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World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay, on behalf of WCC member churches, said that the WCC cannot reconcile the Decree of the XXV World Russian People's Council describing the conflict in Ukraine as a “Holy War.” 

Bishop Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm and H.E. Archbishop Dr Vicken Aykazian, moderator and vice moderator of the World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee, respectively, traveled to New York City on 3-4 April to deepen the WCC’s engagement with the United Nations. 

On the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay lamented the destruction of so many lives and called for an immediate end to the conflict.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is among the “movers and doers” at the UN Climate Action Summit in New York on 20 September. WCC moderator Bishop Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm commented on the summit, the first-ever of its kind designed to accelerate action by governments, business, finance, local authorities, and civil society.

Representatives of the World Council of Churches (WCC) joined tens of thousands of demonstrators in New York City for the "March to End Fossil Fuels." This powerful protest took place just before the United Nations General Assembly, where world leaders gathered for crucial climate discussions.

World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof Dr Jerry Pillay extended condolences and expressed solidarity with the victims of a mass shooting in Jacksonville, Florida (USA).

As the death toll continued to rise in the wake of wildfires in Maui, Hawaii (USA), the World Council of Churches (WCC) expressed grief and solidarity with the island’s churches and communities.

Against the background of the Russian invasion and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, a high-level WCC leadership delegation visiting Ukraine undertook an intensive series of consultations in Kyiv on 11 May 2023, with church leaders, Ukrainian government officials, and others.

A delegation from the World Council of Churches (WCC) is visiting Ukraine on 10-12 May to renew relations with churches and religious organizations and to explore possibilities of joint efforts to achieve just peace in Ukraine.

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay expressed concern and sadness upon hearing about alleged actions taken against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) against the background of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Aa the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity opened on 18 January, the World Council of Churches staff and partners gathered in a spirit of unity to “Do good; seek justice,” the theme of this year’s special week.

World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay denounced continuing attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure in Russia’s ongoing illegal war against the people of Ukraine.

World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca expressed grave concern over continued recurrent attacks by Russian forces on energy facilities and other civilian infrastructure and areas in Ukraine, including most recently a maternity unit in which a newborn baby was killed.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) welcomed the news that the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to jailed Belarusian advocate Ales Bialiatski, Russian human rights organization Memorial, and the Ukrainian Center for Civil Liberties.

Deploring the illegal and unjustifiable war “inflicted on the people and sovereign state of Ukraine” the World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee lamented “the awful and continuing toll of deaths, destruction and displacement, of destroyed relationships and ever more deeply entrenched antagonism between the people of the region, of escalating confrontation globally, of increased famine risk in food insecure regions of the world, of economic hardship and heightened social and political instability in many countries.”