wfn.org | WCC: Christian unity for peace

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World Council of Churches
Update Up-04-07
For Immediate Use
23 January 2004

Christians world-wide manifest unity 
in support of peace

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: http://wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/faith/wop2004.pdf 

Additional prayers can be found at:
http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/faith/wop-prayers-e.html 

Songs with musical scores are available at:
http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/faith/songs2004.html 

A free photo is available at:
http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/faith/wop04yangon.html 

For further information, please contact Juan Michel, WCC  media relations
officer,  tel: +41 22 791 6153, mobile +41 79 507 6363, media@wcc-coe.org  

**********

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a fellowship of churches, now 342, in
more than 100 countries in all continents from virtually all Christian
traditions. The Roman Catholic Church is not a member church but works
cooperatively with the WCC. The highest governing body is the assembly, which
meets approximately every seven years. The WCC was formally inaugurated in
1948 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Its staff is headed by general secretary
Samuel Kobia from the Methodist Church in Kenya.

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