Ecumenical Prayer for Christians' Unity

On January 19, 2024, ecumenical prayer for the unity of Christians was offered in Tbilisi which has been offered for years in temples of the Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Holy Church, Roman Catholic Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church, and Evangelical Baptist and Anglican Church in Georgia. The organizer of this year's ecumenical prayer was the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Georgia and the prayer was offered in St. Peter and Paul Roman Lutheran Church in Tbilisi.

Head of Diocesan "Saint Gregory of Narek" (Surb Grigor Narekatsi) Spiritual, Educational and Cultural Center in Rustavi Rev. Father Hovsep Harutyunan and Deacon Gevorg Avetisyan participated in the prayer ceremony.

This year, January 18-25 is the Christian Unity Week for the unity of Christians worldwide. This tradition dates back to the beginning of the last century.

Later, the World Council of Churches made this initiative annual and it is held every year at the end of January.

The current week definitely responds to the desire of Jesus Christ, that "may all be one" (John 17.21).

Service in unity with the word of God became the theme of the unity prayer in the year 2024: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself." (Gospel of Luke 10:27).

With the reading of passages from the Holy Bible and accompanied by spiritual songs, all the participants spoke about the importance of ecumenical prayer, noting that such events can bring the faithful of churches closer to the only God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

The ecumenical prayer ended with the prayer and blessing of the spiritual fathers.