.

At the midpoint of a four-day visit, the ecumenical solidarity delegation has lived the hopes and fears of the people of the region. 

As the “Bethlehem Reborn – Palestine – The Wonders of the Nativity” exhibit was carefully installed at the Ecumenical Centre over the weekend, the World Council of Churches (WCC) is anticipating the official opening ceremony on 12 September.

On 28th August, during a visit with Ambassador Andranik Hovhannisyan, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Armenia to the UN Office, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay expressed solidarity with those making efforts to lift the blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh by reopening the Lachin corridor.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is calling on Azerbaijan for the immediate lifting of the blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh, as more than 120,000 people—including 30,000 children—are suffering under an increasingly dire humanitarian crisis.

As Norwegian Church Aid continued a digital visit with its global partners, leaders from the organization met with the World Council of Churches (WCC) to discuss creative responses to the world’s increasing needs, and the vital role of church leaders in those responses.

During a meeting of the Higher Committee on Human Fraternity on 9 October at the Bossey Ecumenical Institute, WCC interim general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca reflected on how best to promote and uphold one humanity.

People in Wales are experiencing firsthand stories of hope, justice and peace reflecting on 50 years of Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Executive Committee raised prayers for an end to conflict and for peace in Syria, after more than eight tragic years of death, destruction and displacement.

The World Council of Churches Executive Committee issued a minute, reaffirming its opposition to the establishment and expansion of Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory occupied since 1967.

As the World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel commenced, Nora Carmi offered a morning reflection at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva on 16 September. Carmi is a civil society worker on justice and peace issues who is from the Orthodox community.

Salpy Eskidjian Weiderud, leader of the Religious Track of the Cyprus Peace Process, has received an International Religious Freedom Award from the US Department of State. The awards “honor extraordinary advocates of religious freedom from around the world” and will be presented on 17 July in Washington, D.C.

Dealing with people on the move is crucial to the work of the Church in the 21st century says Greek Metropolitan Gabriel of Nea Ionia and Filadelfia. More than 31,000 irregular migrants arrived in Greece by sea in 2018 and almost 17,000 arrived by land, according to the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM).

أجرى قسم الأخبار التابع لمجلس الكنائس العالمي لقاءً مع الأرشمندريت الموقَّر الدكتور أليكسي شحادة، وهو مدير دائرة العلاقات المسكونية والتنمية (DERD) التابعة لبطريركية أنطاكية وسائر المشرق للروم الأرثوذكس (GOPA) في سوريا. وهو مثال يُحتذى به وصانعٌ للسلام في سوريا.

WCC News met with the Very Reverend Archimandrite Dr Alexi Chehadeh, who leads the Department of Ecumenical Relations and Development for the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and all the East in Damascus, Syria. He is an impressive role model and peacemaker in Syria.

From 14-16 December in the UK, the CEC and Cumberland Lodge held a conference titled "Towards Peaceful co-existence in the Middle East: challenges and opportunities." Co-hosted by Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, the gathering drew participants from a broad range of Middle Eastern and European churches.

استضاف الأمين العام لمجلس الكنائس العالمي، القسّ الدكتور أولاف فيكس تفايت، مأدبة غداء يوم 12 كانون الأول/ ديسمبر، اعراباً عن امتنانه للخدمات التي قدَّمها المبعوث الخاص للأمم المتحدة لسوريا، السيد ستافان دي ميستورا، في قصر بوسي بحضور سعادة السفيرة هايدي غرو، رئيس شعبة الأمن البشري التابعة لوزارة الشؤون الخارجية الاتحادية، سويسرا، وفرق مجلس الكنائس العالمي والأمم المتحدة المعنية بسوريا.

WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit hosted a lunch on 12 December in gratitude to the services rendered by the United Nations special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura at the Château de Bossey with ambassador Heidi Grau, Head of the human security division at the Swiss FDFA, and the UN and WCC teams on Syria.

At a global conference on xenophobia in Rome, a panel of four religious leaders from, respectively, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu and Islamic traditions, spoke candidly about how xenophobia can sometimes be woven deeply into the fabric of these traditions.

World Council of Churches leaders spoke on the theme “Hospitality: On a Pilgrim’s Way of Justice and Peace" at a symposium on 23 August at the Protestant Theological University Amsterdam.