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World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay, on behalf of the global fellowship, expressed grave concern regarding the recent escalation of violence in the Middle East following the first direct confrontation between Iran and Israel.

An Easter prayer from the Korean Peninsula—a tradition that has continued for 28 years—brings forth the vision of reunification and peace. 

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. 

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay met with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, West Bank, on 19 February, urging an end to the “seemingly endless cycle of violence and suffering.” 

On the 2024 International Day of Human Fraternity, observed 5 February, special events—including the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity—focused on bridging divides and promoting a culture of peace. 

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. 

Sharing hopes and challenges for the search for peace on the Korean peninsula, members of the Ecumenical Forum for Peace, Reunification & Development on the Korean Peninsula (EFK) gathered for an informal meeting this week.

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.

The Christian Conference of Asia 15th General Assembly, in a statement, called for prayers for true peace on the Korean Peninsula. The statement also called upon governments to refrain from provocative statements and military actions, and prayed that permanent members of the UN Security Council continue to work together for reconciliation and peace on the Korean Peninsula.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) will welcome a “Bethlehem Reborn – Palestine – The Wonders of the Nativity” exhibit that will open in a live-streamed ceremony on 12 September, then be available to the public from 13 September-5 October daily. The multimedia touring exhibit highlights the rehabilitation of the Church of the Nativity in all its artistic beauty, historical significance, and spiritual messages. 

Iranian rector Ayatollah M. Seyyed Abolhassan Nawab and Ms Zahra Sedigh, from the Iranian Mission to the UN, visited the World Council of Churches (WCC) on 27 July, discussing education and formation, as well as the importance of strengthening the role of interreligious cooperation.  

The WCC central committee expressed continuous concern about two significant territorial crises in the eastern Mediterranean: those within Palestine and Israel, and those within Cyprus. “These politically driven conflicts have resulted in illegal occupations that have spanned decades,” reads a minute released by the governing body.