News
Cf. WCC Press Feature Feat-03-15 of 9 December 2003
Churches world-wide have mobilized in diverse ways to mark the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which is focused this year on the theme "My peace I give to you" (John 14:27).
The Week of Prayer is jointly organized by the World Council of Churches and the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, and traditionally falls between 18-25 January. In the Southern hemisphere, some churches celebrate the week around Pentecost. The material for 2004 was based on proposals made by the churches in Aleppo, Syria, and is meant to be adapted for local use.
In Rome, Pope John Paul II reflected on the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity before the Angelus on 18 January. He noted that the words of Christ, "I leave you my peace" were proposed by the churches of the Middle East, "where unity and peace are the most heartfelt priorities". "Over the next eight days, Christians of diverse denominations and traditions will gather together to pray intensely to the Lord that He will strengthen the common commitment for their full unity," he said.
Delegates attending the Fourth World Social Forum joined church and ecumenical leaders from dozens of countries in the St Thomas Cathedral in central Mumbai, India, on 18 January for a worship service of Scripture readings, prayer and greetings. The event was organized by the National Council of Churches of India (NCCI). NCCI general secretary Rev. Dr Ipe Joseph said that the church in India is "uniquely blessed with the opportunity of hosting the national and global ecumenical community" for the World Social Forum and the Week of Prayer at the same time.
In London's Catholic Westminster Cathedral, the leaders of both the Greek and Russian Orthodox Churches for Britain and Ireland were invited to lead inter-church services. On 17 January, Bishop Basil of Sergievo celebrated Russian Orthodox Great Vespers, and the following day, Archbishop Gregorios of Thyateira gave the sermon following the Mass.
In another part of England, Churches Together in Sussex - a network of several Christian denominations, one of whose primary goals is church unity - is using a different approach to prayer. Instead of limiting it to one week, Churches Together groups are trying to spread their prayer across the year, and a number are arranging continuous prayer cycles in one-hour shifts, inspired by the example of the 18th century Moravians .
In North America, congregations of the Presbyterian Church (USA) organized special services throughout the country. According to the church's associate for ecumenical programming Kathy Reeves, "observance of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is one way that Presbyterian Christians can bear witness to our belief that, through our Lord, we are indeed united with Christians everywhere through our common faith".
In the Middle East region, prayer books and posters are prepared by the Middle East Council of Churches, and adapted by the local Christian communities. In Damascus, Syria, where the heads of several Eastern Christian churches are based, the closing prayer for the week will be hosted on 24 January in the Cathedral of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch. In neighbouring Lebanon, the week opened with a Mass in the St George Maronite Cathedral in Yarze, and a series of events was organized by the local churches in Beirut, including a public concert by church choirs, conferences, and services in several churches.
In Lubumbashi, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the week of prayer was organized in all seven communes of the city, and involved all the main churches in the country, including Catholic, Orthodox, Methodist and Lutheran, ten independent churches and even Muslim groups.
The Assembly of Churches and Christian Communities of Geneva, Switzerland, organized a special afternoon of encounter, exhibitions and worship on the theme of peace on 18 January, at the headquarters of the World Council of Churches. Several hundred participants from Protestant, Orthodox and Catholic communities in the international city were welcomed by the music of the local Kimbanguist African Church, and were greeted by the new WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia.
The local ecumenical committee in Aleppo, Syria, which offered material for the 2004 theme, and which is made up of the heads of all the churches in the ancient city, has planned a service for the evening of 23 January in the St Ephrem Orthodox Cathedral. The event, which is expected to attract many participants, will be opened by Yohanna Ibrahim, the Syrian Orthodox archbishop of Aleppo. The sermon will be given by Bishop Antoine Odo (Chaldean Church).
The Week of Prayer has its origins in the 19th century, and was popularized by the Catholic father Paul Couturier of Lyon in the 1930s. For Couturier, the Week was a time to focus on the unity of Christians, as well as on the unity of mankind. "We must pray not that others may be converted to us, but that we may all be drawn closer to Christ... The spiritual horizon of the Week of Prayer for the Unity of Christians is not merely Christianity, it is the redemption of humankind," he wrote.
The material for the 2005 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity has been prepared by the churches in Slovakia.
Material for the preparation of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2004 is available on-line at:
wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/faith/wop2004.pdf - English
wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/faith/wop2004-f.pdf - French
wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/faith/wop2004-g.pdf - German
wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/faith/wop2004-s.pdf - Spanish
Additional prayers can be found at:
www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/faith/wop-prayers-e.html - English
www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/faith/wop-prayers-f.html - French
www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/faith/wop-prayers-g.html - German
www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/faith/wop-prayers-s.html - Spanish
Songs with musical scores are available at:
www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/faith/songs2004.html
A free photo is available at: