Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Schedule

The materials for the week of prayer have been jointly prepared by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches.

VATICAN CITY (VIS) - The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, traditionally celebrated every year from 18 to 25 January, begins on Sunday.

The theme chosen for 2009 is: "That they may become one in your hand" (Ezek 37, 17). The texts for reflection and prayer during the week are, according to a note published by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity "rooted in the experience of the churches in Korea. In their context of national division the churches have turned for inspiration to the prophet Ezekiel, who also lived in a tragically divided nation and longed for the unity of his people".

The materials for the week of prayer and for the rest of 2009 have been jointly prepared by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches.

Each day of the Week will have a different theme:

18 January: Christian communities face to face with old and new divisions.

19 January: Christians face to face with war and violence.

20 January: Christians face to face with economic injustice and poverty.

21 January: Christians face to face with ecological crisis.

22 January: Christians face to face with discrimination and social prejudice.

23 January: Christians face to face with disease and suffering.

24 January: Christians face to face with a plurality of religions.

25 January: Christian proclamation of hope in a world of separation.

Although the traditional period for celebrating this week of prayer is in the month of January, in the southern hemisphere Churches sometimes seek other periods such as, for example, around the time of Pentecost, which is also a symbolically significant date for the unity of the Church, and was suggested by the Faith and Order movement in 1926.

In the basilica of St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls at 5.30 p.m. on Sunday, 25 January, Feast of the Conversion of the Apostle Paul, Benedict XVI will preside at the celebration of Vespers to mark the close of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.