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.
As the keynote speaker during an Ecumenical Peace Conversation in South Korea on 11 October, World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca reflected on the theme of the recent WCC 11th Assembly, “Christ’s love moves the world to reconciliation and unity.”
In a letter to H.E. Zbigniew Rau, OSCE chairman-in-office, and minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland, World Council of Churches acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca and Dr Jørgen Skov Sørensen, general secretary of the Conference of European Churches, jointly appeal for urgent action by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to promote a just and sustainable peace in the Caucasus, following renewed violence in the region in which more than 100 lives have already been lost.
Members of the Ecumenical Forum for Peace, Reunification & Cooperation on the Korean Peninsula (EFK) held an informal meeting on 9 September in Karlsruhe, Germany, following the conclusion of the World Council of Churches (WCC) 11th Assembly.
When the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, 2022, churches had already been responding to humanitarian need in the country for eight years, since the annexation of Crimea in 2014. The work being undertaken by churches in meeting the needs of those displaced by the war is not new, but the scale is staggering as 14 million people have been displaced in the six months since the invasion began.
At the World Council of Churches 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe Germany, Jackcilia Salathiel Ebere will be carrying the voices of women from South Sudan who are crying for peace and justice.
The World Council of Churches invites the global fellowship and all people of good will to join, on 15 August, a prayer for peace and reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula.
During the recent solidarity visit to Ukraine, a World Council of Churches (WCC) delegation was welcomed at the Banchen monastery in the Chernivtsi region of Ukraine, witnessing its active involvement supporting and sheltering victims of Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine.
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.”
In a public statement focused on the Holy Land, the WCC central committee expressed “deep solidarity with the member churches and Christians of the region in their life and work, keeping the Christian faith and witness in the Holy Land alive and vibrant, as well as with all people in the region.”
In a public statement, the World Council of Churches executive committee reiterated the need for a ceasefire in Ukraine, and the need for addressing growing food insecurity worldwide.
Rev. Dr Hyunju Bae represents the Presbyterian Church of Korea on the World Council of Churches central and executive committees and serves on the WCC Gender Advisory Group. She is a former professor of New Testament Studies at the Busan Presbyterian University, Republic of Korea, and now a co-president of the Korea Christian Environmental Movement Solidarity for Integrity of Creation. Below, she reflects on a recent prayer vigil for peace, as well as other ecumenical activities in South Korea.
The world faces a global crisis on food exacerbated and brought to the fore by the war in Ukraine, but humanity can and must take remedial steps in economic and climate justice, a World Council of Churches-led meeting has heard.
In a response to false reporting in Germany on Israel and Palestine, World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca reiterated the WCC’s history of denouncing antisemitism and, at the same time, responding to the experiences and suffering of Palestinians.
As the 2022 World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel approaches in September, the World Council of Churches (WCC) invites people and churches all over the world to pray, advocate, and stand in solidarity with people in the Holy Land.
World Council of Churches (WCC) specialized ministries and roundtable partners are gathering on 3-4 May at the Bossey Ecumenical Institute for a “Working Together” meeting filled with a spirit of interconnected learning and preparation for the WCC 11th Assembly.
The churches of Sudan – and especially the Sudan Council of Churches as their ecumenical forum – have suffered from a serious lack of attention and support by international ecumenical partners since the separation of South Sudan in 2011.
World Council of Churches acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, upon hearing reports that give stronger indications of grave violations of international law in Ukraine, expressed abhorrence at these reported atrocities, and called for full investigation.
During a 22 March press briefing, a delegation from the World Council of Churches (WCC) and ACT Alliance shared their observations from a recent trip to Hungary, Romania and Ukraine, where they witnessed firsthand both urgent humanitarian needs and a robust church response.
A delegation from ACT Alliance and the World Council of Churches (WCC) visited Hungary, Ukraine and Romania on 14-18 March, focusing on humanitarian needs and church response.
