WCC NEWS: Press conference yields reflections on historic milestone of Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order

A press conference on 25 October drew reflections from those leading the Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order in Wadi El Natrun in Egypt. Organized by the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission on Faith and Order, the conference is meeting from 24-28 October. 25 October 2025, Wadi El Natrun, Egypt: His Eminence Archbishop Angaelos of London speaks at a press conference at the World Council of Churches Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order taking place 24-28 October 2025 in Wadi El Natrun, Egypt, around the theme “Where now for visible unity?” Photo: Albin Hillert/WCC 27 October 2025 WCC general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay noted that the conference is about finding our way together.  “How do we have these discussions on doctrine and issues that may have divided Christians over the centuries? Pillay asked. “How do we find our way together?” “This moment we meet here in Egypt, we are hosted by Orthodox churches and other member churches in the area, and we are so grateful to receive such wonderful hospitality from the Coptic church which has blessed us in so many different ways already in this wonderful space and providing for us a good opportunity to meet.” Rev. Prof. Dr Stephanie Dietrich, moderator of the WCC Commission on Faith and Order, reflected that the WCC Faith and Order Commission is the broadest theological commission that exists on earth, with theologians from all traditions and all corners of the world. “We are doing theological dialogue with the goal to search for visible unity,” she said. “That is also, as you have seen, the main theme for for our gathering here the world conference.” Prof. Dr Michel Abs, secretary general of the Middle East Council of Churches, noted that Egypt is a very symbolic place because Egypt is the place where the holy family took refuge when they were persecuted. “Christianity is about togetherness—to stay together, to talk, to discuss and so on, whatever our theological orientation, whatever our denomination,” he said. “I’m thanking God for this event; let it be blessed.” H.E. Metropolitan Thomas of al-Qusiya, member of the WCC central committee, agreed that the conference takes place at a very significant location. “The significance of having this great conference here at this moment, at this very place, is going back linking the old time and the new time,” he said. “Here we link the the spirit, the spirituality of the Christian life. and the intellectuality of the theology that makes it much more important for the solution.” H.E. Archbishop Angaelos of London noted that it is always good for the church to come together. “It is also very important because our world today seems to want to focus on difference and conflict, and this is a time where we can come together,” he said. “We are different churches. We have different ecclesiology. We have slightly different theologies and we cannot undermine or underplay that. But we can all come together around the creed, the pivotal witness of faith that has withstood 1700 years.” The year 2025 is the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council, which over time led to the adoption of the Nicene Creed. H.G. Bishop Abraham, general bishop in the Diocese of Los Angeles, Southern California, and Hawaii, and a member of the WCC central committee, expressed gratitude for “the significant contribution of young people in the preparation, as well the important role of the government to facilitate everything from receiving at the airports to organizing visits to the historical sites.” Dr Andrej Jeftic, director of the WCC Commission on Faith and Order, said it was a pleasure to come and witness the fruits of preparing this gathering coming to life. “Gatherings have been always a vehicle to manifest the existence and the unity of the church to resolve conflicts, to build a community, and the fellowship, but also to cast and shape a vision for the future of our lives together,” he said. As World Conference on Faith and Order opens in Egypt, hearts and minds look to unity (WCC news release, 24 October 2025) Conference livestreams and recordings Photogallery: Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order, 2025 Learn more about the Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order 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

WCC NEWS: Join the Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order online

