Week of Prayer for Christian Unity


Prayer for Christian Unity, Week of

January 18-25The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, as organized by the World Council of Churches, dates back to 1964. Calls for Christian unity and efforts to bring Christians of various denominations together in worship can be traced back at least 200 years earlier, however. In 1908, the Rev. Paul Watson proposed a week-long observance dedicated to Christian unity to be scheduled between the feasts of St. Peter's Chair (January 18) and St. Paul (January 25), the two great leaders of the first Christians. The World Council of Churches maintains these dates. Each year an inter-denominational committee selects a scriptural theme and prepares the outlines of a worship service for each day of the Week of Prayer. Individual congregations are free to use the material as is, or vary it to suit local practices and traditions.
CONTACTS:
World Council of Churches
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P.O. Box 2100
Geneva, 1211 Switzerland
41-22-791-6111; fax: 41-22-791-0361
www2.wcc-coe.org