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Israeli president Isaac Herzog formally received World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay on 20 February, to discuss the current situation in Israel and Palestine, and the war in Gaza. 

As a year of exceptional and increasing conflict draws to a close, and as we pray for peace for all in 2024, “that prospect seems nowhere more remote than for the suffering and traumatized people of Gaza,” said World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay. 

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is condemning an attack on one of the buildings within the compound of the St Porphyrios Greek Orthodox Church in Gaza. The building—affiliated with the church, which is one the oldest churches in Gaza—has collapsed in the explosion, caused by Israeli missile strikes, according to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate.

Church leaders in the Holy Land are raising their voices in unity to call for the cessation of all violent and military activities that bring harm to both Palestinian and Israeli civilians.

As a “Living Together” celebration in Bagdad opened on 6 March, religious and ethnic leaders from Iraq celebrated diversity and, at the same time, candidly addressed challenges to inclusive citizenship. They were joined by representatives of Iraqi executive and legislative authorities as well as representatives from UN agencies and embassies.

Orthodox churches convened in Cyprus this week to prepare for the World Council of Churches (WCC) 11th Assembly, as well as to pray and reflect together on how to keep dialogue open amid the world’s grave challenges.

An interfaith consultation held 12-16 December in Beirut, Lebanon, offered the chance for participants from different traditions to share their vision for social and religious cohesion in Iraq, assessing the current context and envisioning the way forward.

It has been 46 years since the Turkish invasion of Cyprus led to the partitioning of the island, the northern third inhabited by Turkish Cypriots and the southern two-thirds by Greek Cypriots, whose government is internationally recognized. The August 1974 ceasefire line became a United Nations buffer zone, along which Cyprus remains divided.

Church leaders from across the world are expressing their grave concern over the government of Israel’s plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank.

Father Jacques Mourad is a monk and priest of the community of Mar Moussa in Syria. He is very active in Islamic-Christian dialogue and belongs to the diocese of Homs of the Syriac Catholic Church. In 2015, he was captured and held hostage by the Islamic State, before escaping with the help of Muslims. During Advent, Father Mourad visited the Ecumenical Centre, where he led a special midday prayer for peace in Syria and the Middle East.

WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit on 29 January urged the international community not to support a proposal by US president Trump and Israeli prime minister Netanyahu for dividing up Palestine and Israel - a plan developed with no meaningful participation from the Palestinian people.

The Europe region of the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC) elected a new Regional Executive Committee during its once-every-four-years assembly, held as part of as joint seminar organised with the Conference of European Churches (CEC) from 10-12 April in Helsinki and Stockholm.

“We are united in a pact of love, that encourages us to live in such a way that Christian unity is not only a dream, but may come closer each day,” said His Eminence Francis Xavier Kriengsak Kovithavanij, archbishop of Bangkok and Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria Addolorata, as 40 bishops from 18 churches in 12 different countries gather in Sigtuna, Sweden, this week.

When WCC’s long-time partner, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), was awarded the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize, another small but important step towards a safer world was taken. Not only was it a recognition of global efforts to abolish nuclear weapons, but also an affirmation of the role Christian churches have played at local and grassroots levels to raise awareness and mobilize people against nuclear proliferation.

The WCC Executive Committee met in Amman, Jordan from 17-23 November to approve the 2018 plan and budget and prepare for renewal of the WCC strategic plan. The Executive Committee also discerned the way forward for the WCC’s involvement in Palestine and Israel by learning more about the particular situation in Jordan and the Middle East, then discussing the challenges of the churches and the WCC response. The Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem, All Palestine and Jordan, Theophilos III, welcomed the group.