Pope Francis, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church; Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury, UK; and Rt. Rev. Iain Greenshields, moderator of the general assembly of the Church of Scotland; will travel to the world’s youngest nation on 3- 5 February on a spiritual and peace mission. … Read more »… lire la suite »
Jews, Christians and Muslims up to the age of 35 years are invited to apply for the 2023 Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) in Interreligious Studies course. Final submission date for applications is 28 February 2023. … Read more »… lire la suite »
On 24 November, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas formally received the acting general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca for a meeting to discuss just peace in Palestine and Israel.
The Palestinian president extended words of gratitude to all the churches for their ongoing support for Palestinian people. “We are one people,” said Abbas. “All churches are all our holy places.” … Read more »… lire la suite »
In an historic meeting to discuss just peace in the Holy Land, Israeli president Isaac Herzog formally received World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca on 23 November. This marks the first meeting between WCC leadership and an Israeli president. … Read more »… lire la suite »
World Council of Churches acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca joined other faith leaders in signing a collective message calling on world leaders and their representatives at COP27 to make the bold decisions necessary and ensure that there are clear and concrete outcomes from this COP. … Read more »… lire la suite »
The World Council of Churches (WCC) executive committee, elected during the WCC 11th Assembly, has concluded its first meeting, held 7-12 November at the Ecumenical Institute Bossey and at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland. The governing body focused on follow-up from the assembly, planning for 2023—including the budget and programme plans—and statements that respond to critical situations affecting the fellowship of WCC member churches. … Read more »… lire la suite »
“COP27 is a critical occasion for governments to together re-envision, develop, commit to and implement a roadmap towards a fossil fuel-free, post-growth, equitable and sustainable tomorrow,” said Bishop Arnold Temple of the Methodist Church in Sierra Leone, representing the interfaith liaison group, to the High-Level Ministerial Segment of the 27th Session of Conference of the Parties (COP27). … Read more »… lire la suite »
The World Council of Churches (WCC) has appointed Dr Andrej Jeftić as the new director of the Commission on Faith and Order. Jeftić, from Serbia, an Eastern Orthodox theologian, has been serving as a research fellow at the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory at the University of Belgrade. He also served as a theological consultant for the Churches’ Commission for Migrants in Europe. … Read more »… lire la suite »
The study groups of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Faith and Order Commission are convening from 14-16 November at the Bossey Ecumenical Institute. Participants are sharing their reflections on what has been achieved theologically, ecumenically, and methodologically, as well as their views about relevant ecumenical theological work to be done. … Read more »… lire la suite »
As Christians we confess that “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world and all who live in it” (Ps 24). We acknowledge our responsibility as stewards and caretakers of God’s unique and abundant Creation of which we human beings are part. And yet we look around our world today, and see that due to our greed and negligence the entire living planet is threatened by accelerating climate change. “The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers…”, “The earth is defiled by its people…” (Isaiah 24:4-5). … Read more »… lire la suite »
World Council of Churches acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca delivered a lecture during the first edition of the “Bahrain Dialogue Forum: East and West for Human Coexistence” held 3-4 November. … Read more »… lire la suite »
The Bossey Ecumenical Institute is inviting prospective students to apply for the autumn semester 2023-24. Applicants interested in ecumenical formation at Bossey will explore the opportunity to combine academic and experiential learning within a diverse global cohort. … Read more »… lire la suite »
As the world prepares to gather for the UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Egypt from 6 to 18 November 2022, Christian organizations from Africa, Europe, and North America have committed to work together to end the persistent hunger crisis, worsened by climate change.
Leaders from nearly 40 churches and organizations signed the commitment at the end of a two-day convocation in Nairobi on 21 October. The meeting—on climate change and hunger—was organized by the U.S.-based Bread for the World and hosted by the All Africa Conference of Churches. … Read more »… lire la suite »
Patriarch Kirill and World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Fr Ioan Sauca met on 17 October in Moscow, discussing how churches are called to be peacemakers.
Also attending the meeting, which took place at the Patriarchal Residence in St Daniel’s Monastery, were Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations; Archimandrite Philaret (Bulekov), DECR vice-chairman; Fr Mikhail Gundyaev, representative of the Moscow Patriarchate to the WCC and international organisations in Geneva; Hieromonk Stefan (Igumnov), DECR secretary for inter-Christian relations; and Rev. Prof. Dr Benjamin Simon, WCC programme executive for Church Relations. … Read more »… lire la suite »
World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca visited Moscow this week, meeting with H.H. Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all Russia, and representatives from the largest WCC member church. … Read more »… lire la suite »
The World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee elected the WCC executive committee on 8 September during the WCC 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe.
The central committee elects 20 of its members to serve as the WCC executive committee of the WCC, along with the leadership of the central committee, which includes the moderator, two vice-moderators, and the WCC general secretary, as well as the moderators of its programme and finance committees. … Read more »… lire la suite »
“For the first time in a long while, this 11th assembly provided safe spaces for serious engagement, reflections, prayer, challenging one another, [and] encounters.” said Dr Agnes Abuom, moderator of the World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee. She spoke of her take-aways from the WCC assembly, including the “commitment to the search for unity – common vision and understanding,” which she referred to as the cornerstone of the WCC. … Read more »… lire la suite »
The World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee has elected Bishop Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria as its new moderator.
The central committee also elected two vice moderators, Rev. Merlyn Hyde Riley, Jamaica Baptist Union; and H.E. Archbishop Dr Vicken Aykazian, Armenian Apostolic Church, Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.
A statement from the World Council of Churches 11th Assembly, “The Living Planet: seeking a just and sustainable global community,” raises an increasingly urgent voice of concern and demand for action.
“We are all interdependent in God’s whole creation,” notes the statement’s introduction. “We are running out of time.”
We must repent from our continuing human selfishness, the statement urges. “Christ’s love calls us to deep solidarity and a quest for justice for those who have contributed to this emergency the least, yet suffer the most, physically, existentially, and ecologically,” reads the statement. … Read more »… lire la suite »