As part of an ongoing, multiyear project called “Walking Together,” an international and interreligious group met in Nicosia, Cyprus, from 6-8 December to explore different facets of the theme “Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace,” which undergirds the World Council of Church’s programmatic focus.
The latest edition of the quarterly WCC journal features a discussion of the roots of religion and violence in the Middle East. Five presentations drawn from three WCC-sponsored conferences of recent years explore aspects of the religious concepts of “promised land,” the “theology of land” and how to go about “reading the Hebrew Bible in solidarity with the Palestinian people.”
Five religious leaders from Christian and Muslim communities in Cyprus have released a joint statement deploring all forms of attacks in the name of religion on their island, and in the whole world, saying they cannot be justified.
The re-opening of the Church of Panagia (Virgin Mary) Galakdodrofousas in Palekythro, Cyprus, after 41 years was hailed by the WCC as an important sign of peace and reconciliation.
WCC leaders and President Nicos Anastasiades of Cyprus have discussed reunification of Cyprus and reconciliation among communities at a meeting on 25 November in the island's divided capital Nicosia.
The “pilgrimage is both a way to continue working for the one ecumenical movement and a way to move forward in our times that offer new dimensions, opportunities and practices,” said the WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit.