Search results

During an ecumenical morning prayer held 15 May, the World Council of Churches (WCC) staff and partners observed the UN International Day of Living Together in Peace, holding in prayer many nations across the world facing challenges to living together in harmony.

Rev. Fr Dr Lawrence Iwuamadi is dean of the Ecumenical Institute, the graduate school which opened its academic year this week. Below, Iwuamadi reflects on the arrival of new students at the Ecumenical Institute during this remarkable time.

“It was with great sadness that we received the news of the passing of Rev. Pablo Sosa, one of the grandfathers of global ecumenical spirituality,” said Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the WCC. The Argentinian Methodist pastor passed away on 11 January, in Buenos Aires, at the age of 85.

The Central Committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC), at its meeting in Trondheim, Norway, 27 June 2016, has elected a new executive committee with 11 new members.

The WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit has conveyed in a meeting with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos that “the churches believe in reconciliation, forgiveness and repentance, and are committed to contribute to the peace building process.”

Interview with the WCC general secretary, who is currently in Brasilia, about violence committed in the name of religion, human rights and climate justice in Brazil.

A worship service on 30 August at the Pentecostal Cathedral of Curico, Chile, featured participation from the WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit and the WCC president for Latin America and the Caribbean Rev. Gloria Ulloa. Christian unity and ecumenical aspirations remained in focus at the service attended by more than 1,300 people.

“The effects of climate change today and tomorrow will affect basic human rights,” said Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the WCC, during an audience with the Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, at the Palacio de la Moneda in Santiago on 29 August.

WCC support for churches’ struggles during the years of dictatorship in Argentina was praised by Aldo M. Etchegoyen, bishop emeritus of the Evangelical Methodist Church of Argentina.

To strengthen relationships and support churches in Latin America in their struggles for justice and peace, a pilgrimage of church leaders organized by the WCC will visit Argentina, Chile, Brazil and Colombia from 24 August to 7 September.

The WCC remembers today, 24 April, the 1.5 million Armenian victims – children, women and men – who died 100 years ago.

The theme “pilgrimage of justice and peace” has triggered robust discussions on furthering cooperation among Christian communication organizations in a seminar sponsored by the WCC. The seminar was held at the biannual assembly of the Latin American and Caribbean Agency of Communication in Argentina.

At the Central Committee meeting of the WCC, leadership of the Council’s consultative bodies was announced. These bodies will steer through the work of the WCC in accomplishing the call from its 10th Assembly to engage in a “pilgrimage of justice and peace”. The WCC assembly was held in the Republic of Korea in 2013.

The March 2014 issue of The Ecumenical Review features reflections on the global context of ecumenical theology from leading theological scholars and students who participated in classes, research and ecumenical events in Busan and Seoul, Republic of Korea, in the fall of 2013.

The Rev. Dr Walter Altmann, former moderator of the Central Committee of the WCC, has been congratulated on his 70th birthday in a private letter from the WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit. Altmann, a Brazilian Lutheran pastor who has played a leading role in the ecumenical movement, turned 70 on Tuesday 4 February.

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity has been globally celebrated this year with prayers, reflections, ecumenical services and events focusing on Paul’s question in Corinthians 1 “Has Christ been divided?” a theme for this year’s prayer materials, prepared by the Canadian churches.

On Wednesday, 6 November, the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC) facilitated a workshop “Hearing Many Voices for Justice and Peace” at the World Council of Churches (WCC) 10th Assembly. The WACC promotes communication as a basic human right, essential to people's dignity and community.

The plenary on justice at the WCC 10th Assembly brings into focus the core of its theme “God of life, lead us to justice and peace.” Following on diverse reflections from around the world on Christian unity, Asia and mission, the assembly plenary on 6 November in Busan, Republic of Korea, highlighted struggles for justice.

The 10th Assembly of the World Council of Churches elected eight new presidents today during a closed session at its proceedings in Busan, Republic of Korea.

Pastors from Germany and Argentina reflect on what peace and justice means while a local church in Germany encourages others to do the same through a new resource.