ECUMENISM
Romania: The Week for Christian Unity The Week of Prayer for Christian unity began also in Romania. Ecumenical celebrations in cities across the country will be attended by representatives of the Catholic Church of Latin and Byzantine rite, of Protestant Churches, of the Serbian Orthodox Church (in the South-West of the Country) and of other religions and confessions. For the second year, following the decision of the Holy Synod, the Romanian Orthodox Church will attend the prayer of the other Churches “without liturgical involvement”. In some places, such as Iasi, the common ecumenical prayer was suspended. The local Catholic Church prays in her own churches. “It’s a shame”: this is how the situation is described by the Romanian-Catholic bishop of Iasi, Msgr. Petru Gherghel, in a pastoral letter released on the occasion of the Week. Recalling the progress made by the Christian Churches of Romania on the way of ecumenism, notably the Third Ecumenical Assembly in Sibiu in 2007, the bishop acknowledges a “revival of the cold period of marginalization”. Also the archbishop of Bucharest, vice-president of the Romanian bishops’ conference Msgr. Ioan Robu voiced his concern: “When the sense of fraternal communion doesn’t extend beyond the borders of one’s confession and when other Christians are not part of our prayers and of our Eucharistic celebrations (even if only in our thoughts), then something in the resurrected life of Jesus Christ has been lost, along with the fruits of this new life”. The Week will end on January 25 in Bucharest with a celebration in the Roman- Catholic cathedral of Saint Joseph.Italy: Lutheran-Catholic members plant two trees Over the next days in Rome and Milan representatives of the Catholic and Lutheran Churches, on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation that will take place in 2017, will plant together two “trees of Luther”. The idea of planting a large garden in Wittenberg dates back to 2008 and extends to 2017, the anniversary of 1517 when the renowned ‘Wittenberg theses’ were exposed, which paved the way to the Lutheran Reformation. The project of planting a tree in other parts of the world, explains evangelical agency Nev, is intended as “a sign of dialogue and fraternity” between Christian Churches. With the visit in Italy of a delegation of the United Evangelical Lutheran Church in Germany (VELKD) from January 20 to 25 two trees will be planted in Italy. The first ecumenical tree-planting ceremony will take place on January 22 in the garden of the St. Marco Basilica in Milan, where according to the tradition, Luther sojourned during his journey to Rome in 1510. On the site the delegation will plant a pomegrenate tree. Another ceremony will take place on Sunday 23 at the Benedictine Convent of Saint Paul Outside the Walls in Rome. The blessing of the tree will be imparted by cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for the promotion of Christian Unity. In addition to a large VELKD delegation and representatives of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Italy (CELI) the ceremony will be attended also by the abbot of the Saint Paul Basilica Edmund Power, along with Cardinal Francesco Monterisi, archpriest of the Basilica.Belgium: a vigil for persecuted Christians Several initiatives are under way in Belgium for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Among these, on the evening of January 20 the Inter-ecclesial Committee in Brussels, chaired by the abbots Philippe Degand and Philippe Dupriez, by father Athanase Cabirou and Zadik Avedikian, and by pastor Laurence Flachon, promoted an ecumenical prayer vigil in the Catholic St. Michael and Gudula Cathedral. This year’s vigil was prepared by the Catholic Church and the sermon was delivered by the pastor Guy Liagre, President of the Synod Council of Belgium’s United Protestant Church. The national Christian churches do not forget their sister communities that have been victim of attacks and violence in Egypt, Iraq, Nigeria and Pakistan. Representatives of the Coptic, Armenian, Syro-Orthodox, Chaldean, Orthodox, Protestant and Catholic churches in Belgium will take part in the ecumenical vigil that the Community of St. Egidio organizes on January 24 in Brussels, in the church of Notre-Dame des Riches Claires, for the Christian minorities in difficulty. Dr. Robert Innes, canonical, former chaplain and president of the Anglican Central Committee of Belgium, editor of the prayer addendum drawn up by the inter-ecclesial Committee, said: “The themes proposed this year are especially significant”. They were chosen “by the Christians in Jerusalem, the city of the founding events of our faith, which is also the place that is currently suffering the heaviest consequences of Christians’ inability to put into practice, without compromises, the implications of these events”. Underlining the local presence “of no less than 13 churches”, Innes invites to pray “to promote the unity of the Church in Brussels” along with that of Jerusalem, “and to demand justice and peace for all its inhabitants”.
