WCC NEWS: Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem: “Death did not have the final word”

In an Easter message, the Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem offered words of hope amid turmoil. File Photo: Albin Hillert/WCC 30 March 2026 “Each passing day has brought increasingly fierce escalations—a relentless cycle of death, destruction, and frightful suffering that now ripples across the globe in rising economic hardship,” reads the message. “From the blackened smoke of this expanding wreckage, a deep darkness has engulfed our region, as stifling as the air inside the sealed tomb of the crucified Christ.” But the desolation of the tomb was not the end of the story, the message notes. “Death did not have the final word,” the text reads. “By the power of God, Christ rose victorious from the grave, bursting the bonds of sin and death.” The message also bids the faithful and all those of goodwill to work and pray ceaselessly for the relief of the countless multitudes throughout the Middle East and beyond who are suffering severely from the ravages of war. “Likewise, we appeal to them to advocate and intercede for an immediate end to the bloodshed and for justice and peace to finally prevail throughout our war-torn region, beginning in Jerusalem and extending to Gaza, Lebanon, and all the Holy Land; to the Gulf States and Tehran; and to the ends of the earth,” reads the message. Easter Message 2026 - Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem 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