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WCC shares congratulations to Archbishop Hosam Naoum on installation as new primate of Anglican Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East.

This week marks 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.

This annual review of the activity of the WCC records many of the activities undertaken by the council during 2022 and continuing into 2023.

Between the period of the 13^th of September 1993 (when the Oslo Agreement was signed) and the 31^st of December 2022: Israel demolished 2787 structures in East Jerusalem including 213 donor-funded structures, and it displaced  5093 persons including 2582 children.  These included homes; Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) facilities; and agricultural structures. 

The World Council of Churches joins the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, Custody of the Holy Land, and Armenian Patriarchate in expressing serious concern about the restrictions imposed by the Israel Police on the celebration of the ceremony of Holy Fire, in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on the forthcoming Holy Saturday.

On 23 February 2023, at a special event at the University of Fribourg honoring his work, former acting general secretary of the World Council of Churches, Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, delivered a lecture exploring the question: “What future for the ecumenical movement?”

Jerusalem, 22 November 2022

Archbishop Chrysostomos II, head of the Church of Cyprus died on 7 November at age 81. WCC acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca expressed deep sadness at the loss of Chrysostomos II.

World Council of Churches acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca delivered a lecture during the first edition of the “Bahrain Dialogue Forum: East and West for Human Coexistence” held 3-4 November. Sauca’s lecture took place during a forum session entitled “Experiences of Promoting Global Coexistence and Human Fraternity.”

On October 17, 2022, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia met with Fr Ioan Sauca, acting general secretary of the World Council of Churches.

Greetings message by Rev. Hong-Jung Lee, general secretary of the National Council of Churches in Korea, at the Ecumenical Peace Conversation in South Korea.

Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness (Genesis 1:26)

The World Council of Churches, at its 11th assembly, in Karlsruhe, Germany, abhors the perpetuation of all forms of racism, xenophobia and related discriminations against humanity and the pervasive suffering it causes. 

World Council of Churches acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca extended condolences upon the passing of Dr Gabriel Habib, who served the Middle East Council of Churches as secretary general from 1977 to 1994.

"War in Ukraine, Peace and Justice in the European Region", statement by the WCC 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe, Germany

"Seeking Justice and Peace for All in the Middle East", statement of the WCC 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe, Germany

"The Things That Make For Peace: Moving the World to Reconciliation and Unity", Statement of the WCC 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe, Germany

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby addressed the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Karlsruhe, Germany on 7 September 2022.