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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.

As the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to journalists Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov, World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca congratulated them and expressed solidarity with their ongoing fight for justice and peace.

In a culmination of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, the World Council of Churches (WCC) held its first ever online global ecumenical prayer on 25 January, drawing attendees from across the world who came together in a spirit of hope.

In a 24 July statement on Hagia Sophia, Religions for Peace reiterated its commitment to the universality of heritage as something that can create peace and respect for all faiths. “We call for calm, in times when we see the use of religious sentiments and institutions in a manner that is divisive, thus pitting some believers against one another,” reads the statement. “We stand on the side of peace, and of deliberate, intentional, coexistence, particularly as we hear of the voices, and see the actions, of divisiveness and hatred from many quarters.”

An interreligious conference exploring religion and migration was hosted from 27-30 January in Sweden by Religions for Peace co-president and Church of Sweden Archbishop Dr Antje Jackelén.

Archbishop Anastasios of Tirana, Durrës and All Albania was honored with the Klaus Hemmerle 2020 Prize in Germany for his contribution to interreligious efforts for peace and harmony.

During an ecumenical ceremony attended by representatives of the Focolare community and by Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Archbishop Anastasios accepted the award on 14 February at the historic Aachen Cathedral in Germany.

A conference on “Promoting Peace Together” and the launch of the document “Education for Peace in a Multi-Religious World: A Christian Perspective” will take place at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva on 21 May.

WCC News met with the Very Reverend Archimandrite Dr Alexi Chehadeh, who leads the Department of Ecumenical Relations and Development for the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and all the East in Damascus, Syria. He is an impressive role model and peacemaker in Syria.

From 14-16 December in the UK, the CEC and Cumberland Lodge held a conference titled "Towards Peaceful co-existence in the Middle East: challenges and opportunities." Co-hosted by Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, the gathering drew participants from a broad range of Middle Eastern and European churches.

Unity and solidarity in Christ against populist trends was at the core of the opening message for an Ecumenical Weekend in Uppsala, Sweden on 3-4 November. Under the theme ”Behold, I make everything new!”, 150 guests gathered to reflect on current challenges for ecumenism.

Fifty young Christians and Muslims ages 20-25 are meeting 8-18 July for an Emerging Peacemakers Forum offering training in peacemaking and reconciliation at the Churchill College of Cambridge University in the UK. They will meet with international religious leaders, including the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar and president of the Muslim Council of Elders Prof. Dr Ahmad Al-Tayyeb.

An “Interreligious Dialogue for Peace, Promoting Peaceful Coexistence & Common Citizenship” in Vienna on 26 February is creating a first-ever joint action plan for Arab religious leaders to lead the way in repairing the divisions created by extremists, and rebuilding social cohesion and common citizenship in the Arab region.

Another step towards preventing incitement to violence that could lead to atrocity crimes was taken on Tuesday this week, when religious leaders and other actors gathered for a three-day meeting in Vienna to discuss the implementation of the Plan of Action for such prevention.

More than 3,000 peacemakers from all over the world were gathered in Oslo on 10 December to commemorate the work of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapon’s (ICAN) work with banners with slogans such as: "The world must sign UN nuclear ban."

His Eminence Dr Mohammad bin Abdul Karim Al-Issa, general secretary of the Muslim World League visited the World Council of Churches (WCC) in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland on 9 November, where he discussed with WCC leaders both the meaning and importance of “just peace.”

Preaching at the Old Church of Helsinki on 27 September, WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit congratulated Finn Church Aid on the occasion of its 70th anniversary, reflecting on the important calling the organization fulfils in stilling hunger and thirst among people in need, not only in a local context, but worldwide.

Protecting human freedom and dignity is a vital contribution to peace-building by religious communities, said Ecumenical Patriarch His All-Holiness Bartholomew I as he spoke at the Al-Azhar International Peace Conference on 27-28 April in Egypt.

He earned the title “Green Patriarch” as a religious leader addressing alarming environmental issues over at least two decades. In 2008, Time Magazine named His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew as one of 100 Most Influential People in the World, for “defining environmentalism as spiritual responsibility”.