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Statement on Jerusalem killings

The World Council of Churches condemns the use of deadly force by the Israeli security forces, resulting in the killing of more than twenty and the wounding of hundreds of Palestinians in Jerusalem. The manner in which the Israeli authorities have acted reflects total disregard of their obligations under international law and makes them fully responsible for this tragedy. The Council extends to the families of the victims its sincere condolence and upholds them in its prayers.

General Secretary

Call to prayer of peace in the Holy Land

The Central Committee of the WCC meeting in Geneva (March 1990) warmly welcomes the initiative of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), "Christians for Peace in the Holy Land", calling the churches around the world to join the churches in Jerusalem for prayers for peace in the Holy Land during the period from Palm Sunday to Pentecost, dates this year shared by all churches.

Central Committee

Larnaca Declaration

Poor and oppressed people, who are at the margins of the world's concern, should be at the centre of Christian service, insisted the 300 participants in the 1986 global ecumenical consultation on interchurch aid in Larnaca, Cyprus. Diakonia, they said, is "liberating and transforming, suffering and empowering". Christian service cannot be separated from the struggle for justice and peace; therefore, advocacy, solidarity and sharing of skills are as essential to diakonia as the giving of money.

Ecumenical movement

Ecumenical Considerations on Jewish-Christian Dialogue

In 1975 the Consultation on the Church and the Jewish People (CCJP) voted to begin the process that has borne fruit in these Ecumenical Considerations on Jewish-Christian dialogue. The first step was to request preparatory papers from the various regions with experience in Jewish-Christian dialogue. When the Central Committee adopted "Guidelines on Dialogue" in 1979, work on developing specific suggestions for Jewish-Christian dialogue began and, after a period of drafting and revisions, a draft was presented for comments to the International Jewish Committee on Interreligious Consultations (IJCIC), the CCJP's primary Jewish dialogue partner. After discussion in the DFI Working Group in 1980, a revised draft was circulated among interested persons in the churches and comments solicited. Many and substantial comments and suggestions were received.

When it met in London Colney, England, in June 1981, the CCJP adopted its final revisions and submitted them to the DFI Working Group, which adopted them at its meeting in Bali, Indonesia, 2 January 1982, having made its own revisions at a few points. On the advice of the February 1982 WCC Executive Committee, various concerned member churches and various members of the CCJP were further consulted in order to revise and re-order the text. The result, "Ecumenical Considerations on Jewish-Christian Dialogue", was "received and commended to the churches for study and action" by the Executive Committee of the World Council of Churches at Geneva on 16 July 1982.

WCC Programmes

WOCATI 2011 Consultation Communiqué

Communique from the 2011 Consultation of the World Conference of Associations of Theological Institutions (WOCATI), which took place in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 4 to 8 July. The Consultation, the first ever mabe in Africa, gathered 38 representatives of Protestant, Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Evangelical, Pentecostal and African Independent Churches, who discussed issues of quality in theological education on a global level.

Ecumenical movement
Programme activity
Solidarity with churches in the Middle East

Peacebuilding: Middle East

The situation of the Middle East calls for collective efforts by ecumenical partners to achieve peace and justice at local, national, regional and international levels. The WCC aims to build a space where the entire ecumenical movement can put its collective energies and resources together for lasting peace.