NEWS
News from our member churches and the wider ecumenical movement, with our monthly roundup and a library of stories from ecumenical bodies around the world.
Week of Prayer 2027 resources released
The resources for the 2027 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity are now available.
Anglicans pray with the National Dialogue in the Week of Prayer
Anglicans in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia joined other churches for the 2026 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, kept here between Ascension and Pentecost, from 17 to 24 May.
Australian churches pray together for unity
The National Council of Churches in Australia and the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference held an ecumenical prayer service at the Mary MacKillop Memorial Chapel in Sydney on 12 May, ahead of the Week of Prayer.
An Armenian homily for the Week of Prayer in Australia
The National Council of Churches in Australia announced that its annual Prayers for Christian Unity on 20 May would be held online, with a recorded homily by Bishop Vardan Navasardyan, Primate of the Armenian Church of Australia and New Zealand, and hymns from the choir of the Armenian Apostolic Church of the Holy Resurrection in Chatswood, Sydney.
The southern hemisphere keeps the Week of Prayer in May
Churches in the southern hemisphere, here in Aotearoa New Zealand among them, kept the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity from 17 to 24 May, between Ascension and Pentecost.
Pope Leo closes the Week of Prayer in Rome
Pope Leo XIV closed the 2026 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity with Vespers at the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls in Rome on 25 January, the feast of the Conversion of St Paul.
The Week of Prayer around the world
From radio broadcasts and video messages to shared services, churches in many countries marked the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in January.
A young theologian on the Week of Prayer in Africa
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Ireland’s two primates pray for unity
The Church of Ireland and Roman Catholic Archbishops of Armagh, John McDowell and Eamon Martin, marked the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity with a joint video message on the theme “One Body, One Spirit”.
Lutherans look ahead to a year of ecumenical milestones
To mark the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, the Lutheran World Federation set out the ecumenical milestones it expected to share in during 2026.
Quakers and the Week of Prayer
During the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Tim Gee, general secretary of the Friends World Committee for Consultation, spoke on BBC Radio’s Daily Service.
An Armenian reflection opens the Week of Prayer in Geneva
At a morning prayer at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva on 19 January, Archimandrite Garegin Hambardzumyan of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin in Armenia reflected on this year’s Week of Prayer material, which draws on the heritage of St Nerses the Gracious, the twelfth-century catholicos and hymn writer.
Week of Prayer 2026: one hope, one calling
The theme for the 2026 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity came from Ephesians 4:4: “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling.” The prayers and reflections were prepared by the Armenian Apostolic Church with Armenian Catholic and Evangelical Christians, drawing on hymns and prayers that in some cases go back to the fourth century.