Friday, July 18, 2025

WCC news: Patriarch Theophilos III and Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa visit Gaza

His Beatitude Theophilos III, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, and His Beatitude Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem, made a pastoral and humanitarian visit to the Gaza Strip.
Photo: Jerusalem Patriarchate
18 July 2025

The visit closely followed the condition of their faithful, who have been enduring a relentless humanitarian catastrophe for over 21 months. The visitors directly oversaw the relief efforts provided by the churches to support the steadfastness of those in Gaza who have lost their homes, safety, and access to medicine. 

This visit comes in the wake of repeated assaults on Christian holy sites in Gaza.

They traveled with a delegation joined by diplomatic representatives from more than 20 nations, including Jordan, Russia, China, the European Union, Japan, and Canada.

In light of the ongoing humanitarian disaster in Gaza, His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III called for an immediate, comprehensive, and permanent ceasefire. He urged the international community to assume its ethical and humanitarian responsibilities toward innocent civilians who continue to pay an unbearable price in a merciless war.

His Beatitude Theophilos III reaffirmed that the Orthodox Church, compelled by its unshakable faith, remains steadfast in its sacred mission to be present, spiritually and humanely, in times of war. Such presence, he said, is a religious and moral obligation that will not be abandoned. 

He declared: “Where suffering abounds, so too must our responsibility. We do not come from afar; we are of this land, of its sorrows, of its people, and of its perseverance.”

Patriarch Theophilos III and Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa in Gaza: The Church’s Humanitarian Presence Amid Catastrophe Is a Sacred Duty (Jerusalem Patriarchate news release, 18 July 2025)

WCC on Holy Family Church in Gaza: “places of worship must never be targets” (WCC news release, 17 July 2025)

Photo: Jerusalem Patriarchate
See more
The World Council of Churches on Facebook
The World Council of Churches on Twitter
The World Council of Churches on Instagram
The World Council of Churches on YouTube
World Council of Churches on SoundCloud
The World Council of Churches' website
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 356 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
Chemin du Pommier 42
Kyoto Building
Le Grand-Saconnex CH-1218
Switzerland

No comments:

Post a Comment

WCC news: Patriarch Theophilos III and Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa visit Gaza

His Beatitude Theophilos III, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, and His Beatitude Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem, ...