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On 7 October, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Notre Dame University in Sydney, Australia. He then delivered an address entitled “The Need for Dialogue Today.”

His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the Archbishop of Constantinople, met with the Secretary-General of the Muslim Council of Elders, Judge Mohamed Abdelsalam, in Istanbul, Turkey. The discussion focused on enhancing mutual cooperation in promoting and fostering the values of tolerance, coexistence, and interfaith dialogue, as well as its role in combating hate speech and addressing global challenges.

A delegation from the World Council of Churches and ACT Alliance is visiting Türkiye this week, expressing solidarity and support for churches on the ground responding to grave needs in the wake of the 6 February earthquake.

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay visited the Armenian Patriarchate in Istanbul, Turkey on 12 March. His Beatitude, Archbishop Sahak Mashalyan, the Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople, welcomed the WCC general secretary and congratulated him on his election, wishing him successful years in his service to the worldwide churches.

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay is visiting the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul, Turkey, from 10-11 March. This is the first official visit of the WCC new general secretary to a member church since assuming his duties on 1 January 2023.

Faith-based and humanitarian groups across the world were setting in motion appeals for aid and prayers as response expands in the wake of the devastating earthquake that struck Syria and Turkey on 6 February.

Under the title “The Synodal Encyclical of 1920: 100 Years of Exceptional Influence,” the Ecumenical Patriarchate celebrated, on 1 December, one of the most important ecumenical documents of the 20^th century.

On 11 July, World Council of Churches (WCC) interim general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca sent a letter to the Turkish president expressing “grief and dismay,” noting that since 1934, “Hagia Sophia has been a place of openness, encounter and inspiration for people from all nations and religions.” The letter generated widespread reactions from churches and the media—and also from Muslim leaders. Sauca met online with H.E. Judge Mohamad Abdel Salam, general secretary of the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity (HCHF), special adviser of the Grand Imam of al Azhar Cheikh Ahmad al Tayeb, and special adviser of the Muslim Council of Elders.

Geneva, 11 July, 2020: In a letter to H.E. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of the Republic of Turkey, the World Council of Churches interim general secretary Rev. Prof Dr Ioan Sauca is expressing his fervent hope and prayer that Hagia Sophia will not become once again a focus of confrontation and conflict, but will be restored to the emblematic unifying role that it has served since 1934.