During a World Council of Churches morning prayer—focusing on the churches and people of Belarus, Moldova, Russia, and Ukraine – a reflection by Prof. Dr Dmytro Tsolin focused on both the pain of the war in Ukraine as well as how we hang onto hope.
World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay, on behalf of the global fellowship, expressed grave concern regarding the recent escalation of violence in the Middle East following the first direct confrontation between Iran and Israel.
This year, the World Day of Health, which is celebrated annually on 7 April, falls on the third Sunday of Great Lent in the Orthodox Church that is dedicated to the Veneration of the Holy Cross.
World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay condemned the killing of aid workers in Gaza, and extended condolences to the families and friends who are in shock and mourning upon hearing the news that an Israeli airstrike killed seven people working for World Central Kitchen.
On Palm Sunday, accompaniers from the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel walked in the traditional procession, carrying messages of solidarity with Gaza Christians during an especially painful time.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) has published online new materials related to the 2024 WCC-EAPPI Easter Initiative: “Out of the darkness – Easter solidarity with the Holy Land.”
Churches and Christian communities worldwide are invited to use the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2025 resources to pray together for the unity among churches throughout the year.
A World Council of Churches (WCC) Easter Initiative will lift up the call to roll away the heavy stone of violence, war and occupation, pain and suffering, and to remind the world of what is needed to bring about peace, to transform swords into ploughshares.
The World Day of Prayer, to be observed on 1 March, has been prepared this year by an ecumenical group of Palestinian women in response to the theme “I beg you…bear with one another in love.”
The World Council of Churches (WCC) Jerusalem Liaison Office Advisory Group convened on 20 February under the leadership of WCC general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay.
Israeli president Isaac Herzog formally received World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay on 20 February, to discuss the current situation in Israel and Palestine, and the war in Gaza.
World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay and delegation met with Sheikh Azzam Khatib, director of Islamic Waqf in Jerusalem on 18 February, reiterating the WCC’s commitment to maintaining Jerusalem as a city of all three Abrahamic religions.
World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay met with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, West Bank, on 19 February, urging an end to the “seemingly endless cycle of violence and suffering.”
Member churches, religious leaders and local Christian groups in Palestine and Israel—as well as Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli president Isaac Herzog—will meet with World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay as he visits the area beginning 16 February.
Twenty-four students and seven teachers from the Focolare Movement joined the World Council of Churches (WCC) for Ash Wednesday prayer services, and for an introduction to the ecumenical movement.
Members of Geneva’s churches gathered in the chapel of the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, where the World Council of Churches has its offices, for prayers and hymns to mark the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, observed in the northern hemisphere from 18 to 25 January each year.
As the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity opened on 18 January, a special prayer held at the Ecumenical Centre and online delved deeply into questions about love for our neighbor.
