Search results

“It was with sadness that we received the news of the passing of Prof. Dr Julio Hector de Santa Ana, a reference of ecumenical theology in a liberating perspective,” said Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC). De Santa Ana passed away in Geneva, Switzerland, on 17 April.

As coronavirus cases rise sharply in Latin American countries, so has violence against women.

Hope, solidarity and a spirit of service are recurring themes in Easter messages received by the World Council of Churches from many of its member churches and partners.

Women in Chile have been subject to violence, forced nudity, humiliation and even rape in the framework of the social protests taking place in the nation since last October, said Chilean theologian and lawyer Cecilia Castillo Nanjari.

“It was with great sadness that we received the news of the passing of Rev. Pablo Sosa, one of the grandfathers of global ecumenical spirituality,” said Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the WCC. The Argentinian Methodist pastor passed away on 11 January, in Buenos Aires, at the age of 85.

As anger and protests in Chile have escalated into violence and caused 18 deaths, the World Council of Churches’ general secretary, Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, has joined other church leaders in calling for a cessation of violence and a mechanism for addressing its root causes.

The global ecumenical family is deeply saddened by the death of Elias Crisóstomo Abramides, on 21 October 2019. He was a pioneer and a vital stalwart in the faith community's ongoing struggle to stop climate change. Elias was a founding member of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Working Group on Climate Change which emerged from WCC participation in the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro that gave rise to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. He continued to be a dedicated and active member of the WCC Working Group on Climate Change, and the ecumenical work on climate change, until his death.

At the 33rd Festival International de Films de Fribourg, held 15-23 March, the Ecumenical Jury awarded “Compañeros – La noche de 12 años” (A Twelve-Year Night), directed by Álvaro Brechner, a prize of 5,000 CHF donated by the Swiss organizations Lenten Offering and Bread for All.

Bishop Emeritus Nélida Ritchie, from the Evangelical Methodist Church of Argentina (IEMA), passed away on 22 December. She served as vice-moderator of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Central Committee between 1991 and 1998.