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Report of the WCC general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay to the WCC Central Committee meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, 21 - 27 June 2023.

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

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.

Report of the Acting General Secretary to the WCC Central Committee meeting, 9 February 2022

Invited by the World Council of Churches and the Middle East Council of Churches, 40 representatives of religious authorities and leaders of various Iraqi religions, congregations, and ethnic groups, came together in Beirut to follow up on recommendations of the 2017 conference held in Beirut under the title "Interfaith Consultation of Social Cohesion in Iraq", and to discuss emerging challenges and future prospects for social cohesion in Iraq.

"The quest for unity in the practice of the WCC", report of the WCC general secretary to the WCC executive committee meeting in Amman, Jordan, November 2017

This annual review of the activity of the WCC records many of the activities undertaken by the council during 2016 and continuing into 2017.

As part of an ongoing, multiyear project called “Walking Together,” an international and interreligious group met in Nicosia, Cyprus, from 6-8 December to explore different facets of the theme “Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace,” which undergirds the World Council of Churches' programmatic focus.

Water and fire are indispensable life forces. As such, they are the gifts of God to the human being. At the same time, they can turn into destructive forces when not treated with care.

The gap between demand and supply of water in the Middle East--and the urgent need to reduce the gap needs to be discussed seriously. We need to address the challenges and the available opportunities to ensure sustainability of water in the region. Today, on the eve of Lent, and upon the attention of the international organizations and non-governmental and humanitarian organizations upon the subject of water, due to its importance for the continuity of life and by coincidence with the World Water Day, several questions are asked in terms of the Middle East as a whole or the Holy Land in particular. Water is a basic necessity of daily life, and cannot be dispensed with because of its importance for humans, animals and plants. Towns and villages were established only where there was a resource of water. In this context, Apostle Peter says, "By God's word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water." (2 Peter 3:5).

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness..." 

(Matthew 5:6a)

The justice and righteousness of the fourth beatitude are presented by Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew as a necessity. This justice is the way to happiness promised by the fourth beatitude: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:6). Only those who hunger and thirst for divine justice will be satisfied and filled with happiness. However, for centuries, a major question arises over the meaning of this justice: what is the justice that Matthew presents? Why, contrary to the evangelist Luke who presents a physical hunger and thirst (Luke 6:21), does Matthew emphasize the need to suffer hunger and thirst for righteousness? What kind of justice does the first Gospel present?

Salaam and grace to you from Jerusalem, the Holy City. As an Arab Christian, I am thankful for the opportunity to write a reflection for this year’s “Seven Weeks for Water”. Of course, this part of the world always has been dealing with water issues because of its dry climate and few water resources. Today, however, the Palestinian people face an even greater water challenge. It is a crisis that grows worse year after year.

Communiqué on ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue in conversation, produced at a meeting organized by the WCC’s Commission on Faith and Order and the WCC programme for inter-religious dialogue and cooperation, from 12 to 14 May 2014

The second Biblical reflection of the Seven Weeks for Water 2014 is by Bishop Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria, Germany. Citing  examples from the Bible, he highlights that water is absolutely necessary for life and that everybody has the right of free access to water for their sustenance,  irrespective of their economic status.

Reports, Affirmations and Challenges from the Ecumenical Conversations at the WCC 10th Assembly

This document offers a summary of the Ninth report from the Joint Working Group between the Roman Catholic Church and the WCC, which relates the focus and work of the group from 2007 through 2012. As the group approaches its fiftieth year, its recent foci include in-depth work on the notion of ecclesial reception of ecumenical work, the spiritual roots of ecumenism, church participation of youth, and emerging work on migration.

of the Inter-Orthodox Pre-Assembly Consultation which brought together representatives of Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches to prepare for the WCC 10th Assembly.

28 April - 2 May 2012
Alwaye, India

The Echos Commission on Youth in the Ecumenical Movement met in October 2011 in Adma, Lebanon, to evaluate its work and mandate since it was first constituted after the last WCC assembly in Porto Alegre, 2006, as a consultative body of young people from a broad cross-section of the ecumenical movement.