Website of the Week
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2025
17th to 25th January
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2025
17th to 25th January
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity has a history of over 100 years, during which Christians around the world have taken part in an octave of prayer for visible Christian unity. It takes place from 18th to 25th January in the Northern hemisphere, and from 19th to 26th May in the Southern hemisphere.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) currently has 349 member churches. Together, they represent well over 550 million people in 120 countries and are found in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, Latin America, North America, the Middle East and the Pacific. Within the membership are most of the world’s Orthodox churches, scores of Anglican, Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, and Reformed churches, as well as many charismatic, independent, united, and uniting churches. By annually observing the WPCU, Christians move toward the fulfillment of Jesus' prayer at the Last Supper "that they all may be one."
While the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) is not a member, it maintains close links with the WCC, highlighted by the 2018 visit of Pope Francis to the WCC to reaffirm the ecumenical endeavour. Since 1965, the WCC/RCC joint working group meets annually and the RCC, too, celebrates the Week of Prayer for Church Unity.
The guiding biblical text for this year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity comes from John 11:17-27. “Do you believe this?” 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.
Click here to access a range of resources for celebrating this important week:
Ireland and UK
USA
Canada
Rest of World
The World Council of Churches (WCC) currently has 349 member churches. Together, they represent well over 550 million people in 120 countries and are found in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, Latin America, North America, the Middle East and the Pacific. Within the membership are most of the world’s Orthodox churches, scores of Anglican, Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, and Reformed churches, as well as many charismatic, independent, united, and uniting churches. By annually observing the WPCU, Christians move toward the fulfillment of Jesus' prayer at the Last Supper "that they all may be one."
While the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) is not a member, it maintains close links with the WCC, highlighted by the 2018 visit of Pope Francis to the WCC to reaffirm the ecumenical endeavour. Since 1965, the WCC/RCC joint working group meets annually and the RCC, too, celebrates the Week of Prayer for Church Unity.
The guiding biblical text for this year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity comes from John 11:17-27. “Do you believe this?” 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.
Click here to access a range of resources for celebrating this important week:
Ireland and UK
USA
Canada
Rest of World