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Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, newly elected patriarch of the Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch and All the East, has received congratulations and an affirmation of support from the WCC general secretary.

The 10th Assembly of the WCC begins at the end of October and promises to be one of the most diverse gatherings of Christians in the world.

In a call to celebrate Time for Creation, Bartholomew I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, encouraged the churches to pay attention to the “human interventions impacting the ecological balance”.

Pentecostals and Charismatics are among the fastest growing Christian groups in the world. The question is to what extent the Pentecostals understand themselves as a church or a movement. This existential and ecclesiological issue remains ambiguous.

Governments sign new Arms Trade Treaty on first day

In Tahiti, an ecumenical delegation was told about the need for re-inscription of French Polynesia (Maohi Nui) on the United Nations list of countries to be decolonized.

At a place called Antietam, 23,000 soldiers died in the bloodiest day of the American Civil War. More than 150 years later, 20 different religious traditions will gather on this battlefield in Maryland, United States as part of the 2012 International Day of Prayer for Peace commemorations to share prayers and songs of peace. Â

South Africa, Australia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Greece, French Polynesia (Maohi Nui), Pakistan, Syria and Myanmar have provided the subjects for statements and minutes of concern voiced by the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC) as part of public issues actions during a recent meeting of that governing body at the Orthodox Academy of Crete in Kolympari, Greece.

With one month until governments negotiate the first global arms trade treaty, churches from countries most affected by unregulated trade in arms gathered from 29-31 May in Cape Town, South Africa, to make final advocacy plans.

In a recent meeting, the World Council of Churches (WCC) Executive Committee denounced the “ Doctrine of Discovery ”, which has been used to subjugate and colonize Indigenous Peoples. The Executive Committee issued a statement calling the nature of the doctrine" fundamentally opposed to the gospel of Jesus”. Â

By George Arende (*)

On 28 September, the Tuvalu government declared Tuvalu to be in a state of emergency due to water shortage - the result of a five-month drought in the Pacific Island nation.

By Jonathan Frerichs (*)

At a time when the impact of climate change is on the front page of nearly every newspaper, magazine and web page, churches around the world are calling for a renewed commitment towards the environment and ecosystems.

Myanmar was visited by an ecumenical solidarity team representing the World Council of Churches (WCC) from 4 to 9 August 2011 as part of the council’s commitment to accompany churches in conflict situations. This was a follow-up to a WCC Living Letters team visit to Myanmar in late 2010.