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Jesus and the ladder to peacemaking: an Easter meditation

Originally published by The Canadian Council of Churches.*

04 April 2024

Pastor Peter Noteboom

The group of young women in front of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America headquarters in New York City.

Girls from Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America participate in advocacy at the UN

As part of a new program specifically for girls within the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America through its Ecumenical Department, a group of 13 young women participated in advocacy at the UN in conjunction with the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68).

20 March 2024

World Council of Churches conference in Egypt will offer insight into monastic spirituality

The Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches (WCC) to be held in Egypt will offer participants an opportunity to gain a sense of the deep Christian spirituality of the region, according to Bishop Anba Suriel of the Coptic Orthodox Church.

02 February 2024

Women and children in Gaza bearing brunt of ongoing war

Women and children in Gaza are bearing the heavy brunt of the ongoing war, according to reports from the United Nations, with close to a million women and girls displaced and 12,882 women and children already perished in a war that has now raged for more than 100 days.

16 January 2024

First-ever Regional Ecumenical Theological Institute in Cairo was “a place where we were all connecting”

The World Council of Churches (WCC), in partnership with the Association of Theological Institutes and Faculties in the Middle East (ATIME) and the Middle East Council of Churches, held the first-ever Regional Ecumenical Theological Institute in Cairo under the theme “Respect for Creation is the Glorification of the Creator.”

18 August 2023

From exhaustion to excitement—to hope

A reflection originally shared at the "Working Together" meeting between the World Council of Churches and specialized ministries, convened 3-4 May in Bossey, Switzerland.

15 May 2023

Marie Anne Sliwinski

Visiting communities in southern Türkiye from 4-6 April 2023, the delegation met with churches in Mersin, Iskenderun, and Antioch, including communities in the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch, Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople, Latin Catholics and others.

During solidarity visit to Türkiye, WCC and ACT Alliance witness great needs yet great collaboration: “the churches are all working together”

After returning from a solidarity visit to Türkiye, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay and ACT Alliance general secretary Rudelmar Bueno de Faria appear in a video interview speaking about what they saw, how churches are working together, and their unique reflections on their visit—held 4-6 April—took place during western Holy Week.

13 April 2023

In interview, Greek Orthodox H.E. Ephraim Maalouli describes how churches are responding to earthquake-related needs in Syria

Following the catastrophic earthquake that struck Syria and Turkey, the Middle East Council of Churches in Syria interviewed H.E. Ephraim Maalouli, Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Aleppo, Alexandretta, and Dependencies.

16 February 2023

Ecumenical Accompaniers complete their service in Holy Land with “different perspectives of justice”

A group of Ecumenical Accompaniers completed their service in Palestine and Israel, handing their ministry over to the next wave, and celebrating the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity at the same time.

02 February 2023

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity service at the Interchurch Center in New York City

In New York City, unity prayers focus on how we “can join hands and minds and do the work that God has called us to do”

Christians in New York City opened the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity on 18 January by participating in a worship service at the Interchurch Center, an office building that houses many church-related organizations and many others focused on intercultural and religious exchange. The service was infused with themes of justice and unity, both from a perspective of African-American history and the urging of Christians today to put their faith into action.

24 January 2023

Calling for Christian Unity requires “both a prophetic and pastoral approach”

Rev. Dr Curtiss Paul DeYoung, co-chief executive officer of the Minnesota Council of Churches, helped convene the team of authors for this year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity materials. Below, he reflects on the challenges and hopes the team brought to the table as they composed the text.

18 January 2023

Photo essay

COP27 in images – as Egypt hosts the United Nations climate change conference

The sun was just setting over Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt when hundreds of protestors turned towards the main plenary hall of COP27 – the United Nations climate change conference – to raise their fists into the air, shouting ‘Pay up! Pay up! Pay up for loss and damage!’

16 November 2022

Road in Tulkarem, West Bank, Occupied Palestinian Territories

“My hope is in you”—youth in the Holy Land carry the future

It’s not easy to be a youth leader in the Holy Land. “Our youth have a need to recognize God’s calling in their lives,” explained Nadine Bitar, general secretary of Christian Youth in Palestine, a group that supports youth leaders in the homeland of Jesus.

17 August 2022

WCC delegation meets Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II

WCC delegation visits Syria, expresses solidarity with those who “remain steadfast in their land”

World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca visited Syria, alongside the Middle East Council of Churches secretary general Dr Michel Abs, the general secretary of ACT Alliance Rudelmar Bueno de Faria, and WCC senior advisor on peace building Michel Nseir.

21 July 2022

A global ecumenical delegation in the cradle of Christianity

From the gateway to the eastern Mediterranean and its pearl, Beirut, an ecumenical delegation came to the Middle East in order to visit spiritual leaders who historically constituted the pillars of ecumenical work.

15 July 2022

Dr Michel Abs

What will we hear?

I believed Christian unity to be an ideal we strive for, perhaps analogous to the saying "if you shoot for the moon, you'll land in the stars." In the times I have seen Christian Unity manifest, often in times of prayer and most often when hands and feet are moving to answer prayer, it has been fleeting, almost illusory.

30 June 2022

Rev Jack Veatch

Photo essay

Sunday service “a manifestation of visible unity” as Orthodox churches gather in Cyprus

As church bells resounded over Paralimni, Cyprus on Sunday, the congregation gathering at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint George welcomed into their midst representatives of a wide range of Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches around the world.

15 May 2022

Photo essay

People in a group walking and conversing.

Hospitality at heart, in bringing Orthodox family together

With the World Council of Churches (WCC) 11^th Assembly less than four months away, the Church of Cyprus serves as host as the WCC brings Orthodox churches together for an Inter-Orthodox Pre-Assembly Consultation on 9-16 May.

12 May 2022

Two men sitting at a table looking at each other.

WCC acting general secretary offers lecture in Iran on “Serving Our Wounded World in Interreligious Solidarity: An Urgent Call for Us”

During a public lecture at the Ahlul Bayt International University in Iran, World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca reflected on how we can improve human relations in the post-COVID-19 era.

04 March 2022