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Cette année, cela fait cinq cents ans que la Réforme a eu lieu. Toute cette année a été marquée par des commémorations. De nombreux évènements ont eu lieu dans le monde. La Réforme se poursuit dans les Églises. Constamment, des discussions ont lieu sur ce que doit être une Église aujourd'hui et sur la manière de toucher les gens au moyen de l’Évangile. Nouvelles du COE a rencontré cette année l'évêque Helga Haugland Byfuglien, l'une des femmes éminentes les plus expérimentées parmi les évêques luthériens dans le monde.

Reconciliation was once primarily seen as a message of the church but is now used by secular leaders trying to establish peace in communities torn by conflict and war, the WCC president for Africa, the Rev. Mary Anne Plaatjies van Huffel, has said at a major Protestant gathering in Germany.

Sitting in a tent at the Souda camp, on the island of Chios in Greece, a Pakistani family of 12 recalls the lives they had in their home country. They had everything except safety. Muhammed and his wife, Asia, along with their 10 children, fled their home country in search of a place where they weren’t constantly fearing for their lives.

Muslims are a minority in Norway and a majority in Pakistan. From 12-15 March, these roles changed at a conference hosted by The Church of Pakistan in Lahore, Pakistan.

The theme “Discrimination, Persecution, Martyrdom: Following Christ Together” remained in sharp focus at a Global Christian Forum consultation in Albania. The event from 1-5 November in Tirana gathered some 150 international participants, including representatives of the WCC.

Seventy years after nuclear fireballs exploded over two Japanese cities, an ecumenical group of pilgrims has come to Hiroshima to listen to those who survived and renew the struggle against their own countries’ continued reliance on nuclear weapons.

Norway’s largest church festival took on a green tint this year. A presentation about the situation of a country deeply affected by climate change, a popular workshop on church engagement in climate justice, and a speech by the WCC general secretary were among featured events.

Exploring realities of multi-religious societies and discovering new ways of working together as faith communities to promote justice and peace, young Christian leaders from Asia have gathered in Cambodia to take part in a two-week training programme called Youth in Asia Training for Religious Amity (YATRA).

South Africa, Australia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Greece, French Polynesia (Maohi Nui), Pakistan, Syria and Myanmar have provided the subjects for statements and minutes of concern voiced by the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC) as part of public issues actions during a recent meeting of that governing body at the Orthodox Academy of Crete in Kolympari, Greece.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) “ is defined by all the three key words in our name. We are global, in all continents, and therefore also in solidarity with one another, seeking peace in all its meaning for the whole earth,” said the WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit.

In a recent visit to Pakistan, a World Council of Churches (WCC) delegation met with prime minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, religious leaders, civil society organizations and UN representatives urging protection of religious minorities, especially against the misuse of blasphemy law in the country.

Reflecting on the socio-political situation of Christians in Pakistan, the World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit finds God in difficult situations and explores the mission of the church in the country’s special context. He was speaking at a mission consultation organized by the Church of Pakistan on 9 October in Lahore.

By Henrik Hansson (*)

Firsthand reports on the extraordinary development of Christianity in Nepal and the growing need for improvements in theological education and participation in the ecumenical movement were all part of recent consultation on the future of theological education in South Asia.

La chapelle de l'Institut oecuménique de Bossey, près de Genève, où de jeunes adultes venus de cinq continents se sont rassemblés pour une méditation matinale, est un lieu de culte hors du commun. La lumière qui traverse les vitraux conçus par la communauté de Taizé, en France, éclaire une série de symboles religieux des plus disparates: icônes orthodoxes, croix luthérienne et tambour d'une communauté chrétienne africaine.

By Annegret Kapp*