World Council of Churches

World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay extended heartfelt congratulations to Bishop Frank Kopania for his appointment as the new head of the Department for Ecumenical Relations and Global Ministries for the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD). 

World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee moderator Bishop Prof. Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm and WCC general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay will attend the funeral of Pope Francis on 26 April in Rome.

As the world mourned the death of Pope Francis, voices from the World Council of Churches (WCC) fellowship brought forth special memories, deep gratitude, and heartfelt prayers. 

Two projects from the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC) have been nominated for a World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) prize. The finalists now go to public vote, with the opportunity to have them highlighted during a high-level WSIS summit in July. 

The 2025 edition of "Working Together,” an annual gathering designed to foster deeper collaboration between the World Council of Churches (WCC) and specialized ministries, will convene 28-29 April outside Geneva, Switzerland, to enhance programmatic work, planning, and reporting mechanisms related to the WCC Strategic Plan 2023–2030.

The World Council of Churches participated in the 58th session of the United Nations Commission on Population and Development.

Under the theme, “Mission in the Contexts of Empire,” the World Council of Churches journal International Review of Mission examines issues of Christian mission and empire in the history of key events being marked in 2025 and the mission systems, assumptions, mindsets, and practices they created. 

A training program to be held in N'Djamena, Chad, from 28-29 April, and in Manila, Philippines, from 29-30 April, as well as online, will help churches address impact of climate change on health.

The World Council of Churches is mourning the passing of Dr Arnold Georg Bittlinger, who died 23 March. 

World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay commemorated the 160th anniversary of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan with special greetings reflecting on the anniversary theme “Dwelling in God`s Abundance.” 

Christians from all of France’s main church traditions packed the newly restored Notre Dame cathedral in Paris to celebrate Easter Sunday together, which in a rare occurrence is being marked in 2025 on the same day by Eastern and Western churches. 

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay extended greetings to the Communion of Churches in Indonesia, celebrating its 75th anniversary.

In a pastoral letter on the death of Pope Francis, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay and WCC central committee moderator Bishop Prof. Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm expressed both deep sorrow and unwavering hope upon the passing of Pope Francis on 21 April. 

As the World Council of Churches (WCC) marked the 12th anniversary of the abduction of Metropolitans Paul Yazigi and Youhanna Ibrahim on April 23, “our hearts remain heavy with longing and prayer,” said WCC general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay. 

As World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay visited Taiwan to attend the 70th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan, he shared reflections on transitional justice. 

The Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem emphatically condemned the “egregious violations that desecrated the sanctity of Jerusalem” on 19 April, particularly in the Old City and around the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, during the celebration of Holy Fire Saturday.

On Holy Fire Saturday, hundreds of Christian worshippers seeking to enter Jerusalem’s Old City for the celebration were prevented; others were met with heavily enforced checkpoints, physical and verbal harassment, and widespread restrictions by Israeli police and border forces.

The world today learned of the death of Pope Francis, the bishop of Rome and leader of the world’s 1.37 billion Catholics.

In this exclusive conversation, we speak with His Eminence Metropolitan Job of Pisidia, vice moderator of the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches.

The Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem proclaim to the world an Easter message of life and hope. “It is the same message first announced to the women who had come to mourn at Christ's tomb,” the text notes. “The Lord had risen indeed!”