World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay extended sincere birthday congratulations to Cardinal Walter Kasper, expressing gratitude for the cardinal’s tireless service for Christian unity, particularly for his leadership role in the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.
On 20 February, His Holiness Moran Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and Supreme Head of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church, arrived in the city of Antioch, the historical capital of the Patriarchate, for an historic visit following the devastating earthquake that struck on 6 February.
Almost two weeks have passed since an earthquake that hit northern Syria and Turkey on 6 February, killing over 41,000 people. The disaster also caused thousands of buildings to collapse. In various cities such as Aleppo, Hama, and Lattakia, over 115 schools were destroyed.
H.H. Moran Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and all the East and Supreme Head of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church, visited Antioch, marking an historic and first Apostolic visit to the place where Saint Peter established the Holy See of Antioch in the year 37.
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.
The publication “Called to Transformation – Ecumenical Diakonia” is newly available in German, offering resources to strengthen the diaconal capacity of churches and to advance the cooperation with specialized ministries.
Faith-based and humanitarian groups across the world were setting in motion appeals for aid and prayers as response expands in the wake of the devastating earthquake that struck Syria and Turkey on 6 February.
Following the devastating Turkey-Syria earthquake on 6 February, the presidents of the Middle East Council of Churches held an emergency meeting to discuss the disaster and how to respond.
As communities in Turkey and Syria were left reeling in the wake of an earthquake that has killed at least 4,300 people—and that figure is growing—churches were reaching out to check on those affected and praying for the safety of those missing.
“It’s okay not to be okay.” That’s the catchy way Denis Pattinasarany, from the Protestant church in the Mollucas, Indonesia, describes one of the most important things he learned at the Bossey Ecumenical Institute.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) publication highlights the lessons learnt from the project Strategic Engagement of Civil Society Networks and Faith Actors in the HIV Response in India, Dominican Republic, Indonesia, and Jamaica.
At the graduation ceremony of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Institute at Bossey on 27 January, 27 students received certificates for their completed studies in ecumenism that prepared them to become future leaders and ambassadors of the ecumenical movement.
The Dicastery for Promoting Interreligious Dialogue is hosting a conference in Rome on the importance of women building a culture of interreligious encounter.
In a service for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, representatives from 25 churches in Geneva drew together in the World Council of Churches chapel on 18 January.
During a meeting on 28 October, the World Council of Churches (WCC) and Right Livelihood exchanged dialogue and ideas on response to the climate emergency and other initiatives.
The acting general secretary of the World Council of Churches, the Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, has been honoured by the WCC’s Ecumenical Institute at the Chateau de Bossey, where he has served 24 years on its faculty, and been its director since 2001.
Co-organized by the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Institute of Theology and Ecology at the Orthodox Academy of Crete, the 7th international conference on Ecological Theology and Environmental Ethics (ECOTHEE-2022) held 27-29 October in Kolympari, Crete reflected on life changing ecological theology and environmental ethics to avert climate crisis.
World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca expressed gratitude for the work of Archbishop Dr Antje Jackelén, primate of the Church of Sweden, as she moves on from her years of service.