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The World Council of Churches hosted 60 visitors during the week of 11-14 March.

In pastoral letters to His All-Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew, His Beatitude Hieronymos II, Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, and the Evangelical Church of Greece, World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay conveyed sincere sympathies as wildfires raged across the land.

A new volume—“Contemporary ecotheology, climate justice and environmental stewardship in the world”—is the latest of the continued fruits of the 6th International Conference on Ecological theology and Environmental Ethics, or Ecothee, which took place in September 2019 at the Orthodox Academy of Crete in Kolymvari.

Greeks have watched their country burn, knowing that the flames also consume many other parts of the world, says the Church of Greece.

A dozen global and regional religious organizations released an advocacy statement on the situation of migrants and refugees in Europe that defines their calling as Christians to “welcome the stranger,” and urges the creation of a world in which “we become human together.”

Christian organizations representing 2 billion people—about one-third of the world's population—have released a statement on the dire situation of migrants and refugees in Europe, and they are demanding a more compassionate approach.

Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece offers reflections from an Orthodox perspective on the current plight of refugees, both in Greece and beyond, and how churches can help with both relief efforts and long-term wellbeing.

As Hagia Sophia opens for prayer on 24 July, Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece has announced that on this date will be a day of mourning for Christians and Greek people everywhere. He will perform the customary Good Friday liturgy and hymns at the Metropolitan Church of Athens Evangelismos Theotokou and is inviting everyone to join in prayers for aid and support to the nation.

The world’s 300 million Orthodox Christians celebrated Easter on 19 April, carrying forth time-honored traditions even in difficult times.

Church leaders from Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark signed a statement demanding that we take “human responsibility” for refugees on the border between Turkey and Greece.

Archbishop Job of Telmessos, who serves as permanent representative of the Ecumenical Patriarchate to the World Council of Churches (WCC), met with the WCC News and describes receiving an extraordinary gift from Pope Francis on 29 June.

World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit sent a greeting to a conference about religious and ecclesiastical diplomacy held in Greece on 28 February - 3 March. WCC deputy general secretary Prof. Dr Fr Ioan Sauca represented the WCC at the conference.

Dealing with people on the move is crucial to the work of the Church in the 21st century says Greek Metropolitan Gabriel of Nea Ionia and Filadelfia. More than 31,000 irregular migrants arrived in Greece by sea in 2018 and almost 17,000 arrived by land, according to the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Protecting children from any kind of violence has always been and should remain an essential message of Christianity, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has told a gathering at the World Council of Churches (WCC) for World Children’s Day.

At WCC’s ecumenical workcamps in the late 1950s, a young Govaert Chr.Kok of the Netherlands would learn lessons for life – and encounter a very special person.

The benefits of digital media in the mission of the Orthodox Church, as well as the dangers of over-use, were discussed at the 2nd International Conference on Digital Media and Orthodox Pastoral Care. The conference was based on the view of the digital world as a sphere for the reiteration of Pentecost and the “living world” of Saint Paul the Apostle. The event was held on 18-21 June at the Orthodox Academy of Crete in Kolymbari under the auspices of His-All Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.

One hundred-and-twenty hierarchs and academic theologians, clergy, laity and young researchers, men and women from 25 universities and theological institutes and 15 countries participated as speakers at the 8th International Conference of Orthodox Theology in Thessaloniki on 21-24 May, organized by the Faculty of Theology of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH) under the auspices of the Ecumenical Patriarchate with the title: "The Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church: Orthodox Theology in the 21st Century.”

The 8th International Conference of Orthodox faculties, just held in Thessaloniki, Greece, is expected to contribute to the interpretation and reception of the 2016 “Holy and Great Council” of the Eastern Orthodox churches.