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WCC hosts visitors from Finland, Germany, and Sweden

The World Council of Churches (WCC) hosted Bishop Dr Jukka Keskitalo and Rev. Pekka Mustakallio from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, to discuss the ecumenical agenda of 2023 and the harvesting of the WCC 11 th assembly, as well a group from the Centre for Ecumenism of the Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau, and 21 ordinands from the Church of Sweden.

Driven by God’s grace and a sense of duty

When Rev. Dr Antje Jackelén became its first female archbishop in 2014, a major milestone was reached in the history of the Church of Sweden. It took 850 years and 69 male predecessors to get there. Jackelén also happens to be the first immigrant, at least in modern times, to occupy the highest chair of her church. That, however, she regards as a coincidence of lesser significance. For her, as a devoted Christian, the baptism matters more than the passport.   

WCC well-represented in Religions for Peace leadership

Religions for Peace is the world's largest and most representative multi-religious coalition, and as in other multi-faith groups, the World Council of Churches (WCC) and its ecumenical family figure strongly in its leadership bodies.

Paving the way for ecumenical studies, learning English in Bossey

Each year students from all over the world arrive at Bossey near Geneva for a three-month language training course to pave their way for ecumenical studies that follow on straight after. “The title captures the goal of the course,” says Father Lawrence Iwuamadi, the Nigerian priest who studied at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and is academic dean of the Ecumenical Institute.

#WCC70: Nathan Söderblom, ecumenical pioneer

The archbishop Dr Nathan Söderblom, an ecumenical forerunner and messenger of peace in war-torn Europe, challenged a deeply divided Christianity 100 years ago. Against all odds, the Stockholm Conference on Life and Work in 1925 gathered church leaders at a scale the world had not seen since Nicaea 1600 years earlier. And it did not end there.

Arab religious leaders create first-ever platform for social cohesion

An “Interreligious Dialogue for Peace, Promoting Peaceful Coexistence & Common Citizenship” in Vienna on 26 February is creating a first-ever joint action plan for Arab religious leaders to lead the way in repairing the divisions created by extremists, and rebuilding social cohesion and common citizenship in the Arab region.

Turning plans into action to prevent incitement to violence

Another step towards preventing incitement to violence that could lead to atrocity crimes was taken on Tuesday this week, when religious leaders and other actors gathered for a three-day meeting in Vienna to discuss the implementation of the Plan of Action for such prevention.

Trying to do good for the world

When WCC’s long-time partner, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), was awarded the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize, another small but important step towards a safer world was taken. Not only was it a recognition of global efforts to abolish nuclear weapons, but also an affirmation of the role Christian churches have played at local and grassroots levels to raise awareness and mobilize people against nuclear proliferation.

Ecumenical Review discusses Pope Francis’s contribution to ecumenical dialogue

As Pope Francis marks the fourth anniversary of his election, the latest issue of The Ecumenical Review, the quarterly journal of the WCC, opens with an article discussing the ecumenical gestures that have marked his pontificate, one of the most striking being his presence at the joint Catholic–Lutheran Reformation commemoration in Lund in 2016.

What does ‘prudence’ mean for dialogue and peace-building?

A 50-year-old religious text can shape interreligious relationships crucial for peace-building today, found participants in a workshop organized by the WCC and attended by guests from the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID) on 28 October.

Religious leaders of many faiths talk peace in Assisi

Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Christian and Buddhist religious leaders met this week in Assisi to discuss peace, while across the ocean in New York City global political leaders assembled at the United Nations also focussed on a troubled world.

Faith to play key role in achieving SDGs, says panel at World Water Week

How can religion and faith communities contribute to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals? Setting out to address this very question, a panel of faith representatives gathered at World Water Week in Stockholm on 29 August, introduced by keynote speaker Cardinal Peter Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace at the Vatican. The panel was also welcomed by Rt. Rev. Thomas Söderberg, Church of Sweden.