TEXTS FOR 2025 WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY

 

The Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity [DPCU] is pleased to publish the texts for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2025. In the northern hemisphere, the Week of Prayer traditionally takes place from 18 to 25 January, while in the southern hemisphere, where January is often a holiday period, churches often celebrate the Week of Prayer around Pentecost.

The theme of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2025 is based on a text from the Gospel of John: "Do you believe this?" (John 11:26). The prayers and reflections have been prepared by the brothers and sisters of the monastic community of Bose in northern Italy. As usual, an international team appointed jointly by the DPCU and the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches worked with the authors to finalise the materials.

The year 2025 will mark the 1,700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council. This commemoration provides a unique opportunity to reflect on and celebrate the common faith of Christians as expressed in the Creed formulated at that Council. The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2025 is an invitation to draw on this common heritage and to enter more deeply into the faith that unites all Christians.

The resources include an introduction to the theme, an ecumenical service, a selection of short readings and prayers for each day of the Week. Because of the ecumenical significance of the year 2025, short patristic texts, mostly from the first millennium, have also been included to give an insight into Christian reflection at that time and to help place the definitions of the Council of Nicea in the contexts in which they originated and were influenced. The resources can be used in a variety of ways and are intended for use not only during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, but throughout the year 2025. 

 

_{Image: Greek-Orthodox Metropolis in Paris}

_{Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity}