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On 26 December, the theological community mourned the passing of Rev. Prof. Dr Daniel Buda, dean of the Faculty of Theology Andrei Șaguna at the Lucian Blaga University, Sibiu. 

After a delegation from the World Council of Churches (WCC) and ACT Alliance visited Hungary, Romania and Ukraine last week, the group came away with reflections on how churches are making a difference in the lives of thousands upon thousands of people fleeing the war.

During a 22 March press briefing, a delegation from the World Council of Churches (WCC) and ACT Alliance shared their observations from a recent trip to Hungary, Romania and Ukraine, where they witnessed firsthand both urgent humanitarian needs and a robust church response.

A delegation from ACT Alliance  and the World Council of Churches (WCC) visited Hungary, Ukraine and Romania on 14-18 March, focusing on humanitarian needs and church response.

A dozen global and regional religious organizations released an advocacy statement on the situation of migrants and refugees in Europe that defines their calling as Christians to “welcome the stranger,” and urges the creation of a world in which “we become human together.”

Christian organizations representing 2 billion people—about one-third of the world's population—have released a statement on the dire situation of migrants and refugees in Europe, and they are demanding a more compassionate approach.

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.

In a video message, Patriarch Daniel of Romania addresses the faithful, reflecting that “the state of pandemic calls us to transform suffering into hope and isolation into a desire for more communion among people.” Due to the pandemic, state authorities have imposed strict measures of social distancing, of isolation and quarantine, which greatly change people’s lives and activities, the Patriarch observed .

Dealing with people on the move is crucial to the work of the Church in the 21st century says Greek Metropolitan Gabriel of Nea Ionia and Filadelfia. More than 31,000 irregular migrants arrived in Greece by sea in 2018 and almost 17,000 arrived by land, according to the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM).

The Romani people, also known as the Roma, migrated from northwest India 1,500 years ago. Once they arrived in Europe, they spread across the continent from the Balkan region. Now Romani live worldwide, though principally in Europe.

At a time of increased divisions within churches and within rapidly changing societies, Christians are called, more urgently than ever before, to model the values of reconciliation, justice and peace. That’s why a group of theologians and church leaders from different denominations have been meeting near the German city of Augsburg to work together on two documents calling for much closer collaboration in the tasks of peace-building and the care of migrants and refugees.

The leaders of the Joint Working Group (JWG) between the Roman Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches met 24-27 May in Targoviste, Romania, to discuss cooperation in peace building and the ecumenical challenge and opportunity posed by migrants and refugees.

The 8th International Conference of Orthodox faculties, just held in Thessaloniki, Greece, is expected to contribute to the interpretation and reception of the 2016 “Holy and Great Council” of the Eastern Orthodox churches.

As he participated in prayers for peace on the Korean Peninsula and for a world free from nuclear weapons, Bishop Reinhart Guib (Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Romania) said when he visits the WCC, he sees the world as much bigger than he could imagine.

Organized by the World Council of Churches (WCC), the 5th International Conference on Ecological Theology and Environmental Ethics (ECOTHEE-17) brought together people from diverse nations and faith traditions to reflect on the theology of Oikos and indigenous spirituality.

“Ecumenism without youth is ecumenism without a future”, said Prof. Dr Esther Mombo at the opening of the annual meeting of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission on Education and Ecumenical Formation (CEEF), being held in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, 9-13 October.

Gathering in Sibiu, Romania, the World Council of Churches (WCC) youth commission ECHOS met on 17-20 August for days of discernment on the position and role of youth in the ecumenical movement today, and to set the future path of the commission, as it journeys on the Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) will participate in the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the enthronement of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, organized by the Orthodox Centre of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Chambésy, 22-24 April 2017. His All Holiness Bartholomew I, Archbishop of Constantinople, will be delivering a public lecture at the WCC on 24 April, at 12:00. H.A.H. Bartholomew will address issues concerning the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church -that was held last year in Crete, Greece-, the contemporary environmental challenges and the protection of children rights.