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A visionary missionary heads home

After more than 30 years as a pastor, ecumenist and church leader, Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit firmly believes that the church can change the world. As general secretary of the WCC for the past ten years, he has witnessed what Jesus Christ means to people of faith around the globe. By the end of this month he heads home to lead the Church of Norway as presiding bishop of its bishop’s conference.

“What’s love got to do with it?” Tveit delivers Huffington lecture

As he delivered the Inaugural Michael Huffington Lecture at Loyola Marymount University on 1 April, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit spoke on “Christ's love moves the world to reconciliation and unity,” the theme of the WCC 11th Assembly in 2021 in Karlsruhe, Germany.

Peacemaking “a great and compelling life task”

In a sermon at the Trinity Church in Oslo, Norway on 9 December, World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit reflected on peacemakers: those who create trust and foster good relations, those who try to bring out the best in us, those who attempt to solve conflicts.

Coptic Pope and Oriental Patriarchs on historic visit in Germany

Together with the heads of the Coptic, Syrian, Armenian and Indian Orthodox Churches, the Evangelical Church in Germany celebrated on Saturday evening in Berlin an ecumenical prayer for Christians in the Middle East. The jointly prepared service was the highlight of a historic visit. For the first time, Pope Tawadros II, Patriarch Ignatius Afrem II, Catholicos Karekin II and Catholicos Baselios Morthoma Paulose II visited together in Germany to inform political and church representatives on the bad and sad situation in the region of origin of Christianity.

Historic ecumenical prayer in Egypt for peace and unity

Church leaders, led by Pope Tawadros II and Pope Francis, were gathered to pray for the people of Egypt, for unity, for peace and justice in St. Peter and St. Paul's Church, the chapel next to Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral that was bombed in December 2016, now restored.

Churches in Norway and Pakistan break new ecumenical ground

In a country where Christians are in clear minority, often suffering discrimination, and in a context that has seen repeated frictions and violence between people of different religious traditions, the Church of Norway and Church of Pakistan have broken new ecumenical ground during a recent week in Lahore, Pakistan.

In Germany, unity prayer service encourages tearing down walls that divide

A "wall of guilt" to be torn down during the course of a prayer service: this symbolic action marked the central celebration of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity by the Council of Christian Churches in Germany (ACK), as well as celebrations in other parts of the world using the model prepared by the ACK.

Christians in Geneva pray for reconciliation

On 18 January, the first day of world celebrations of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2017, an ecumenical prayer service took place at the Sacré Coeur church in Geneva, Switzerland, drawing more than 70 people from various congregations and denominations.

His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew: The Patriarch of Solidarity

He earned the title “Green Patriarch” as a religious leader addressing alarming environmental issues over at least two decades. In 2008, Time Magazine named His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew as one of 100 Most Influential People in the World, for “defining environmentalism as spiritual responsibility”.

Taizé - Living Ecumenism

Well over 250 young people came to Taizé from 30 August to 6 September 2015 to participate in the first theological symposium on “Brother Roger's Contribution to Theological Thought”. Those invited to this time of reflection and sharing were theological students and young theologians under the age of 40 engaged in research as well as those preparing for service in the church or those already involved in ministry. A wide range of speakers from all over the world aroused a great deal of interest, with contributions offered from a Protestant, Orthodox and Roman Catholic viewpoint, coming from Western and Eastern Europe as well as from Asia, North America, Latin America and Africa.

Christians around the world pray for unity

Challenged by Christians from Brazil to strive for greater respect for religious and cultural diversity, churches are reflecting together on the gospel of John as they celebrate the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.