Search results

Statement on Threats to a Just Peace in Israel and Palestine, and to the Christian Presence in the Holy Land by the WCC Central Committee meeting, 15-18 June 2022

Statement of the World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca regarding the recent attack on a church community during a Sunday morning mass at St Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State, Nigeria.

The WCC has supported the State of Israel since its inception in 1948. The council has consistently called for an end to violence, repudiation of all forms of anti-semitism, an end to the illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and a negotiated two-state solution to the conflict there.

Background

Genesis of the document

Recognising that we all live in multi-religious societies, African church leaders gathered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, during the 2016 World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA) regional workshop on “Birth Registration and Gender Discriminatory Nationality Laws in Africa”, stressed the need to develop inter-faith strategies and affirmations in our advocacy work for the human rights of stateless people.

By Abraham Wilar Silo, WCC Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation

2 May 2022

Your eminence Cardinal Ayuso, Msgr. Kodithuwakku, colleagues, interlocutors, and friends,

I wish first to thank Msgr. Indunil and all the contributors to this new volume on the import of the Christian Witness document.

Invited by the World Council of Churches and the Middle East Council of Churches, 40 representatives of religious authorities and leaders of various Iraqi religions, congregations, and ethnic groups, came together in Beirut to follow up on recommendations of the 2017 conference held in Beirut under the title "Interfaith Consultation of Social Cohesion in Iraq", and to discuss emerging challenges and future prospects for social cohesion in Iraq.

by Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, acting general secretary of the World Council of Churches

Moderator of the World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee Dr Agnes Abuom shared a message with the Conference of the World Council of Religious Leaders on Faith and Diplomacy: Generations in Dialogue, being held 4-7 October in Lindau, Germany.

Greetings by Rev. Prof Dr Ioan Sauca, World Council of Churches, Acting General Secretary, co-president of Religions for Peace.

“Holy Places and our Human Identities”, address of the World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca at the conference "International Religious Freedom and Peace – To Promote Freedom of Religion and Preservation of Spiritual, Cultural and Historical Heritage" held at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin from 8-12 September 2021.

God of compassion and solidarity, we come together as people with open hearts...

This week in the Ecumenical Prayer Cycle, we are praying with the people and churches of  Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Western Sahara, Tunisia.

This order of service for the World Interfaith Harmony Week makes use of material from the document Serving a Wounded World in Interreligious Solidarity: A Christian Call to Reflection and Action During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond, jointly produced by the World Council of Churches and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.

Prayers were prepared in cooperation with the Lutheran World Federation.

As the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons enters into force on 22 January, the World Council of Churches joined other global faith communities in welcoming the groundbreaking moment. A joint statement endorsed by 156 organizations celebrated the milestone and, at the same time, noted that there is urgent work yet to be done to ensure a nuclear weapons-free world.

On behalf of the World Council of Churches (WCC), WCC acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca sent warm greetings to all Muslims around the world celebrating Eid al-Fitr.

Applications are now open for YATRA (Youth in Asia Training for Religious Amity), an interreligious training programme launched by the World Council of Churches (WCC) in 2014 following its 10th Assembly in Busan, Republic of Korea. The choice of name for the programme is intended to reflect the idea of a pilgrimage of justice and peace. YATRA is a common term for the word "pilgrimage" in many Indo-Asian religions and languages. The YATRA programme is an intensive training course to equip young Christians from Asia, between the ages of 20 to 35, to build up communities of harmony and hope from an interreligious perspective.

Applications are now open for YATRA (Young AdultsTraining for Religious Amity), an interreligious training programme launched by the World Council of Churches (WCC) in 2014 following its 10th Assembly in Busan, Republic of Korea. The choice of name for the programme is intended to reflect the idea of a pilgrimage of justice and peace. YATRA is a common term for the word "pilgrimage" in many Indo-Asian religions and languages. The YATRA programme is an intensive training course to equip young Christians between the ages of 20 to 35, to build up communities of harmony and hope from an interreligious perspective.

Tuesday, 29 January 2019: the 5th Annual Symposium on the Role of Religion and Faith-based Organizations in International Affairs will focus on financing for sustainable development and build on this vision of an economy of life as the flourishing of all life.

Sermon by Rev. Dr Olav Fyke Tveit at the ecumenical peace worship, that took place at the Trinity Church in Oslo, Norway. The celebration was organised by the Church of Norway together with representatives of ICAN in connection with the award ceremony of the Nobel Peace Prize.