Dr Nicola Brady, General Secretary, Churches Together in Britain and Ireland writes a welcome introduction for this year's Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
At the heart of our reflections for this year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is the question posed by Jesus to Martha: ‘Do you believe this?’ (John 11:26). This same question resonated throughout the deliberations of the first Ecumenical Council, meeting in Nicaea in 325, which gathered Christian communities from around the world to strengthen their relationships as the Church of Jesus Christ. Read in isolation the question might appear as a stark challenge, but from the Gospel story it is clear that the words of Jesus are spoken in love and experienced as invitation as well as challenge. Similarly, while the Council of Nicaea was not without its challenges as a wounded and scattered Church sought to discern the truth of the Gospel message, there was an obvious desire to deepen connection and belonging and to live faithfully as disciples of Christ.
Reflecting on these moments we are reminded that the gift of our faith brings both support and challenge. The 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea this year has been embraced with a hopeful enthusiasm in the global Church and in ecumenical bodies, inspiring a wide range of events and dialogues. It is valued as a significant moment of shared history across the different Christian traditions, despite the many ways in which our paths may have diverged in the years since. Some have remained closer to the Church envisaged at Nicaea with the Nicene Creed continuing to be of central importance as a statement of faith, while others have adopted non-credal models of Church placing greater emphasis on other forms of expression of shared Christian faith. Looking back together from our different perspectives presents an opportunity to deepen understanding and relationships, strengthening our unity in diversity.
While recognising the value of this looking back, we have also been conscious of the need to reflect on how we are responding to Christ’s question in the circumstances of today, considering as we do so what we might learn from the example and experience of Nicaea. An important question in that regard, and one to which this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity resource seeks to respond is: what is the relevance to the life and mission of the local church?
There is an opportunity to celebrate and draw strength and encouragement from the gift of our shared faith. In these troubled and turbulent times, we can take heart from the endurance of that faith. The Church that gathered in Nicaea was one that had been shaken and wounded by violence and persecution and was therefore close to the suffering of humanity. It was presented with an opportunity for dialogue with the political power which posed difficult choices about how best to share the Good News of the Gospel as faithful disciples of Christ, whose Kingdom is not of this world. In today’s polarised world, when trust in the willingness of political powers and authorities, including the Church, to protect the most vulnerable has been undermined, how might a renewal of our commitment to Christian unity contribute to positive change?
Our polarised and fracturing world is in need of a new vision for peace, centred on the recognition of our inter-connectedness and shared humanity. As we gather to mark this anniversary, we have an opportunity to ask the hard questions about what may be getting in the way of our shared identity as Christians and our collective witness to the world. We are reminded of the transformative power of our faith which gives hope in suffering through the promise that all will be renewed in Christ.
