The local Christian communities gave a great reception to the Delegates of the third European Ecumenical Assembly of Sibiu, inviting them to their celebrations and prayers. "It is a joyful opportunity, that of praying together", said an Italian young man after Mass in the Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Trinity. "You can’t imagine how long we have been waiting for these guests, and how happy we are you are here", added a woman from Sibiu. "As long as we pray together, ecumenism is alive", commented a Lithuanian delegate. The evening services are held in the Orthodox Cathedral and in another two Orthodox churches, in the Lutheran Cathedral of Johanniskirche, in the Roman Catholic, Greek Catholic, Reformed and Baptist churches. The Christians of all confessions are then invited to take part in the ecumenical prayers offered by the Community of Taizé and Iona. On Friday night, the Vespers in the Orthodox Cathedral will bring together the local communities and the delegates of the assembly. On Saturday (for Catholic and Orthodox devotees, it is the Feast of the Nativity of the Virgin) and on Sunday, celebrations will be held in the local churches for each religious confession that attended the Assembly.
