Search results

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.

During an ecumenical morning prayer held 15 May, the World Council of Churches (WCC) staff and partners observed the UN International Day of Living Together in Peace, holding in prayer many nations across the world facing challenges to living together in harmony.

World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay denounced a bomb attack that killed 17 members of the parish of the 8th Community of Pentecostal Churches of Congo on 15 January. Thirty-nine people were wounded.

In a 21 June statement, religious leaders in eastern Africa released a statement on the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. They reaffirmed their commitment to peace, security and democracy in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in the eastern African community at large.

On the International Day of Living Together in Peace declared by the United Nations, members of the World Council of Churches (WCC) fellowship from countries troubled by war and conflict gathered to pray for sustainable peace in the world.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA) has facilitated churches’ engagement in a wide range of critical issues of the world since the last WCC Assembly in Busan, concluded the 58th meeting of the WCC CCIA, gathering church representatives in Johannesburg and online in the 75th anniversary year of the Commission’s creation.

A 12 July statement from the South African Council of Churches notes with deep concern the violence and destruction of property that is engulfing the nation. “This violence is resulting in untold suffering,” the statement reads.

The South African Council of Churches is calling on the De Klerk Foundation to retract and apologize in the wake of a 14 February statement issued by the foundation amplifying the position that apartheid was not a crime against humanity, but a Soviet propaganda ploy.

Young African clergy, theologians and laypersons are eager to engage with the challenging issues facing their continent and the world. This became clear in a recent essay competition for authors below 35 years by the World Council of Churches (WCC) in partnership with the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC).

On 9 December, a delegation led by World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit met with the South African president Cyril Ramaphosa and cabinet ministers in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Churches across southern Africa are publicly saying #EnoughIsEnough,” with many denominations and congregations continuing to issue strong statements, arrange special prayer events, and speak out against rising levels of violence.

Both the Dutch Reformed Church and the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa (UPCSA) have been discussing gender justice and how to keep the momentum going on the unprecedented public demand for change.

Minister of Human Rights of The Democratic Republic of the Congo Andre Lite Asebea visited WCC headquarters in Geneva on Thursday to discuss the human rights situation in Congo with the general secretary of the World Council of Churches, Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit.

After a visit to Israel and Palestine on 21 February through 1 March, a delegation of South African and African-American church leaders, released a Group Pilgrimage Statement on Israel and Palestine.

Following presidential and parliamentary elections conducted in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on 30 December 2018, the World Council of Churches (WCC) is calling for a peaceful democratic transition of power.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) welcomes the award of the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize to Ms Nadia Murad and to Dr Denis Mukwege for their work against “sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict”.

World Council of Churches leaders spoke on the theme “Hospitality: On a Pilgrim’s Way of Justice and Peace" at a symposium on 23 August at the Protestant Theological University Amsterdam.