Stories from the upcoming World Council of Churches (WCC) Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order in Wadi El Natrun, Egypt, from 24-28 October will be shared in a variety of ways, from live-streaming to features, from interviews to talk shows. Logos Papal Center, of the Coptic Orthodox Church, in Wadi El Natrun, Egypt, venue of the Sixth World Conference. Photo: Marcelo Schneider/WCC 17 October 2025 The WCC has released a live-streaming schedule that will allow viewers to delve into various topics, including the conference theme “Where Now for Visible Unity?”, as well as “Unpacking Apostolic Faith: Living the Nicene Creed in Context,” “Mission: Common Witness and Apostolic Discipleship,” and many others.   Stories will also be shared in the form of features, interviews, and talk shows, and images will be released to portray the visual depth of the gathering, the sixth such world conference since 1927. A special section on the WCC website has been created as a central point for resources and will continue to have content added. Social media will come alive with images, reels, and quotes. The holding of the conference in 2025 will mark the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea in 325 CE, a key moment in the history of Christian faith and for the ecumenical journey today. The global communication operation has been prepared in close collaboration with the Middle East Council of Churches, as well as with the Coptic Orthodox Church. “The more hands are held tight together, the higher the light ascends enlightening the whole world, and showing the path for humankind towards the salvation of creation,” commented Dr Michel Abs, secretary general of the Middle East Council of Churches, on the close collaboration locally, regionally, and globally in the media and communication operation at the Sixth World Conference. “Communication from the Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order will underline that the search for unity within Christendom goes back to the earliest times of the church and remains a priority today,” said Marianne Ejdersten, WCC director of communication. “We want to celebrate the mission of God’s triune love and the implications this has for the common witness and service of the churches.” Ejdersten emphasized the importance of maintaining a high online presence to invite, include, and inspire the wider fellowship to engage even if theyare not able to be present in Egypt. Almost 50 media worldwide will cover the event onsite or online. Dr Stephen Brown, WCC senior editor and communication officer for Faith and Order, mentioned that “special publications are being highlighted and released in conjunction with this unique gathering, including special issues of the WCC journals linked to Nicaea.” Brown said that “an introductory booklet on the Sixth World Conference has been produced in four languages, as has a resource book with a set of reflections looking forward to the Sixth World Conference.” A spiritual life book has also been published, as well as a handbook in English, Arabic, and Spanish. Commenting on the visual identity created especially for the event, Dr Marcelo Schneider, WCC programme executive for communication and church and ecumenical relations emphasized that it employs a deeply symbolic and reverent visual language rooted in Coptic Christian art. “The central mandala-like motif, featuring interlaced fish and cross forms, references early Christian iconography, where the fish symbolizes Christ and community,” he said. “The geometric precision and symmetry evoke Coptic patterns found in Egyptian church art, linking the conference’s location in Wadi El Natrun – a cradle of early monasticism – to its theological theme of unity.” Albin Hillert will serve as the main WCC photographer at the World Conference. “As with all major WCC events, our hope is that the visual material we collect and share daily through our online platforms will serve to document and tell the story of the churches’ witness together at this time. But also very practically, that it will help member churches, partners, and media around the world share in their different contexts and with their own networks what the Sixth World Conference is about and, ultimately, what it means to be part of the life and witness of the WCC as a global fellowship of churches,” Hillert reflected.   Useful links and information to the media: General information about the conference:  Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order | World Council of Churches Programme and Timetable Nicaea 2025 | World Council of Churches Resource Book: Sixth World Conference Resource Book Handbook: Conference Handbook for the Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order | World Council of Churches News Releases and Media Advisories:   Media accreditation to online attendance of WCC Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order, 24-28 October 2025, remains open | World Council of Churches Faith and Order moderator looks to world conference to help quest for visible church unity | World Council of Churches Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order set for October: “Where now for visible unity?” | World Council of Churches Photos: Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order – 2025 Accreditation: Application for global media accreditation to WCC Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order Media briefings:  Online media briefings for accredited media will be held at 2 pm local time (1 pm Central European Summer Time then 12 pm Central European Time) on 23, 24, 25, 27 and 28 October. Zoom link will be sent in advance via email. Scheduled live streams & videos: Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order | World Council of Churches Interview requests and other inquiries: media@wcc-coe.org 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

WCC News: World Conference on Faith and Order in 2025 will mark anniversary of the Council of Nicaea

The Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches (WCC), marking the 1700th anniversary of the first Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, is to take place in Egypt in October 2025 at the invitation of the Coptic Orthodox Church. Papal Logos Center in Wadi El Natrun, Egypt. Photo: Bishop Anba Suriel/WCC 23 November 2023 “I am confident that the Faith and Order World Conference will draw churches closer to celebrate the unity we already share, strengthen our fellowship, and promote profound discussions about the future of the ecumenical movement,” WCC general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay said in his report to the WCC’s executive committee, meeting 8–14 November in Abuja, Nigeria. “Approaching from the interconnected vantage points of faith, unity, and mission, the conference will explore the theme, ‘Where Now for Visible Unity?’,” reported Pillay. In a 21 November letter, Pillay thanked the head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, H.H. Pope Tawadros II, for the invitation to host the conference in Egypt, saying the invitation had been received by the WCC executive committee with gratitude and appreciation. World Conferences on Faith and Order have been held since 1927 at key moments in the history of the ecumenical movement, and Pillay said in his report to the WCC executive committee that the 2025 conference would be a central highlight of the WCC’s commemoration of Nicaea.  Organized by the WCC’s Commission on Faith and Order, the conference will take place from 24 to 28 October 2025 at the Logos Papal Center of the Coptic Orthodox Church, close to the St Bishoy Monastery at Wadi El Natrun, near Alexandria, Egypt. Pillay described the location as being of historic and spiritual significance, especially concerning the preservation of the Nicene faith.   “The contemporary situation in the Middle East emphasizes the critical importance of the unity the commemoration underscores. This unity is more than just an abstract idea. It is a lived reality that we need,” said Pillay. The conference will be enriched, he said, by the participation of young people from around the world attending the Global Ecumenical Theological Institute (GETI), whose programme would be woven into the conference’s agenda. In 325 in Nicaea, now İznik in present-day Türkiye, bishops representing the whole of Christendom gathered at the first Ecumenical Council to seek consensus on the central meaning of Christian belief and to affirm their faith in the triune God. In its invitation to the WCC, the Coptic Orthodox Church said it was preparing a number of activities in celebration of the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea and referred to the role of St Athanasius of Alexandria (c. 296–298 to 373) in defending the theology that was agreed at the council.  “With the many hardships we face today, it is very important to remind our believers to live the Apostolic faith together,” the church stated.  Learn more about the Nicaea 2025: www.oikoumene.org/nicaea2025 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