Graduates from an interreligious studies course at the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey reflected on the meaning of the experience, and the theme of this year’s program, “Health and wholeness of life in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.”
After thousands of Orthodox Christians were denied access to Mount Tabor, in the Lower Galilee—site of the transfiguration of Jesus—World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay expressed concern about the infringement on religious freedom in the Holy Land.
After thousands of Orthodox Christians were denied access to Mount Tabor, in the Lower Galilee—site of the transfiguration of Jesus—World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay expressed concern about the infringement on religious freedom in the Holy Land.
A rising trend of violence in the West Bank led four Palestinian communities to leave their villages and move somewhere else, due to the residents living in constant fear and occupation-related coercive measures.
Vandalism targeting churches, cemeteries, and Christian properties in addition to physical and verbal abuse against Christian clergy have increased in the past months in the Holy Land, amid ongoing political tensions within Israeli society.
World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay called for an end to the Israeli military’s assault in Jenin. The WCC condemns the assault and calls for the cessation of all violence in the West Bank including that from Israeli settlers.
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.
Church leaders from Canada, the Holy Land, and South Africa have addressed the central committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Geneva on reconciliation, explaining that the process involving communities is not easy and needs hard work and responsibility.
The latest group of World Council of Churches (WCC) ecumenical accompaniers reported incidents between 14 April and 22 May that ranged from violence to displacement, from harassment to intimidation in the West Bank.
World Council of Churches (WCC) Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay expressed concern over a violent protest by rightwing Jewish activists against an Evangelical Christian event in Jerusalem on 28 May.
A reflection originally shared at the "Working Together" meeting between the World Council of Churches and specialized ministries, convened 3-4 May in Bossey, Switzerland.
In a message sharing joyful greetings at Pentecost, World Council of Churches presidents from different regions across the world prayed for spiritual blessings and the felt presence of God.
World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay shared joyful congratulations with Archbishop Hosam Naoum, who was installed as new primate of Anglican Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East.
We, the Presidents of the World Council of Churches, send you joyful greetings for the feast of Pentecost, for a day when we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Church.
Marking 75 years since Al-Nakba—the Arabic term for the events of 1948, when many Palestinians were displaced from their homeland by the creation of the new state of Israel—religious leaders reflected on what Al-Nakba means today.
During the 75th commemoration of what Palestinians refer to as the nakba, or “catastrophe”—when hundreds of thousands of people were uprooted during Israel's creation in 1948—World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay expressed solidarity with member churches in the Holy Land.