Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2025

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The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity which takes place from 18-25 January,2025 invites us to share reflection on our common faith. In order to pray together for unity among churches throughout the year, the prayers and reflections for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2025 were prepared by the brothers and sisters of the monastic community of Bose in northern Italy.The resources are jointly published by the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity and the World Council of Churches.

The guiding Biblical text for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2025 comes from John 11:17-27. The theme for the week, 'Do you believe this?' (v. 26), takes its cue from the dialogue between Jesus and Martha when Jesus visited the home of Martha and Mary in Bethany following the death of their brother Lazarus.

The year 2025 marks the 1700th anniversary of the first Christian Ecumenical Council, held in Nicaea, near Constantinople in 325 CE. This commemoration provides a unique opportunity to reflect on and celebrate the common faith of Christians, as expressed in the Nicene Creed, which traces its origins to the Council of Nicaea.

The Council of Nicaea led to the adoption of the Nicene Creed as an expression of the common faith of Christians. The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2025 offers an invitation to draw on this shared heritage and to enter more deeply into the faith that unites all Christians.

The traditional period in the northern hemisphere for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is 18-25 January. In the southern hemisphere churches often find other days to celebrate the Week of Prayer, for example around Pentecost, which is also a symbolic date for the unity of the church.

Churches and Christian communities worldwide are invited to use a variety of resources prepared in seven languages, including a child-friendly version and the reading plan on the YouVersion's Bible App.

For resources for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2025 see: www.oikoumene.org/resources/documents/resources-for-the-week-of-prayer-for-christian-unity-2025