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A delegation from the World Council of Churches and ACT Alliance is visiting Türkiye this week, expressing solidarity and support for churches on the ground responding to grave needs in the wake of the 6 February earthquake.

In a letter to the heads of World Council of Churches (WCC) member churches in Syria, Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay expressed deep sadness at the loss of more than 40,000 lives in the devastating earthquake that struck Syria and Turkey.

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.

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.

The future of diaconal work in Central and Eastern Europe, particularly in the context of the war in Ukraine and aftermath of the war between Azerbaijan and Armenia, was discussed this week at the meeting organized by Interdiac, the International Academy for Diakonia and Social Action, Central and Eastern Europe in Český Těšín, Czech Republic.

Upon news that a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck in the Aegean Sea off the coasts of Turkey and Greece on 30 October, World Council of Churches interim general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca called for prayers, and expressed solidarity with churches and responders who continue to help hundreds of injured and traumatized people.

On 15 September, the Czechoslovak Hussite Church officially celebrated its 100-year anniversary with a service in Prague. The service followed a previous one held on 11 January. The September date is a special one for the church, as 100 years ago on that day, the Czechoslovak Hussite Church achieved official recognition by the state.

As Muslim Friday prayers took place in Hagia Sophia on 24 July for the first time since the 1930s, the World Council of Churches (WCC) joined member churches and international organizations, including a number of prominent Muslim leaders, in urging a reconsideration of the decision to turn the museum into a mosque.

In a 24 July statement on Hagia Sophia, Religions for Peace reiterated its commitment to the universality of heritage as something that can create peace and respect for all faiths. “We call for calm, in times when we see the use of religious sentiments and institutions in a manner that is divisive, thus pitting some believers against one another,” reads the statement. “We stand on the side of peace, and of deliberate, intentional, coexistence, particularly as we hear of the voices, and see the actions, of divisiveness and hatred from many quarters.”

Church leaders from Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark signed a statement demanding that we take “human responsibility” for refugees on the border between Turkey and Greece.