Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2025

From 18 to 25 January 2025, between the Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter and that of the Conversion of Saint Paul, the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is celebrated, an ecumenical initiative in which Christians from all over the world, belonging to different traditions and confessions, gather together spiritually in prayer for the unity of the Church.

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.

God our Father, accept our praise and thanksgiving for what already unites Christians in the confession of and witness to Jesus the Lord. Hasten the hour when all churches will recognise each other in the one communion you willed and for which your Son prayed to you in the power of the Holy Spirit. Hear us, you who live and reign now and forever.