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The World Council of Churches (WCC) Jerusalem Liaison Office Advisory Group convened on 20 February under the leadership of WCC general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay. 

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay met with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, West Bank, on 19 February, urging an end to the “seemingly endless cycle of violence and suffering.” 

The WCC central committee expressed continuous concern about two significant territorial crises in the eastern Mediterranean: those within Palestine and Israel, and those within Cyprus. “These politically driven conflicts have resulted in illegal occupations that have spanned decades,” reads a minute released by the governing body.

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay shared joyful congratulations with Archbishop Hosam Naoum, who was installed as new primate of Anglican Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East.

In a congratulatory letter, World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay expressed great joy and gratitude over the appointment of Archbishop Mor Anthimos Jack Yakoub as the patriarchal vicar for Jerusalem, Jordan, and the Holy Land by His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II.

Rev. Sally Azar was ordained on 22 January as the first Palestinian Christian woman to serve in this role in the Holy Land. 

World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca met with members of the Higher Presidential Committee of Church Affairs in Palestine.

Under the leadership of World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, the WCC Jerusalem Liaison Advisory Committee held its first meeting in Jerusalem, during which it mapped future plans. 

A World Council of Churches (WCC) delegation led by WCC acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca visited Jerusalem and the West Bank from 14-17 July, meeting with patriarchs and heads of Christian communities as well as local clergy and laity.

Local host and head of the Church of Cyprus, Archbishop Chrysostomos II, welcomed members of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Inter-Orthodox Pre-Assembly at his residence in Nicosia, Cyprus, on 12 May, the Feast of Saint Epiphanius. The meeting acknowledged contributions from the Church of Cyprus to the ecumenical movement, as well as the aspiration of churches to see a united island, partitioned as result of the Turkish invasion in 1974.

Orthodox churches convened in Cyprus this week to prepare for the World Council of Churches (WCC) 11th Assembly, as well as to pray and reflect together on how to keep dialogue open amid the world’s grave challenges.

On 5 April, World Council of Churches (WCC) leadership and staff met with representatives of WCC member churches from Syria, who came to the Bossey Ecumenical Institute for consultations on the WCC’s longstanding programmatic work relating to Syria. WCC acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, was the convener of the meeting.

On 15 December, Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, acting general secretary of the World Council of Churches paid a visit to His Beatitude John X, Patriarch of the Antioch and All the East at the patriarchal residence in Balamand, Lebanon.  

World Council of Churches (WCC) interim general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca sent a congratulatory message to Dr Audeh Quawas for being appointed by His Majesty King Abdullah II as a member of the Jordanian Senate on 26 November.