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During an ecumenical prayer, people of many faiths gathered during COP27 to confess, lament, and express hope for the future. 

Local host and head of the Church of Cyprus, Archbishop Chrysostomos II, welcomed members of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Inter-Orthodox Pre-Assembly at his residence in Nicosia, Cyprus, on 12 May, the Feast of Saint Epiphanius. The meeting acknowledged contributions from the Church of Cyprus to the ecumenical movement, as well as the aspiration of churches to see a united island, partitioned as result of the Turkish invasion in 1974.

Orthodox churches convened in Cyprus this week to prepare for the World Council of Churches (WCC) 11th Assembly, as well as to pray and reflect together on how to keep dialogue open amid the world’s grave challenges.

The Middle East Council of Churches, based in Beirut, Lebanon, has been the convener for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2022 drafting group. The World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Vatican have now published the material in several languages.

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.

It has been 46 years since the Turkish invasion of Cyprus led to the partitioning of the island, the northern third inhabited by Turkish Cypriots and the southern two-thirds by Greek Cypriots, whose government is internationally recognized. The August 1974 ceasefire line became a United Nations buffer zone, along which Cyprus remains divided.

Upon completion of a meeting in Cyprus on 21-22 January, the Executive Committee of the Middle East Council of Churches released a statement by members who came from Cyprus, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, and Palestine.

As it concluded its meeting in Cyprus, held from 9-16 January, the WCC Assembly Planning Committee released a report to the WCC Executive Committee detailing building blocks for the 11th WCC Assembly, to be held in Karlsruhe, Germany in 2021.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit condemned an attack on a bus in Egypt carrying tourists on Friday near the Giza Pyramids, killing four Vietnamese tourists and their Egyptian guide. The blast wounded 11 other Vietnamese tourists as well as the Egyptian driver.

Today, as the Executive Committee of the World Council of Churches began its meeting in Uppsala, Sweden, we received news of another attack against our Coptic Christian sisters and brothers in Egypt.

The World Council of Churches is mourning the passing of Metropolitan Bishoy of Damietta, Kafr El-Sheikh, Barary, and the Monastery of Saint Demiana of the Coptic Orthodox Church. One of the senior and most influential Coptic Orthodox Prelates of the modern era, he has made extensive contributions in the areas of Pan-Orthodox unity, dialogue and ecumenism. He was a close colleague of the late Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit condemned the twin attacks on Coptic Christians in the Helwan area south of Cairo. Ten people died when gunmen tried to storm the Mar Mina church, a Coptic Christian church near the capital Cairo in Egypt, but were intercepted by police. About an hour later, a Coptic-owned shop in the same area was attacked, leaving two dead.

The Coptic Church does not have to worry about the future of its monasteries. Many young Copts want to become monks or nuns. That was not always the case. In the late 1960s, monasticism in Egypt was close to extinction.

The Sisters of Mary in Beni Suef (Egypt) manage kindergartens, hospitals, schools and retirement homes. They take care of orphans, old and disabled people. So they build bridges to the Muslim majority society, which are more needed than ever.

WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit condemned an attack at a mosque in Egypt during which hundreds of people are believed dead. Tveit expressed sorrow for the lives lost as news continued to unfold of the attack on 24 November.