WCC NEWS: WCC general secretary visits Holy Land to strengthen call for just peace

Member churches, religious leaders and local Christian groups in Palestine and Israel—as well as Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli president Isaac Herzog—will meet with World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay as he visits the area beginning 16 February. Churches seen along the Via Dolorosa in the Jerusalem old city. Photo: Albin Hillert/WCC 15 February 2024 Pillay's visit—his first to Palestine and Israel as the WCC general secretary—comes amid war and the ongoing occupation.  The agenda in the Holy Land opens with a meeting with the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem.  Pillay will attend Sunday service at a local church, sharing in the life and ministry of WCC member churches in the region. He will meet with various religious, social and political leaders, and also visit the WCC Jerusalem Liaison Office. As head of the delegation, the WCC general secretary will be accompanied by Dr Audeh Quawas (WCC central committee member), Marianne Ejdersten (WCC director of Communication) and Yusef Daher (coordinator, WCC Jerusalem Liaison Office). See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 352 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches 150 route de Ferney Geneve 2 1211 Switzerland