World Council of Churches

A pope guided by “the conviction that the church is a home for all, a home with its doors always open.” That was how Pope Francis was remembered at his funeral in St Peter’s Square by Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the Roman Catholic Church’s college of cardinals, who led the Requiem Mass. 

Rev. Anatoliy Raychynets, head of external relations of the Ukrainian Evangelical Church and deputy general secretary of the Ukrainian Bible Society, is a chaplain sharing prayers and messages with Ukrainian men and women serving on the frontlines of the war. 

Yusef Daher, coordinator of the Jerusalem Liaison Office of the World Council of Churches in Jerusalem, earned the Menno Simons Sermon Award for 2025. 

A new group of 12 ecumenical accompaniers was deployed on 17 April to serve in South Hebron Hills, Jordan Valley, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Annual Review 2024 is available online. The Annual Review records many of the WCC’s activities undertaken in 2024 and continuing into 2025. 

World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay expressed deep concern and sorrow over the tragic loss of civilian lives resulting from a recent drone strike in the town of Gedeb, Amhara region, Ethiopia. 

Church leaders and Christians in Africa are mourning the death of Pope Francis, who died on Easter Monday, 21 April.

Easter Monday is a popular holiday in Rome, a day Italians head out to the countryside or the beaches with picnic baskets weighed down with pasta bakes, piles of seasonal vegetables, prosecco, and Easter cake.

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.