Thousands gathered at the World Council of Churches (WCC) 9th Assembly to hear an opening prayer calling upon Christians worldwide to fight poverty as an absolute priority.

|PIC1|The message was delivered by Archbishop Anastasios of Tirana and All Albania to all who testify themselves as followers of Jesus in Porto Alegre, Brazil, on Feb 14th.

The historic Assembly, which is by far the most diverse and extravagant yet, opened with a huge prayer service where an energetic choir made up of members of local congregations sang gracefully. The opening prayers were based around the core theme of the Assembly: ‘God, in your grace, transform the world’.

A distinct Latin-American style of music was offered to those gathered, and was warmly received. As well as this, a huge mixture of further contributions were seen from various cultures and traditions, revealing the multi-cultural event clearly.

A dozen languages could be heard across the huge and colourful tent as the delegates and attendees offered up their praises to God.

Anastasios, the primate of the Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania and renowned theologian and ecumenical leader, spoke on the Assembly theme and God's transformative intervention into human history.

|QUOTE|The powerful leader told how as a direct consequence of God’s incarnation, all who belonged to God had “both the privilege and the obligation to share actively in the transformation of the world.”

At the centre of Anastasios’ deep message, he told of the great need of people to transform themselves, with the grace of God becoming an inexhaustible source of action: for service, creative struggle for healing and reconciliation, and the spreading of the gospel for the transformation of all, report the WCC.

He said, “In the face of all the poor – the hungry, estranged, and refugees, we are obliged to discern the face of Jesus.”

|TOP|Having been extremely active in promoting peace and reconciliation in the Balkans, Anastasios has even previously been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. He continued by speaking about how on earth peace has continuously been damaged on a daily basis.

He said, “Let us make a firm decision to struggle, with the power of the Holy Spirit, to overcome violence wherever we possibly can: in our family and society, as well as in the political and international community.”

In conclusion, he said, “With our gaze firmly set on Christ, our lord, who is the absolute truth, the boundless beauty and the incarnate love of God in the world, let us contribute, to the best of our ability, with the grace of the Holy Spirit, to the transformation of the world.”