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WCC News met with the Very Reverend Archimandrite Dr Alexi Chehadeh, who leads the Department of Ecumenical Relations and Development for the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and all the East in Damascus, Syria. He is an impressive role model and peacemaker in Syria.

“We look forward to working closely with you in the fulfillment of people’s hopes and needs worldwide to the glory of the one God”, said Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in a message of greeting to Birgitte Qvist-Sørensen, elected moderator of the governing board of ACT Alliance, on 31 October, in Uppsala, Sweden.

On 29 June, the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW) published guidance aimed at helping humanitarian agencies attune their work to the faith and background of people affected by conflict, disaster and displacement.

On 20 March the unique program aiming to empower Syrian-Armenian youth who escaped the ongoing conflict in Syria and settled in Armenia was launched in Yerevan. Through training, capacity building and joint activities, the project aims to deepen the relations between Syrian and local Armenian youth.

In 2018 we celebrate the 70th anniversary of the World Council of Churches. In order to create a lively firsthand account of the ecumenical fellowship and of our shared journey, member churches have contributed stories of people, events, achievements and even failures, all of which have deepened our collective search for Christian unity. This story was written by Olle Eriksson, a Namibian who worked for 35 years (1968 – 2003) with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia, Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission and Lutheran World Federation.

Ecumenical diakonia means complementing each other in what we do best: serving our communities, thus bringing visible church unity to the world, agreed participants at an Ecumenical Strategic Forum on Diakonia and Sustainable Development convened by the World Council of Churches (WCC) last week.

During the visit to Iraq on 20-24 January, a delegation of church leaders shared the findings and recommendations of a recent study exploring the specific needs of displaced people in Iraq and Syria. The delegation also learned a lot about the current situation and challenges from representatives of local faith communities in Iraq, heads of the country’s Christian churches and Christian young people.

Including persons with disabilities and the aged in humanitarian practices was the theme for the 4th annual International Humanitarian Partnership Conference in Nairobi on 21-22 September. More than 140 humanitarian practitioners, academicians and advocates met for the conference, organized by the Inter Agency Working Group on Disaster Preparedness for East and Central Africa (IAWG). The theme was “Disability and Age Inclusion in Humanitarian Practice: Scaling up inclusive practices toward the achievement of Agenda 2030.”

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.”

Interview with Fr James Oyet-Latansio (JOL), general secretary of the Christian Council in South Sudan and Mr Ferdinand von Habsburg-Lothringen (FHL), advisor on reconciliation, South Sudan Council of Churches

Following the EU-Turkey refugee agreement, effective 20 March 2016, the Greek islands are again a changed place. Where refugees have arrived in great numbers in the past years, and where they have engaged a whole community of local, national and international aid workers and volunteers, the situation is now dramatically different.

The heads of two German Protestant churches and the moderator of the country’s Reformed Alliance say the situation for refugees on the border between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is intolerable and more European aid is needed.

Negotiations should end the conflict and bring political transition in Syria, urged the World Council of Churches and Pax Christi International in a joint statement issued 15 March.

The World Council of Churches announced its support of a joint appeal for humanitarian access in Syria initiated by the Norwegian Refugee Council and UNICEF, and signed by dozens of humanitarian agencies worldwide.

Three renowned conductors give a rare classical concert for a refugee audience and volunteer aid workers. The Berlin International Film Festival — the world’s biggest film festival — gives its top prize, the Golden Bear, to a documentary about refugees.

While attending the Berlin International Film Festival, Afghan filmmaker Ghafar Faizyar shared his story about coming to Berlin in 2014 — and not returning to his homeland. This is not his first exile. His family fled the Taliban-rule in the nineties and he grew up in Iran.

Following the international World Council of Churches (WCC)/United Nations Conference on the Refugee Crisis in Europe, hosted by WCC in mid-January, Deputy Minister Ioannis Amanatidis, from the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, visited the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva on 2 March.

The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Athens is caring for the nutritional and clothing needs of refugees and migrants hosted at the identification and registration centre on the Greek island of Samos.