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World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay, on behalf of the global fellowship, expressed grave concern regarding the recent escalation of violence in the Middle East following the first direct confrontation between Iran and Israel.

As a year of exceptional and increasing conflict draws to a close, and as we pray for peace for all in 2024, “that prospect seems nowhere more remote than for the suffering and traumatized people of Gaza,” said World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay. 

The Christian Council of Nigeria extended condolences for those who lost loved ones amid violent attacks in remote villages in northern Nigeria. At least 140 were killed as assailants targeted 17 communities, burning down most houses in the area. 

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay said the WCC is “deeply disturbed” by reports of continuous assaults on the Armenian community and other Palestinian residents of Jerusalem. 

Church leaders are participating in a “Consultation on Ecumenical Approaches to Peace and Stability in West Africa” from 5-8 December in Togo. The gathering is being organized by the World Council of Churches (WCC) in collaboration with the Methodist Church of Togo and the All Africa Conference of Churches Regional Office in Lomé.

With a historic show of unity, Ethiopian churches meeting at the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey made the decision to establish a council of churches in their country.

To strengthen ecumenical co-operation in humanitarian response and in peacebuilding in Ethiopia, high-level delegations from the largest Ethiopian churches are convening on 27-30 November at the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey. 

The World Council of Churches (WCC) executive committee, meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, on 8-14 November, released a statement that demands an immediate ceasefire, and the opening of humanitarian corridors in Palestine and Israel. 

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is standing in solidarity with the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which issued a statement on 31 October condemning the Israeli military’s bombardment of the Orthodox Cultural Center in the Tel Al Hawa neighborhood of Gaza.

During a film screening at the World Council of Churches on 4 October, viewers got a deeper understanding of why Palestinians are about to lose one of the last green spaces left for them in the Bethlehem Governorate.

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay met with South African president Cyril Ramaphosa, discussing peace initiatives across the globe—and the role of the WCC and South African leaders.

An ecumenical global prayer on 28 July expressed solidarity, hope, and lament as the people and churches of Sudan continue to exist amid conflict and violence.

Resources—including reflections, prayers, and more—are now available to help churches and all people of good will to observe the World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel from 16-23 September 2023.

The World Council of Churches was among ecumenical organizations based in Africa and international partners that signed a 24 June joint statement on Sudan.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) executive committee, in a public statement, urged a permanent cessation of hostilities in Sudan, where people are facing a humanitarian catastrophe following weeks of intense fighting between the Sudanese Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

During the 75th commemoration of what Palestinians refer to as the nakba, or “catastrophe”—when hundreds of thousands of people were uprooted during Israel's creation in 1948—World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay expressed solidarity with member churches in the Holy Land.