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From responding to divisions within churches and communities, to addressing fair representation within the WCC, the Permanent Committee on Consensus and Collaboration of the WCC met from 2-6 October in Rhodes, Greece, hosted by the Ecumenical Patriarchate, through the hospitality of H. E. Metropolitan Kyrillos of Rhodes.

A regional conference held 5-6 September in Berlin allowed participants to look at statelessness in the European context through the lenses of human rights and development.

The conference, with the theme “Statelessness in the European Context: Prevention, Reduction and Protection,” approached statelessness as an issue that is often invisible even though it occurs in so many countries around the world.

As the 44th conference of the International Ecumenical Fellowship came to a close, those gathered departed for their home countries with a vision for “the church of tomorrow” and a renewed commitment to unity.

The WCC has begun the process of digitally publishing its Faith and Order Papers, a set of legacy materials comprising 300 discrete publications and totaling 35,000 pages.

Dr Pauline Webb, a British Methodist laywoman, multi-talented Christian communicator and ecumenical statesperson, died at the age of 89 on 27 April 2017 in Muswell Hill, London.

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit joined others in congratulating Prof. Jürgen Moltmann for receiving an honorary doctorate of divinity degree on 5 April from the Theological Faculty of Pretoria University, South Africa.

The leadership of the WCC Central Committee met in Geneva on 14-15 March to prepare for the Executive Committee meeting in June in Geneva. The WCC continues to focus on its pilgrimage of justice and peace, preparations for the 11th Assembly in 2021 as well as its upcoming 70th anniversary. The WCC was formed in October 1948 in Amsterdam. During 2018, the WCC fellowship will not only celebrate significant milestones in the history of the WCC but also continue to address modern injustices and the ongoing struggle for a just peace.

Before accepting the position of programme executive for the WCC Faith and Order Commission, Dr Ani Ghazaryan Drissi was involved with the WCC in several different ways.

"Günther Gassmann's life and work reflect the ecumenical ideals of theological reflection based deeply in careful historical understanding of the Christian tradition, combined with sincere and open-minded work to address and overcome the historic divisions within the church”, wrote the general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, upon the passing of Prof. Dr Günther Gassmann, on 11 January.

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”.

Roman Catholic and WCC representatives are forging new ways of working together on today’s most pressing issues.

Increasingly, the unity of the church is threatened by different positions on moral issues. In response to this, the Faith and Order Commission of the WCC continues to study how churches arrive at the ethical decisions they make.

Rev. Dr Hielke Wolters is leaving the WCC after serving for nine years - the last seven years as associate general secretary - but he is not leaving the ecumenical movement to which he has been dedicated since his student days. Officially is he going to retire, but only on the paper. He has many thoughts and plans to realize as he moves back to the Netherlands to serve, in one way or another, the church or the wider ecumenical movement. Wolters said to WCC News with a smile: “I’m open for any suggestion and I know that God will lead me in the right direction when that time comes.”

Hope in a Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace formed the integral thread for proceedings at the meeting of the Central Committee of the WCC in Trondheim, Norway this week. The 2016 meeting took place 22-28 June, the second gathering since the Central Committee was elected at the WCC 10th Assembly in Busan, Republic of Korea in 2013.

The next World Mission Conference is to be held in Arusha, Tanzania, 8-13 March 2018. The proposal to hold the conference was approved by the WCC Central Committee.

What is the state of the ecumenical quest for Christian unity? How does it relate to work for justice and peace? What can we say about the Church in this context?

As the Holy and Great Council commenced this week in Crete, Greece, WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit attended celebrations of Pentecost with the Orthodox community, offering his prayers and support.

“There is a remarkable change towards acknowledging the role of faith-based communities and their resources to address humanitarian needs,” said Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the WCC, during the World Humanitarian Summit, held in Istanbul, Turkey, 23-24 May.

The leadership and representatives of the World Evangelical Alliance and the WCC met in the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey, Switzerland to explore and discuss possible areas of future cooperation.

The Faith and Order Commission’s convergence text “The Church: Towards a Common Vision” continues to be discussed by churches on a journey toward revealing the unity of the church and how it is inextricably bound on a pilgrimage of justice and peace.