Catholics, Protestants celebrate Christian unity at annual prayer service
The Archdiocese of Newark’s annual Prayer for Christian Unity service was held on Feb. 2 at St. John Paul II Church in Bayonne, N.J.
Auxiliary Bishop Gregory J. Studerus presided over the liturgy, which was organized by the Archdiocesan Ecumenical Commission and attended by Christians of various denominations. The Rev. Lynne Bleich Weber, rector of the Church of the Atonement in Tenafly, N.J., and ecumenical and interreligious officer for the Episcopal Diocese of Newark, served as the guest preacher.
The service supplemented the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, a worldwide event celebrated since 1908 by almost all Christian Churches. The archdiocesan liturgy was a celebration of the Word of God prepared by the ecumenical monastic community of Bose, Italy, at the request of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity in collaboration with Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches. It was an exercise of spiritual ecumenism, which is prayer.
This year’s observance was based on Jesus’ response to Martha in John 11.25-26: “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
Correspondingly, the readings each focused on the centrality of faith in Christian life, culminating with the gospel story of Thomas’ doubt after hearing Jesus had risen from the dead. That story concluded with Jesus’ message for all who did not witness his Resurrection: “Blessed are those who have not seen, but believe.”
In her sermon, Reverend Weber further emphasized the importance of faith by reminding everyone that they encounter Christ when they pray together. And because all who are baptized into Christ are tasked with carrying his love into the world, she said praying together should lead to acting together. That is especially necessary considering “this time of heightened division and challenge,” she said.
“Because we are committed to praying with each other, we will commit ourselves to work for peace and justice together,” Reverend Weber said. “We will see and serve Christ in the ones he called ‘the least of these, my sisters and brothers’ — the thirsty and the hungry, the immigrant and the refugee, the prisoner and the persecuted. When we pray together, we can resist the powers and principalities of this world — together.”
The service also recognized the 17th centenary of the Creed of Nicaea. In May of the year 325, bishops of the First Council of Nicaea proclaimed this profession of faith that Christians ever since have held as their central affirmation of belief. Catholic, Orthodox, Episcopalian and Protestant Christians all recite the Nicene Creed as Catholics do every Sunday.
Considering this significance, a second celebration of the Creed’s anniversary will be held later this year. The churches of New Jersey will hold an ecumenical service on Saturday, May 3, at St. Robert Bellarmine Co-Cathedral in Freehold, N.J. Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R., Archbishop of Newark, will preside over the liturgy alongside Catholic bishops and leaders of other Christian Churches. All Christians are welcome because the service is intended for clergy and lay people representing multiple denominations to honor their common faith.
The year 2025 also brings another event connecting Catholics with all Christians in the world. This year, both the Gregorian calendar used in the West and the ancient Julian calendar used in the East will have Easter fall on April 20, so all Christians in the world will be celebrating Easter on the same day. This agreement of calendars occurs rarely; the last time it happened was in 2000. Pope Francis has recently affirmed the Catholic Church’s openness to a common celebration of Easter on a date agreed on by all, and other churches are also discussing this possibility.
Photos courtesy of the Archdiocesan Ecumenical Commission
This article was written by Peter Ahr, Ph.D., professor emeritus of religion at Seton Hall University, who is a member of the Archdiocesan Ecumenical Commission.
Featured image: Auxiliary Bishop Gregory J. Studerus (left) presided over the Prayer for Christian Unity service with the assistance of Deacon Michael Missaggia (right) on February 2, 2025, at St. John Paul II Church in Bayonne, N.J. (Photo courtesy of the Archdiocesan Ecumenical Commission)
