Detailed History of the Week Of Prayer for Christian Unity
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity began before the modern ecumenical movement established by the Second Vatican Council in 1964 but is at the center of that movement. The word "ecumenical" is from the Latin, oecumenicus, and Greek, oikouenikos, both meaning "of the whole world." Alexander the Great used the Greek word "oikoumene" to describe his vision of a world united by language, culture, his empire and common objectives. Today, ecumenical refers to a less ambitious but equally daunting vision. The ecumenical movement seeks to unite all Christian faiths in one communion. The starting point is prayer.
The ecumenical movement has its foundation in early Christianity and movements to unite Christian churches have occurred throughout the history of Christianity. However, it was not until 1846 that an effort began to unite all Christian churches. In that year, the Evangelical Alliance was established in London, England. This alliance had an international scope and connections with numerous Christian denominations. It emphasized unity among individual Christians rather than attempting to unify the churches with which they were associated. The Alliance set aside one week beginning the first Sunday of the year to pray for "renewal in the Spirit." Ruth Rouse in her book, "A History of the Ecumenical Movement: 1517 - 1948" describes the Evangelical Alliance as "the one and only definitely ecumenical organization … which arose out of the Evangelical Awakening in the 19th century." Another organization, the Association for the Promotion of the Unity of Christians, was organized in 1857 "for united prayer that visible unity may be restored to Christendom." The Anglican, Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches were members of this effort. However, the Roman Catholic Church withdrew its support when agreement could not be reached on united prayer and the effort collapsed.
The Roman Catholic Church did not entirely abandon the movement. In 1894, Pope Leo XII asked Roman Catholics to recite the rosary for Christian unity. His Provida matris decree in 1897 set the days between Ascension and Pentecost for prayers of reconciliation. In his encyclical Divinum illud he suggested that this period of prayer be made permanent. About the same time, the Lambeth Conferences of the Anglican Church considered the observance of a season of prayer for Christian unity. However, it fell to two American Anglicans to establish a lasting prayer effort.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, two American Episcopalians, Father Paul Wattson and Sister Lurana White started a movement to pray for Christian unity. An English clergyman named Spencer Jones suggested that the Feast of Saint Peter's Chair be designated the day to pray for Christian unity in 1907. Father Paul and Sister Lurana augmented this suggestion to establish the Octave of Prayer for Christian Unity in 1908. Every year since then, their supporters have celebrated what is now called the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The Week of Prayer is actually eight days long and was originally designated the "Octave of Prayer for Christian Unity." It begins on January 18, which is the Feast of Saint Peter's Chair, and ends on January 25, which is the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul.
Father Paul and Sister Lurana converted to Roman Catholicism and Pope Pius X gave his blessings to their efforts in 1916. However, Roman Catholics did not have Pontifical approval to pray with people of other Christian faiths. A Roman Catholic priest in the Archdiocese of Lyons, France attempted to resolve this difficulty in 1934. Abbé Paul Couturier declared that Roman Catholics could pray with Christians of other faiths saying, "Our lord would grant to his church on earth that peace and unity which were in his mind and purpose, when, on the eve of His Passion, He prayed that all might be one." Many Roman Catholics would not accept his interpretation of the Roman Missal and waited for a definitive statement from the Pope.
That statement came in 1964 when the Second Vatican Council issued the Decree on Ecumenism that stated: "In certain special circumstances, such as in prayer services for unity and during ecumenical gatherings, it is allowable, indeed desirable, that Catholics should join in prayer with their separated brethren. Such prayers in common are certainly a very effective means of petitioning for the grace of unity, and they are a genuine expression of the ties, which even now bind Catholics to their separated brethren." This decree allowed Roman Catholics to pray with Christians of other faiths resolving the problem that had destroyed the efforts of the Association for the Promotion of the Unity of Christians over a century earlier. In addition, the Roman Catholic Church took a leadership position in the modern ecumenical movement. The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity issued the Directory for the Principles and Norms of Ecumenism in 1993. In his book, "A Handbook of Spiritual Ecumenism," Cardinal Kasper writes, "the celebration of the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity world-wide is an initiative of singular importance to be encouraged and further developed." Ecumenical movements have progressed greatly in the twentieth century but much remains to be done. The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is at the core of the modern movement. It is sponsored by the Commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches and the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity.