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Like David in Psalms 37: 25-26; I can comfortably state that I once was young and now I am not so young and during these years, God made it possible for me to meet and interact with a few of the ecumenical icons. These were men and women who were visionary and committed to the cause of church unity and the unity of humankind.

Letter from WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit to the family of Bishop John Victor Samuel, one of the pioneers of the Church of Pakistan, paying tribute to his commitment for peace, unity and harmony, and his tireless work for interfaith relations, as well as for the unity of Christians in Pakistan and beyond.

English version of the condolence letter sent by WCC general secretary, Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, to the Evangelical Methodist Church of Argentina.

Tribute to Rev. Angel Peiró, Secretary for Latin America and the Caribbean of the Commission on Inter-Church Aid, Refugee and World Service (CICARWS) at the WCC between 1980 and 85, by Georges Lemopoulos, WCC acting general secretary.

It is difficult, if not impossible, to express in just a few words what Philip Potter of blessed memory meant to the Ecumenical movement, to the WCC and to me personally.

I first met Dr Philip Potter in 1972 when, as the new class of Frontier Internship in Mission, we paid him a courtesy call in his office at the Ecumenical Centre.

Philip Potter, 1921-2015, a tribute by the Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, WCC general secretary.

The fifth biblical reflection of the Seven Weeks for Water 2015 is by Veronica Flachier, a journalist and theologian from Ecuador. She is a representative of the CLAI (Latin American Council of Churches) to the International Reference Group of the Ecumenical Water Network of the WCC and currently one of the co-chairs. In this reflection, she highlights that the water crisis we currently experience has been determined by the ambition of certain powerful corporations that formulate the rules in a world that is regulated by the logic of the consumer driven market, where not only water is a commodity, but so is the entirety of nature and even the human beings. Only by re-ordering the quality of the relationships in the frame of ethics and justice, can we dream of re-ordering our Pachamama – the mother earth.

The third biblical reflection of the Seven Weeks for Water 2015 is by Rommel F. Linatoc, the Christian Conference of Asia representative to the International Reference Group of the Ecumenical Water Network of the WCC. He is currently the executive secretary for Christian Unity and Ecumenical Relations at the National Council of Churches in the Philippines. He highlights the importance of using water imagery in our liturgies to talk about justice. He also challenges us to not limit our liturgical celebrations to Sunday services but that they should become a part of our life.

A tribute to Edna Palmer, a Presbyterian ecumenist from the WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit. She died on 8 November 2014.

Condolence letter from the WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit to Mrs Prema Isaac, Mr Paul Isaac and Mr Andrew Isaac, on the death of Samuel Isaac, deputy director of the WCC’s former Commission on Inter-Church Aid and Refugee Service.

A tribute by Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, WCC general secretary

The WCC gives thanks to God for the life of Emilio Castro, who served for nearly twenty years as a leading member of the WCC staff, and from 1985 to 1992 as our fourth general secretary. Dr Castro passed away in Montevideo, Uruguay on the evening of Saturday 6 April 2013 at the age of 85.

Tribute by WCC general secretary Olav Fykse Tveit

Tribute expressing admiration for the life and work of the renowned liberation theologian

Condolence letter to the Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church

This tribute by the Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit to the late Professor Dr Wangari Muta Maathai of Kenya was presented at a memorial service in the Ecumenical Centre chapel in Geneva. Maathai, who died on 25 September 2011, had participated in a number of conferences and committees of the WCC related to ecological justice and peace.

A tribute to the memory of Anton Houtepen by WCC general secretary Olav Fykse Tveit

In Holy Tradition and in the Liturgy of the Eastern Orthodox Churches water has a profound symbolic presence. Water in the sacrament of baptism is intimately related to the Feast of the Theophany. Celebrated on 6 January, Theophany (from the Greek theophania, meaning "appearance or manifestation of God to the world"), is one of the Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church.

Tribute by WCC general secretary Samuel Kobia