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On 18 January, the first day of world celebrations of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2017, an ecumenical prayer service took place at the Sacré Coeur church in Geneva, Switzerland, drawing more than 70 people from various congregations and denominations.

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, celebrated worldwide from 18-25 January, will be hosted this year by the Council of Christian Churches in Germany (ACK). As 2017 marks the commemoration of the Reformation, the week of prayer will reflect on the legacy of the Reformation and the current spirit of reconciliation in Christ.

La Semana de Oración por la Unidad de los Cristianos, que se celebra del 18 al 25 de enero, será organizada este año por el Consejo de Iglesias Cristianas en Alemania (ACK). Dado que 2017 será un año para conmemorar la Reforma, la Semana de Oración reflexionará sobre el legado de la Reforma y el actual espíritu de la reconciliación en Cristo.

The Taizé religious community from the east of France is meeting over the New Year’s period in Riga, Latvia and world church leaders from many traditions have bestowed greetings of hope on its annual gathering.

He earned the title “Green Patriarch” as a religious leader addressing alarming environmental issues over at least two decades. In 2008, Time Magazine named His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew as one of 100 Most Influential People in the World, for “defining environmentalism as spiritual responsibility”.

Se ha ganado el apodo de “El Patriarca verde” por ser un líder religioso preocupado por los alarmantes problemas medioambientales desde hace al menos dos decenios. En 2008, la revista Time incluyó a Su Toda Santidad el Patriarca Ecuménico Bartolomé entre las cien personas más influyentes del mundo, por “definir el ecologismo como una responsabilidad espiritual”.

“WCC notes the concern expressed by Movimiento Ecuménico por los Derechos Humanos (MEDH) and many other civil society organizations in Argentina that Milagro Sala, a prominent political activist, social and indigenous leader, is being arbitrarily detained because of her activism, though other charges are laid against her”, wrote Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), in a letter on 16 December, to the Evangelical Methodist Church of Argentina (IEMA), in support of MEDH in its claim regarding Sala.

How can the early founding fathers of the church inform us as Christians in the 21st century, what stands at the centre of their theology, and how can we continue to envision a future of unity in the church? The questions were numerous as scholars, students and theologians met at the Anaphora Institute near Cairo, Egypt, to explore the theme of “Saint Irenaeus and Enlightened Humanity” on 14-16 December.

The story shared by Fr Yakoub Babawe of the Oum-El-Nour Relief Committee of the Syrian Orthodox Church in Iraq’s city of Erbil moved and challenged participants at a recent meeting in Beirut.

Following a 6-November ceremony where recently retired Very Rev. Dr Sheilagh Kesting was “knighted”, as Dame of the Order of St Gregory the Great by Pope Francis, WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit now extends congratulations to Kesting, a long-standing colleague and ecumenist from the Church of Scotland.

Tras la ceremonia del 6 de noviembre en la que la reverendísima Dra. Sheilagh Kesting, que se ha retirado recientemente, recibió el título de Dama de la Orden de San Gregorio Magno del papa Francisco, el secretario general del CMI felicita ahora a esta antigua colega y ecumenista de la Iglesia de Escocia.

After nearly a year of effort, archivists at the WCC have prepared a significant part of European ecumenical history for lasting preservation and use. Through their efforts, the Geneva history of the Conference of European Churches is catalogued online and ready for public use.

At a consultation on religion and development on 28 September, WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit shared thoughts on an emerging global religion and development agenda. The meeting was convened by the ACT Alliance. Tveit and other participants shared their thoughts on how faith-based and humanitarian groups can work together to help reach the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

“What happens when we journey on a pilgrimage, a pilgrimage of justice and peace, with people who share our values but who may or may not accept the institution of the church? And what does it mean to be on a pilgrimage of justice and peace, when the next generation shares our concerns for justice and peace, and want to follow God, but do not share our spirituality as confined by church and by tradition?”

“¿Qué pasa cuando hacemos una peregrinación, una peregrinación de justicia y paz, con personas que comparten nuestros valores pero que pueden o no aceptar la institución de la iglesia? Y, ¿qué significado tiene estar haciendo una peregrinación de justicia y paz cuando la siguiente generación comparte nuestra preocupación por la justicia y la paz, y quiere seguir a Dios, pero no comparte nuestra idea de la espiritualidad como algo delimitado por la iglesia y la tradición?”

The six presidents of the organization Churches Together in England are encouraging all churches to pray together through an initiative called “Thy Kingdom Come.” The effort focuses on praying for Christ’s transforming love to bring hope and joy to all.

“The people of the Caribbean have a rich story to tell, one that can enrich the spiritual lives of Christians around the world,” said Fr Anthony Currer of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. That very story was shared in a heartfelt way this week at an ecumenical gathering to create the first draft of the text that will be used for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2018.

“La historia de los caribeños es muy enriquecedora y tiene mucho que aportar a la vida espiritual de los cristianos de todo el mundo”, dijo el padre Anthony Currer, del Consejo Pontificio para la Promoción de la Unidad de los Cristianos.

"We worship in different languages and cultures, yet all one in Christ. This is an immensely enriching experience,” said Dr Jude Long, principal of Nungalinya College, in Darwin, Australia, as she explored spirituality with indigenous people from across the world this week.

“Practicamos el culto en diferentes idiomas y desde diferentes culturas, pero todos somos uno en Cristo. Y esa es una experiencia muy enriquecedora”, afirmó esta semana la Dra. Jude Long, directora de la Escuela de Nungalinya, en Darwin, Territorio del Norte (Australia), al hacer un análisis de la espiritualidad junto a poblaciones indígenas de todo el mundo.