World Council of Churches

Male clergy from New York and Connecticut (US) led a public discussion on an alleged gang rape at Cornell University—and on why men cannot remain silent. 

Rev. Dr Ibrahim Wushishi Yusuf, coordinator of the World Council of Churches Africa Regional Programme Office in Abuja, received the Father of Faith Award from the Christian Association of Nigeria.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) sent a congratulatory message to His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I upon the 35th anniversary of his enthronement.

The Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem, on 19 October, released a statement condemning an attack carried out on 17 October by masked settlers in Taybeh against local residents during the olive harvest, and against the foreign guests.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) has published a French translation of HIV and Mental Health: What Can the Church Do? by Dr Sue Parry. VIH et santé mentale: Quel est le rôle de l’Église? follows the English edition published earlier in 2026 and is available as an eBook.

The Pacific Conference of Churches, in a message on 19 October, rejected a US call to end the mandate of the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization. 

During a keynote speech at the Global Network for Public Theology conference, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay reflected on why public theology cannot remain an abstract academic exercise but must ask how Christian faith is to be articulated, embodied, and witnessed within the public realities of a wounded world.

As the UN Human Rights Council closed, the World Council of Churches (WCC) looked back on outcomes related to its contributions and statements.

The 63rd session of the UN Human Rights Council, which concluded 7 October, adopted by consensus a third biannual technical resolution on the nuclear legacy in the Marshall Islands. 

The World Council of Churches (WCC) participated in an international conference dedicated to the theological legacy of Metropolitan John (Zizioulas) of Pergamon, one of the most influential Orthodox theologians of the modern ecumenical movement.

As the World Council of Churches (WCC) cohosted a webinar on World Food Day, observed 16 October, those gathered shared new initiatives, as well as the challenges related to hunger in today’s world. Co-organizers included the UN special rapporteur on the rights to water and sanitation and World Vision International.

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay will speak during a conference in the Netherlands hosted by the Global Network for Public Theology and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay conveyed heartfelt prayers, fraternal solidarity, and warmest wishes for the speedy and full recovery of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV. 

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay has called for a mission grounded in justice, reconciliation, humility, and mutual partnership in a message to the General Assembly of Evangelische Mission Weltweit (EMW), the Association of Protestant Churches and Mission Germany, on 15 October.

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay extended congratulations to Rev. Éric Hébert-Daly, recently appointed general secretary of The United Church of Canada (UCC). 

The World Council of Churches (WCC) hosted a panel at the annual Geneva Peace Forum on 15 October that explored the role of faith-based actors in peacebuilding. “What Faith Brings to the Dialogue Table” was co-organized with ACT Alliance, Arigatou International, and Caritas Internationalis.

World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay delivered an address on 15 October during a gathering of the Association of Protestant Churches and Missions in Germany. He focused on “Decolonizing mission: from mission to mutuality.” 

At a World Council of Churches (WCC) joint conference in Chiang Mai, lawyers, campaigners, and church leaders showed how courts, regulators, and shareholders can challenge the money behind fossil fuel expansion.

A four-day symposium on freedom of belief and persecution in Africa, ended in Nairobi on 8 October, with participants calling for a critical reflection, responsible action, and renewed commitment to tackle the rising challenge on the continent.

An international conference held 5-8 October in Chantilly, France, explored an assessment and the prospects of the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church (2016–2026).