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His Eminence Paulino Lukudu, Catholic archbishop emeritus of Juba, South Sudan, passed away on 5 April, leaving many in mourning for a religious leader widely regarded as an anchor amid conflict and a beacon of hope.

Rev. Canon Dr Emily Awino Onyango, a Kenyan woman theologian, was consecrated on 27 March as the assistant bishop of the Bondo Anglican Diocese, making her the first woman to hold such a post in the church in east-central Africa.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiatives and Advocacy programme is cohosting a consultation with the Council of Churches in Zambia on 18-20 March with the aim of strengthening HIV treatment adherence.

South Sudanese Church leaders are appealing for urgent humanitarian assistance to meet the needs of their population, who have been left vulnerable by a mix of five crises, including floods and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Church leaders in Sudan are welcoming a peace agreement signed between the transitional government and rebel groups on 3 October, after a year of talks in Juba City, the South Sudanese capital.

In Meskel celebrations held under World Health Organization COVID-19 safety protocols, Abune Mathias, patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, called for dialogue, peace and reconciliation in the country, where ethnic tensions recently flared up.

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.

Rev. Dr Angelique Walker-Smith is senior associate for Pan African and Orthodox Church Engagement at Bread for the World. She also serves on the World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee. She recently participated in a rally and march in Washington, DC, where thousands gathered to commemorate the 57th anniversary of the March on Washington in 1963 that included Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have A Dream" speech.

H.E., Most Rev. Serafim (Kykkotis) of Zimbabwe is the metropolitan of the Archdiocese of Zimbabwe in eastern Africa, part of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa. He serves on the World Council of Churches (WCC) executive and central committees, and also on the WCC Climate Change Working Group.

Bishop John K. Yambasu, resident bishop of the United Methodist Church in Sierra Leone and president of the Council of Churches in Sierra Leone, died suddenly in a road accident on 16 August.

Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, World Council of Churches (WCC) interim general secretary, joined the South Sudan Council of Churches and the All Africa Conference of Churches in condemning recent violent killings of innocent people in South Sudan, and called to an end to brutality in the country.

African Church leaders are highlighting the need to tame the continent’s persistent post-harvest losses, as organizations point at rising food insecurity due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Christians in Africa have joined in ecumenical celebrations and prayer services to mark the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, observed worldwide from 18-25 January.

Amid persistent worldwide spiritual and moral appeals for peace, reconciliation, and support, the government of South Sudan and holdout opposition groups recommitted to cessation of hostilities in a peace declaration brokered by the Sant’ Egidio, a Rome-based lay Catholic movement.

Victoria Falls is known locally as Mosi-oa Tunya ("The Smoke that Thunders") due to the power of the water from the Zambezi River that often flows across one of the great wonders of the world. Today it is a mere trickle.

An interfaith prayer breakfast in New York City on 26 September tackled the involvement of faith leaders and faith communities, in partnerships with non-faith actors, to accelerate optimal HIV services to reach men and children, and to promote action to address issues related to sexual violence against children and HIV.

Ethiopians have celebrated the annual festival of the Meskel (which means “cross” in Amharic), marking the finding of the “true cross” on which Jesus Christ was supposedly crucified. The festival is one of the major religious celebrations of the Orthodox Church in the Horn of Africa country. The main national feast - which occurs on 27 or 28 September - is held at Meskel Square in the capital Addis Abba.