WCC news: WCC general secretary offers keynote on 40th anniversary of Belhar Confession

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay offered a keynote address during a World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) conference on “Standing Where God Stands: 40th Anniversary of the Belhar Confession,” underway from 19–23 October, in Pretoria, South Africa.  Photo: WCRC 22 October 2026 The Belhar Confession is one of the most significant confessional documents to emerge from the global Reformed tradition in the 20th century and a foundational document for the WCRC's ongoing work of discerning, confessing, witnessing, and ever-reforming in response to the signs of the times. Pillay’s keynote reflects on how the Belhar Confession emerged from the crucible of apartheid South Africa as a theological response to a church and society fractured by racial segregation, injustice, and enforced division.  “Few ecclesial documents have emerged from such a context of suffering and yet achieved such global resonance as the Belhar Confession,” he said. “The confession was not merely a political statement; it was a theological judgment that racial separation and inequality contradicted the reconciling work of God in Jesus Christ.” The question confronting contemporary Christianity is whether Belhar’s journey is complete, reflected Pillay. “Belhar’s significance lies not merely in its historical victory over ecclesial apartheid but in its continuing challenge to the universal church,” he said. “Its call remains unfinished because the realities it addresses, division, exclusion, injustice, and alienation, continue to characterize both church and world.” The Belhar Confession is a theological resource for the whole ecumenical movement, added Pillay. “The WCC’s vocation as a fellowship of churches seeking visible unity and common witness is deeply consonant with Belhar’s insistence that unity, reconciliation, and justice cannot be separated,” said Pillay. “This is an alignment of theological vision and practical responsibility, not a claim that Belhar is formally the confession of every WCC member church.” The ecumenical significance of Belhar has expanded steadily since the end of apartheid, noted Pillay. “What began as a confession of a marginalized South African church gradually became a gift to the worldwide church,” he said. Read the full text "From Status Confessionis to Global Communion: Belhar’s Unfinished Call to the Whole Oikoumene" Livestream recording: "Theologians & church leaders commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the Belhar Confession Consultation" 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 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