The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
May they all be one, as You, Father, are in Me and I am in You. May they also be one in Us, so the world may believe You sent Me. John 17:21 The World Council of Churches in Geneva and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity in Rome have jointly declared that January 18-25 is the Week for Prayer for Christian Unity. In principle, there is a small but valid role for the sort of bureaucratic ecumenism attempted by the World Council, even if that organization is tragically flawed in its current form. For anyone interested in Christian Unity, however, I would point them not to Geneva, but to Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Life Together ( Gemeinsames Leben ). Bonhoeffer writes in chapter one: Christian community is like the Christian's sanctification. It is a gift of God which we cannot claim. Only God knows the state of our fellowship, of our sanctification. What may appear weak and trifling to us may be great and glorious to God. Just as the Christian should not be constantly ...