Diocesan Legate and Ecumenical Director Archbishop Vicken Aykazian was one of the Christian leaders taking part in the World Council of Churches Central Committee meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, June 15-18.
He delivered the sermon to open the gathering, on “Christ’s Love: Compassion for Life” (click here to view video), and introduced agenda items on the need to support Armenia in the wake of the Artsakh war, and to preserve the Armenian Christian heritage in Artsakh.
The meeting went forward with the blessing of His Holiness Karekin II, the Catholicos of All Armenians, with Dianna Tsaghikyan also representing the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.
A major outcome of the meeting was to elect a new General Secretary for the WCC. The Rev. Dr. Jerry Pillay of South Africa will be the 9th person to occupy that role in the WCC’s 74-year history. He succeeds the outgoing Acting General Secretary, the Rev. Dr. Ioan Sauca, who began his term in April 2020, when the previous General Secretary the Rev. Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit was appointed as presiding bishop of the Church of Norway.
Rev. Pillay, a member of the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa, is currently dean of the Faculty of Theology and Religion at the University of Pretoria. Read an interview with him by clicking here.