World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca visited Moscow this week, meeting with H.H. Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all Russia, and representatives from the largest WCC member church.
Thirty-seven students and professors from the Church of Sweden visited the Bossey Ecumenical Institute this week, participating in lectures, exchanges, and social time that brought joy to many.
World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca is visiting the Korean Peninsula this week, bringing greetings of solidarity to WCC member churches, meeting with former WCC Asian president Rev. Dr Sang Chang, attending an Ecumenical Peace Conversation, and bringing a message to the 26th Pentecostal World Conference.
Amid a warning that a famine is “at the doorstep” in eastern Africa, church leaders are re-stressing urgent action to save millions of people caught in a drought described as the worst in 40 years.
World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca extended warm greetings via a video message to the 41st General Assembly of the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa, held on 22-27 September.
As a Pentecostal, I have “dreamed dreams” and had visions aplenty, but often it has been the WCC that brought those dreams and visions to life. What is found in this report fulfills a vision that I took with me to Geneva in 1989 in a meeting with then-general secretary Emilio Castro. During that visit, I called on the WCC to bring together 120 Pentecostal scholars from around the world to the WCC 7th Assembly known as Canberra ’91.
World Council of Churches acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca extended condolences in the wake of a supertanker explosion and fire in the Matanzas supertanker port in Cuba. Blackouts and toxic fumes were still affecting the area.
Opening an online international seminar commemorating the life of Dr Paulose Mar Gregorios, World Council of Churches (WCC) deputy general secretary Prof. Dr Isabel Apawo Phiri shared thoughts on his ecumenical contributions.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) gave thanks to God for the three decades-long ministry of His Beatitude Anastasios, archbishop of Tirana, Durrës and All Albania.
Peace prayers and a concert in South Korea on 27 July marked the lead-up to World Council of Churches (WCC) 11th Assembly while expressing the fervent hope for the reunification of the Korean Peninsula.
The 15th Lambeth Conference, convened by the Archbishop of Canterbury, is gathering together bishops from across the Anglican Communion from 26 July to 8 August for prayer and reflection, as well as fellowship and dialogue on church and world affairs.
World Council of Churches acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca expressed great concern in the wake of a 7.3-magnitude earthquake that struck the northern part of Luzon Island in the Philippines on 27 July.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is mourning the passing of Archbishop Mor Gabriel Dahho, Patriarchal Vicar of Jerusalem, Jordan and the Holy Lands.
WCC acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca extended condolences to the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate of Anthioch.
World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca visited Syria, alongside the Middle East Council of Churches secretary general Dr Michel Abs, the general secretary of ACT Alliance Rudelmar Bueno de Faria, and WCC senior advisor on peace building Michel Nseir.
From the gateway to the eastern Mediterranean and its pearl, Beirut, an ecumenical delegation came to the Middle East in order to visit spiritual leaders who historically constituted the pillars of ecumenical work.
As Patriarch John X headed the Divine Liturgy at the Holy Cross church in Damascus in Syria, World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca shared a message on behalf of a WCC-led delegation visiting the country for the first time since 2008.
In a bridge-building visit to member churches in Lebanon, a World Council of Churches (WCC) delegation visited Beirut on 7 July, meeting with church leaders as well as the Middle East Council of Churches to hear and carry a message for the upcoming WCC 11th Assembly, to be held in Karlsruhe, Germany from 31 August-8 September.
Rev. Prof. Dr Heike Springhart is bishop of Landeskirche in Baden. Below, she offers reflections on her hopes for the World Council of Churches 11th Assembly and, more broadly, how ecumenical relationships can help us all sustain a sense of hope during these challenging times.
The Fifth International Conference on Receptive Ecumenism was held in Sigtuna, Sweden on 27-30 June, exploring the theme “Transforming Ecumenism – listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.” (Rev 2:7)