Moscow – “Unity is not a utopia. Only facts make it possible to overcome divisions,” said Archbishop Paolo Pezzi of the Archdiocese of the Mother of God in Moscow on Tuesday, January 20, during the prayer service held at the Catholic Cathedral as part of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity .
Representatives of various Protestant ecclesial communities were also present at the celebration.
“The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is a particular challenge for us Catholics, because praying for unity is only possible if we already experience this unity in Christ in some way,” the Archbishop remarked in an interview with Fides.
“To experience it,” he explained, “one must experience the love of Christ, the love given by the Father that united Jesus and his disciples, as well as all those who will believe the word of the Apostles. Secondly, it is a challenge for society: when we live this love, this unity, it spreads, and when it spreads, one cannot remain indifferent; one must take a stand. And there are two options: to embrace this unity, which creates relationships and bridges, or to reject it, which leads to violence and persecution. This happens when one does not accept that God intervenes in human reality. However, unity with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit can also be experienced amidst ugliness, conflict, and division, and makes it possible to bear witness to love in the midst of it all.”
On January 24, a prayer for Christian unity will take place at the Catholic parish of Saints Peter and Paul, organized by and for young Christians in the Russian capital.
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity takes place between January 18 and 25 in the Northern Hemisphere and on different dates in the Southern Hemisphere . The reference texts for the 2026 celebrations were compiled by the Department for Interfaith Relations of the Armenian Apostolic Church. The theme for the 2026 Week of Prayer is taken from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Ephesians: “There is one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call” .
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.