November 11, 2004

At the funeral service for President Yasser Arafat in Cairo on Friday, the World Council of Churches (WCC) will be represented by the head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, His Holiness Pope Shenouda III. The Coptic Orthodox Church is the largest member church of the WCC in the Middle East and the largest Christian church in the region. Pope Shenouda is also a former president of the WCC.

The World Council of Churches will be represented at the burial ceremony in Ramallah by Rev. Riah Abu El Assal, bishop of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, which is a WCC member church, and by Bishop Munib A. Younan, leader of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Palestine and Jordan.

World Council of Churches