Catholicos Karekin II Elected President of the World Council of Churches

BUSAN, SOUTH KOREA — His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, has been unanimously elected President of the World Council of Churches (WCC) for the term of eight years. The voting took place during the November 4th sitting of the 10th Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Busan, South Korea.

The presidency of the Council consists of eight members. The mission of WCC Presidents is to encourage the inter-church and ecumenical relations, ensure the protection of human rights in the world, establishment of justice and peace.

The World Council of Churches is an international ecumenical organization that brings together churches, denominations and church fellowships in more than 110 countries and territories throughout the world, representing over 500 million Christians. At the end of 2012 the organization had 345 member churches.