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For the first time in their history, the patriarch of the Antiochian Orthodox Church has asked the believers to adorn the traditional Palm Sunday processions with black ribbons tied on candles rather than the usual white ribbons expressing their sadness because of the two abducted church leaders from Aleppo, Syria.

South Sudan president Salva Kiir Mayardit emphasized the strong potential of churches in helping to develop their new country. His comments came during a conversation with the general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, who on Friday, 25 April visited the capital city, Juba, where he met with staff and members of the Sudan Council of Churches (SCC).

In his meeting with the Sudanese minister Alfatih T. Abdallah, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit stressed the important role of Sudanese churches in rebuilding their nation after years of conflict, along with the assurance of their religious freedoms.

As the uncertainty of the whereabouts of two Syrian church leaders kidnapped in Syria on Monday continued Wednesday, the patriarchs of the Greek Orthodox and Syriac Orthodox churches have issued a joint communique calling on churches around the world to “stand fast in the face of what is going on and witness to their faith in the power of love in this world.”

The World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary, Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, has strongly condemned the abduction of two Syrian archbishops who were kidnapped yesterday near Aleppo in Syria.

The WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit met with Egypt's Grand Mufti Shawki Ibrahim Abdel-Karim in Cairo. In their meeting the religious leaders engaged in in-depth dialogue to promote peaceful relations among diverse communities and values for equal citizenship.

In a recent solidarity visit to Bangladesh, an ecumenical delegation was updated about the on-going persecution and attacks against religious minorities occurring in the country since early March of this year.

In a statement released on 9 April, the WCC general secretary has condemned the attacks against St Mark’s Cathedral in Cairo and killings of Christians in the village of Al-Khosous in Egypt.

Describing dramatic consequences of the Syrian civil war, Bishop Elia Toumeh of Marmarita said that when the difficulties pass, Christians must play a constructive role in the reconciliation of opposing factions for a new Syrian society.

The world's first Arms Trade Treaty is “a milestone in efforts to bring commerce in deadly weapons under much-needed controls,” according to the general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC).

Campaigners for the civil society coalition Control Arms say radical changes are still needed in the latest draft of the Arms Trade Treaty under negotiation at the United Nations if the treaty is to save lives. Christian voices joined the criticism of the latest developments at the Final United Nations Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty currently underway in New York, United States.

At the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, the WCC supported women’s initiatives against violence on the basis of a Christian conviction that “women as well as men are created in the image of God and deserve to be respected, protected, and cared for.”

The WCC Executive Committee has expressed deep concern about the alarming increase in threats to human security in Latin America. The committee has called for renewed efforts by churches to ensure peaceful and just societies.

At a time of widespread scandals over clergy sex abuse, the World Council of Churches (WCC) and World Student Christian Federation (WSCF) have called for professional standards of clergy accountability at an international forum on violence against women.

In a letter to Pakistani churches, the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit has condemned the attacks on Christians in Badami Bagh, Lahore, on Saturday, 9 March. More than a hundred houses were burned down following allegations of blasphemy.

Climate change is causing massive violations of human rights. This point was made at a side event on “human rights and climate change” during the 22nd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Department of Ecumenical Relations and Development (DERD) of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East has delivered around 75,000 humanitarian aid kits to an estimate of 280,045 individuals in Syria amidst its on-going conflict.

The general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit and other members of the WCC staff met in New York on 12 February with the United Nations (UN) deputy secretary-general Jan Eliasson. Tveit and Eliasson discussed the many conflicts and divisions around the world, including North and South Korea, the Middle East region, particularly Syria and Israel-Palestine.

“Violence begets violence. It is not possible for Syrians to overcome conflict without a political solution, strong democratic institutions and demilitarization of the country,” said Dr Haytham Al-Manna, a prominent Syrian human rights defender and opposition figure, head of the National Coordination Body for Democratic Change in Syria (NCB).

By Marcelo Schneider (*)