His Holiness Baselios Marthoma Mathews III was enthroned as the Catholicos of the East and the Malankara Metropolitan (the Supreme Head of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church of India) on 15 October. He is the ninth Catholicos of the East in Malankara and the 92nd Primate on the Apostolic Throne of St Thomas.
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.
World Council of Churches (WCC) director of the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs Peter Prove presented, via video message, an intervention at an “International Ecumenical Solidarity Gathering for Human Rights and Peace in the Philippines” held 7 October.
World Council of Churches acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca sent a video greeting to the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea (PROK) for its upcoming 106th General Assembly, scheduled for 28-29 September.
In a 1 September letter to President Joe Biden, World Council of Churches acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca appealed for reconsideration on sanctions against North Korea.
Participants in a meeting of members and partners of the Ecumenical Forum for Peace, Reunification & Cooperation on the Korean Peninsula (EFK), held online on 25 August, emphasized the need to continue to work together for peace on the Korean Peninsula even amid COVID-19 and challenging political circumstances.
At a 28 July ecumenical briefing on INVESTIGATE PH’s “Second Report of the Independent International Commission of Investigation Into Human Rights Violations in the Philippines,” religious leaders discussed their renewed commitment to act in solidarity with people in the Philippines whose human rights are increasingly in peril.
They came from every part of Indonesia for the online consultation of member churches of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Indonesia, with COVID-19 weighing heavily on those representing 27 traditions from a nation with more than 3.3 million cases reported.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) expressed concern and extended prayers for those who continue to be affected by severe monsoon-related flooding and landslides in India. More than 150 people have perished in western India, and there is extensive damage.
The Tokyo Olympic Games have begun one year late in one of the world's biggest cities. There are no spectators—and little of the usual spiritual support from churches and no official Olympic Village prayer room.
The World Council of Churches Commission of the Churches on International Affairs delivered two statements to the 47th session of United Nations Human Rights Council, being held 21 June-21 July.
The 7th Korea-US Church Consultation was held 24 June online, bringing together Korean and US church leaders to reflect on their mission journey, to share their respective challenges, and to explore joint action plans especially vis-a-vis the new US Administration.
As the Church of South India Synod released its new website, www.csi1947.com, on 31 May, the World Council of Churches (WCC) extended congratulations and prayers for meaningful storytelling, images and expressions of hope.
The following interview with G. Angela David, president of the YWCA of Secunderabad, in India, is part of a series dedicated to the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
The World Council of Churches joined dozens of other faith-based and humanitarian groups in signing a Global Civil Society Statement on Myanmar urging the United Nations Security Council to impose a comprehensive global arms embargo on Myanmar to help prevent further violations of human rights against peaceful protesters and others opposing military rule.
As human rights violations worsen in the Philippines, religious leaders there are urging global solidarity for their increasingly urgent quest for justice.
In a joint statement on 31 March, the World Council of Churches and the Christian Conference of Asia expressed profound dismay at the ongoing violence and the brutal attacks by military and security forces against peaceful protesters in Myanmar.
The National Council of Churches in Korea has published a “2021 Easter Prayer for Peace and Reunification on the Korean Peninsula” with a message of hope and reconciliation.
World Council of Churches acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca condemned a bomb attack outside a Catholic church on Palm Sunday in the Indonesian city of Makassar that left at least 14 people wounded. Police believe two suicide bombers perished in the attack.
