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On 28th August, during a visit with Ambassador Andranik Hovhannisyan, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Armenia to the UN Office, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay expressed solidarity with those making efforts to lift the blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh by reopening the Lachin corridor.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is calling on Azerbaijan for the immediate lifting of the blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh, as more than 120,000 people—including 30,000 children—are suffering under an increasingly dire humanitarian crisis.

World Council of Churches central committee moderator Bishop Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm delivered a lecture at the Kitzingen deanery, a regional church district near Würzburg, for the parishes of the deanery as well as for the public. The lecture, entitled “Just Peace through Military Force? Peace Ethical Considerations in Light of the War of Aggression against Ukraine,” was offered on 29 April

A delegation from the World Council of Churches (WCC) is visiting Ukraine on 10-12 May to renew relations with churches and religious organizations and to explore possibilities of joint efforts to achieve just peace in Ukraine.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) has appointed Dr Andrej Jeftić as the new director of the Commission on Faith and Order.

During its travels in Moscow, a World Council of Churches (WCC) delegation visited the Humanitarian Aid Center, a church initiative which started in March 2022, after the beginning of the war in Ukraine. Most of the refugees from Ukraine who arrive in Moscow have friends or relatives in the Russian capital. Nevertheless, their need is great. Around 500 people knock at the door of the Refugee Centre every day. At the refugee drop-in centre, they receive daily necessities, basic food, products for personal hygiene and, if they do have children, the necessary basic equipment for them. Many of the people who come to the drop-in centre suffer from psychological problems and traumatic experiences. After initial treatment, they are referred to professionals.

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill and World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Fr Ioan Sauca met on 17 October in Moscow, discussing how churches are called to be peacemakers.

“For the first time in a long while, this 11th assembly provided safe spaces for serious engagement, reflections, prayer, challenging one another, [and] encounters.” said Dr Agnes Abuom, moderator of the World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee. She spoke of her take-aways from the WCC assembly, including the “commitment to the search for unity – common vision and understanding,” which she referred to as the cornerstone of the WCC.

The mayor of Karlsruhe Dr Frank Mentrup welcomed World Council of Churches leaders at a special reception at his German city’s town hall on 3 September, expressing his delight that the WCC has brought the global fellowship to his city.

The World Council of Churches 11th Assembly began its assembly in the German city of Karlsruhe on 31 August, with Dr Agnes Abuom opening the gathering, her last as moderator.

During the recent solidarity visit in Ukraine, a World Council of Churches (WCC) delegation has met with various state institutions working with religious issues, listening and learning from the victims of the ongoing war and asking for support in giving permission to the members of the delegation of Ukrainian Churches to leave the country and attend the WCC 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe. 

The World Council of Churches (WCC) expressed the solidarity of its worldwide fellowship with the people of Ukraine while meeting churches and state institutions during a visit to Ukraine from 1 – 5 August.