Services focus on church unity: foundation of Christ is theme for week of prayer.Archbishop of Canterbury The Archbishop of Canterbury is the main leader of the Church of England and by convention is also recognised as head of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The current archbishop is Rowan Williams. Rowan Williams  The current Anglicanism Collaboration of the Month isBook of Common Prayer The next collaboration will be selected on September 30, 2007. (Vote here) attended solemn vespers vespers (vĕs`pərz) [Lat.,=evening], in the Christian Church, principal evening office. In the Roman rite, vespers have consisted since the 6th cent. of a few prayers, five psalms, a lesson, the Magnificat, and an antiphon. and preached at a service at the Roman Catholic Westminster Cathedral to mark the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is an international Christian ecumenical observance kept annually between 18 January and 25 January. It is actually an octave, that is, an observance lasting eight days. in January. The Week of Prayer was observed Jan. 18 to 25, although some churches marked the event at other times. Archbishop Williams' first official visit to the cathedral came as a result of an invitation by the archbishop, Cormac Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor. Before the service, Archbishop Williams opened and toured an exhibit in the cathedral on Anglicanism, according to Anglican Communion News Service. The exhibit, entitled Anglicanism and the Western Tradition, charts the history of Anglicanism and highlights important ecumenical initiatives, including the Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission The Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) is an organization which seeks to make ecumenical progress between the Roman Catholic Church and Anglican Communion. . It was previously on display at the Vatican. Prayer services were also held around the world to commemorate the Week of Prayer, whose theme was "Our Foundation is Jesus Christ." In Canada, Roman Catholic Archbishop Thomas Collins led the opening prayer at a service held at Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Edmonton. Also in attendance were Dean Greg Kerr-Wilson of the Anglican diocese of Edmonton The Diocese of Edmonton is a diocese of the Ecclesiastical Province of Rupert's Land of the Anglican Church of Canada. The diocese comprises almost 78,000 square kilometres of the civil Province of Alberta, consiting of a narrow band in the centre-north of the province, extending , Evangelical Lutheran Bishop Steve Kristenson and Ukrainian Catholic Bishop Lawrence Huculak. Anglican bishop Peter Coffin of Ottawa marked the week by joining other religious leaders at an ecumenical worship service in Notre Dame Cathedral Jan. 23. Among those present were Roman Catholic archbishop Marcel Gervais, Rev. Grant Dillenbeck of the United Church of Canada United Church of Canada, Protestant denomination formed in 1925 by the union of the Methodist, Congregational, and Presbyterian churches in Canada. A large number of Presbyterian congregations, however, remain outside the union. , and Rev. Andrew Johnston of the Presbyterian Church in Canada The Presbyterian Church in Canada is the name of a Protestant Christian church, of presbyterian and reformed theology and polity, serving in Canada under this name since 1875, although the United Church of Canada claimed the right to the name from 1925 to 1939. . In the diocese of Rupert's Land, an ecumenical worship service took place at St. Mary's Roman Catholic Cathedral; Christian communities and churches in Winnipeg hosted a Festival of Prayer throughout the week. Former prime minister John Turner preached at a service of evening prayers held at Toronto's (Anglican) St. James' Cathedral. Bishop Colin Johnson joined Aloysius Cardinal AmbroZic, Roman Catholic archbishop of Toronto, for the service which featured the combined choirs of men and boys from St. James' and St. Michael's cathedrals. In Nairobi, two Roman Catholic and non-Catholic pastors called on Christians to set aside sectarianism and give a united Christian witness, reported the Catholic Information Service for Africa. An inter-denominational service was held at St. Paul's Catholic University Chaplaincy to mark the celebration. |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion