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As the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to journalists Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov, World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca congratulated them and expressed solidarity with their ongoing fight for justice and peace.

Nach der Verleihung des Friedensnobelpreises an die Journalistin Maria Ressa und ihren Kollegen Dmitri Muratow gratulierte ihnen der geschäftsführende Generalsekretär des Ökumenischen Rates der Kirchen (ÖRK), Priester Prof. Dr. Ioan Sauca, zu dieser Würdigung und erklärte sich solidarisch mit ihrem anhaltenden Kampf für Gerechtigkeit und Frieden.

As a report on human rights abuses in the Philippines was delivered to the UN by the global group Investigate PH, churches and human rights groups reiterated their concerns over propagation of a culture that allows the abuse to happen.

His Holiness Moran Mar Baselios Marthoma Paulose II, Supreme Head of the Indian (Malankara) Orthodox Church, and Catholicos of the East, met with Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia at St Daniel Monastery in Moscow on 3 September.

His Holiness Catholicos Paulose II thanked Patriarch Kirill for the hospitality, stressing that “forty years have elapsed and now we as primates of our Churches can resume the exchange of visits. Your Holiness, your love and insight have helped to make it possible. Once again, thank you for it”.

Fourteen church leaders and activists from Canada, India, Indonesia, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United States, embarked on a Pilgrim Team Visit to the Philippines from 9-13 August. They listened, learned and bore witness to the escalating human rights crisis in the country. The visit was convened by the World Council of Churches in partnership with the National Council of Churches in the Philippines.

Der Ökumenische Rat der Kirchen (ÖRK) hat das Massaker an 14 Bäuerinnen und Bauern durch die Polizei in der Stadt Canlaon und den Gemeinden Manjuyod und Santa Catalina in der Provinz Negros Oriental auf den Philippinen Anfang dieses Monats verurteilt. Zudem hat der ÖRK auch seinen Aufruf an die Regierung der Philippinen wiederholt, der Kultur der Straflosigkeit ein Ende zu bereiten, eine umfassende Untersuchung derartiger Tötungen sicherzustellen und die Verantwortlichen zur Rechenschaft zu ziehen.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) condemned the massacre earlier this month of 14 farmers by police officers in Canlaon City, as well as Manjuyod and Santa Catalina towns in Negros Oriental in the Philippines. The WCC also renewed its call for the government of the Philippines to end the culture of impunity and to ensure full investigation and accountability for all such killings.

Pilgrims coming from Germany, Italy and Norway ended their journeys for climate justice on 7 December upon arrival at the St Stephen’s Church in Katowice, Poland, where the United Nations (UN) climate conference is underway. They were warmly welcomed by the delegations of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) that are attending the 24th Conference of Parties of UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP24).

His Eminence Metropolitan Zachariah Mar Nicholovos of the Northeast American Diocese of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church celebrated his Episcopal Silver Jubilee, or 25 years in ministry, on 17 November. Metropolitan Nicholovos is a member of the WCC Executive Committee. In an interview with WCC Communication, he reflects on his 25-year milestone, as well as on the challenges and joys of the ecumenical movement today.

Even though flood survivors are displaced in some 2,000 relief camps across Kerala in south India, many of them observed the indigenous Malayali festival of Onam on 25 August in whatever way they could. The traditional festival, for thousands, carried an even more poignant meaning because the holiday celebrates the return of joy to the land: the story of the return of King Mahabali, considered to be a very kind and generous ruler, during a “golden period” in Kerala.

As Kerala, the southern state of India, nicknamed “God’s Own Country,” battles one of the worst flood disasters in a century, various religious communities have opened their doors to help homeless people.

As the worst flooding in half a century struck the southern India state of Kerala, World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit called for prayers for those affected and for those responding, and expressed his sympathy for those who have lost loved ones in the disaster.

Ob als einzelne Gläubige oder als Gemeinschaft: Es ist unsere gemeinsame Aufgabe, uns für die Einheit der Christen einzusetzen, sagt Melanio L. Aoanan. Der philippinische Ausbilder ruft zu einer klaren Vision für die ökumenische Ausbildung auf, die auf das 21. Jahrhundert zugeschnitten ist.

Whether as individual believers or as a community, it is our collective task to advocate for Christian unity, says Melanio L. Aoanan from the Philippines. A clear vision for religious and ecumenical theological education is needed that is relevant in the 21st century.

Dr. Erlinda N. Senturias von den Philippinen dankt dem ÖRK für die Schaffung von geschützten Räumen, in denen die Kirchen über HIV und AIDS sprechen können. Sie bittet darum, dass die ökumenische Bewegung ein verlässlicher Partner bei der Unterstützung auf diesem Weg zu Gesundheit und Heilung bleibt.

Dr Erlinda N. Senturias, from the Philippines, gives thanks that WCC has created safe spaces for the churches to talk about HIV and AIDS. She asks that the ecumenical movement continue to be a beacon of support for this ongoing journey of health and healing.

Mit Blick auf die „sich verschlechternde Menschenrechtssituation und [die zunehmende] Gewalt und Straffreiheit auf den Philippinen“ hat der ÖRK-Zentralausschuss seine große Besorgnis und Entrüstung angesichts der Lage in dem Land zum Ausdruck gebracht und dabei insbesondere auf die Rolle der Regierung verwiesen.

Noting “the worsening human rights situation and increasing violence and impunity” in the Philippines, WCC’s central committee has expressed its alarm and outrage, pointing particularly to the role of the government there.

2018 feiern wir das 70-jährige Jubiläum des ÖRK. Um möglichst lebendige Berichte und Erzählungen über die ökumenische Gemeinschaft und unseren gemeinsamen Weg aus erster Hand zu bekommen, hat ÖRK-Generalsekretär Pastor Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit alle Mitgliedskirchen aufgefordert, ihre eigenen Geschichten aufzuschreiben, die wir Ihnen im Laufe des kommenden Jahres präsentieren wollen. Die erste Geschichte dieser Reihe wurde von Gerard Willemsen geschrieben, dem internationalen Direktor der Unionskirche in Schweden.