The
Church Unity Octave, a forerunner of the Week of Prayer for Christian
Unity, was developed by Father Paul Wattson, SA, at Graymoor in
Garrison, New York, and was first observed at Graymoor from January
18-25, 1908. Today, the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity invites the
whole Christian community throughout the world to pray in communion with
the prayer of Jesus “that they all may be one” (John 17:21).
In 1966, the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches and the Vatican Secretariat (now Council) for Promoting Christian Unity began collaborating as a common international text for worldwide usage. Since 1968 these international texts, which are based on themes proposed by ecumenical groups around the world, have been developed, adapted and published for use in the United States by the Graymoor Ecumenical and Interreligious Institute.
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2011
Chosen Theme: One in the Apostles’ Teaching, Fellowship, Breaking of Bread and Prayer
(cf. Acts 2:42)
The theme for the annual celebration of the Week of Prayer for Christian
Unity 2011 has been announced by the Pontifical Council for Promoting
Christian Unity and the Commission on Faith and Order of the World
Council of Churches.
The theme for the 2011 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is One in the Apostles’ Teaching, Fellowship, Breaking of Bread and Prayer. It comes from Acts Chapter 2 versus 42. For 2011, the churches in Jerusalem were the initial consultants to the Joint Working Group for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The Christians of Jerusalem call upon their brothers and sisters to make this week of prayer an occasion of renewed commitment to work for genuine ecumenism grounded in the experience of the early Church.