Stockholm, August 2025 — Religious leaders from across the globe gathered in Stockholm for Ecumenical Week, offering diverse reflections on what “God’s peace” means amid war, division, and ongoing struggles for unity.

Peace: Loving vs. Making

Most Rev. Stephen Cottrell, Archbishop of York, drew a distinction between those who simply love peace and those who work actively to create it.

“Loving peace is a relatively easy thing to do,” he said. “Many of us love peace—but making peace is very different and much harder.”

Peace as a Process of Unity

Rev. Karin Wiborn, president of the Uniting Church in Sweden, highlighted her denomination’s name as a sign of ongoing reconciliation.

“We state that a united church is not the final goal; rather we are walking together towards a greater unity between churches. This in itself is the process of peace.”

Lessons from History

Archbishop Flavio Pace, secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, reflected on the origins of the World Day of Peace, stressing that peace cannot rest on “a false rhetoric of words.”

Theological Perspectives

Archbishop Emerita Dr Antje Jackelén, former head of the Church of Sweden, called for a renewed theological approach.

“We need a new dialectic theology. The old dialectic of theology involved the radical difference between God and humans and the discontinuity between human knowledge and divine revelation.”

The Church in Times of War

Bishop Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, moderator of the World Council of Churches central committee, connected the discussion to the war in Ukraine.

“How can we be the church, how can we make difference, how can people see that we are the church? War is against the will of God.”

Peace and Security in Europe

Rev. Frank Dieter Fischbach, general secretary of the Conference of European Churches, tied peace to Europe’s broader defense and democratic commitments.

“Together we underline that the European defense strategy should be integrated into a European peace strategy,” he said, stressing the rule of law, democracy, human rights, and self-criticism as central to Christian witness.

Katerina Pekridou, programme officer for Theology and Studies at the Conference of European Churches, echoed the challenge posed by the war in Ukraine:

“The full-scale war revived our struggle to articulate a common theological language in the face of conflict. This has further complicated the ecumenical landscape.”

A Place for Dialogue

Closing the session, Most Rev. Dr Martin Modéus, archbishop of the Church of Sweden and chair of the Christian Council of Sweden, emphasized the church’s role as a space of inclusion and dialogue.

“The church offers a place, a table for dialogue, inclusion, prayer. Stay at the table. Do not tip over the chair and walk away in anger. Do not exclude one another. Here we remain. We stay in conversation, in communication, even when it is difficult.”

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