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. 

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).

Updates:

• WCC general secretary meets Israeli president, calls for ceasefire, freedom of religion and humanitarian care (Feb. 20)
• WCC general secretary meets director of Islamic Waqf, reiterating “commitment to Jerusalem as a city of three religions” (Feb. 19)
• WCC general secretary meets Palestinian president, urging an end to “seemingly endless cycle of violence and suffering” (Feb. 19)
• In Holy Land, “light and life have a true and enduring existence” as heads of churches gather with WCC (Feb. 18)
• In times of struggle, WCC accompanies the journey in the Holy Land (Feb. 18)