Head of UGCC to lead prayer for unity of Christians

The head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Patriarch Lubomyr, will head a celebratory ecumenical prayer in the Church of St. Basil the Great in Kyiv on Sunday, January 23, as part of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

According to the Information Department of UGCC, the head of UGCC will concelebrate with Auxiliary Bishop of the Kyiv Archeparchy Josyf Milyan, clergy of UGCC parishes, representatives and delegates of other Christian denominations of the city of Kyiv. The Kyiv men’s choir Favor will perform during the prayer.

Background Information

This is the 43rd year that Christians across Europe come together to pray during the Week of Prayers for Christian Unity, which is organized by the World Council of Churches (nearly all Orthodox and Protestant Churches of the world belong) and the Papal Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity.

The organizers chose as the theme for this year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Acts 2:42, "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer."

The main idea of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity of 2011 will be based on the experience of the Churches of Jerusalem, which hope to remind all Christians about the time when the Church was one and undivided.