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World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay held productive talks with the Archbishop of Canterbury and Anglican Communion leaders.

World Council of Churches Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay congratulated Brother Matthew, the new prior of the Taize Community. 

The fellowship of churches constituting the World Council of Churches mourns the loss of Metropolitan Kallistos of Diokleia, an outstanding hierarch of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, one of the leading theologians today in the Orthodox world, a proliferous author, a teacher deeply respected by his many disciples around the world, a man of dialogue, a worldwide known ecumenist.

During the global pandemic it is not any more possible to be present at special celebrations in the ecumenical and global fellowship. The new realities connect the local and global work in a new and innovative way. The WCC is present digitally in many gatherings.

Protopresbyter Boris Bobrinskoy, one of the best-known Orthodox theologians in France and a former member of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Faith and Order Commission, passed away in Paris in the night from 6 to 7 August at the age of 95. He was highly respected for the contributions he made to ecumenical dialogues and academic institutions over many decades. In a tribute published in its website, the WCC celebrated Bobrinskoy’s “long and impressive ecumenical pilgrimage.”

A century after the landmark Paris Peace Conference that followed the First World War, representatives of churches from throughout Europe gathered in the French capital to seek ways of strengthening peace in the 21st century.

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.

More than 220 church leaders representing over 20 churches from Belgium, France, Luxemburg and Switzerland are meeting from 27-31 October in the French city of Lyon for the first Francophone Christian Forum.

A nine-year long process by a Lutheran-Roman Catholic Study Commission on Unity has closed its work with a meeting in Klingenthal, France from 18-24 July, with the intention of producing a study report.

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.

During a visit to the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Geneva on 16 February, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby spoke on an “ecumenism of action” as he also congratulated the WCC on its 70th anniversary.

In an awards ceremony held at Lambeth Palace on 9 June, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby presented a Lambeth Cross for Ecumenism to Dr Agnes Abuom, moderator of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Central Committee.

The World Council of Churches, Council for World Mission and United Reformed Church, held a joint consultation on Multiple Religious Belonging, 14-16 December, at Queen’s Ecumenical Centre, Birmingham UK. The consultation which included members of different faith groups, renowned theologians and grassroots interfaith activists extended and enriched continuing conversations on the lived reality of multiple religious belonging and religious hybridity. The consultation included panel discussions from inter-religious; theological; ritual and socio-anthropological; and interdisciplinary perspectives.

The WCC acting general secretary, Georges Lemopoulos, has called for prayer and acts of common caring following a murderous attack on holiday makers in the southern French city of Nice.

From Paris to Pakistan, Orlando to Myanmar, Iraq to Nigeria, each day witnesses conflict and violence perpetrated in the name of religion or committed against persons because of their religious identity.

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.

Almost forty years after the advent of HIV and AIDS, people around the world living with HIV still endure assaults on their dignity and basic human rights—from stigma and discrimination to denial of legal protection and even medical care.

A WCC delegation visited Ireland from 28 November to 1 December to explore how the international ecumenical community may best support churches in the global fellowship and work together on the Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace.