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He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
Isaiah 2:4
God is love.
1 John 4:8
Deeply alarmed by the recent escalation of conflict in Ukraine in the context of Russia’s ongoing invasion of the country, all members of the World Council of Churches (WCC) executive committee, meeting in Bogota, Colombia on 6-11 June 2024, join in reaffirming the declaration of the WCC’s first Assembly in 1948 that “War is contrary to the will of God”. We further reaffirm the WCC’s 11th Assembly statement that “war is incompatible with God’s very nature and will for humanity and against our fundamental Christian and ecumenical principles”, and its denunciation of the war visited upon Ukraine by the Russian invasion as “illegal and unjustifiable”.
We are appalled by the terrible toll in lives lost, livelihoods and communities destroyed, environmental harm, and wider conflict risks resulting from this war, and call for the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, an end to the invasion and occupation of Ukrainian territory, and the re-establishment of peace in the region. We appeal also to the governments of Russia and Ukraine to respect the fundamental human and moral right of conscientious objection to military service, even in times of war.
We commend and encourage the WCC general secretary’s continuous efforts to seek ways of addressing this crisis through dialogue within the ecumenical fellowship of churches as well as with other partners, and deeply regret that those efforts are yet to bear visible fruit.
The executive committee therefore urges the general secretary to redouble his efforts and to take all necessary measures to convene dialogue within the ecumenical fellowship on the urgent humanitarian, ethical, and theological issues arising from this conflict.
We ask member churches of the WCC to urge their governments to seek peace in Ukraine by taking and supporting initiatives for dialogue.
