WCC NEWS: Prayer to be spiritual heartbeat of Faith and Order conference

Prayer will be at the centre of the Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order when it gathers in October 2025 near Alexandria, Egypt, on the theme “Where now for visible unity?” Spiritual Life committee gathered at the Roman Catholic St Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach, Florida, USA. Photo: Mikie Roberts/WCC 22 November 2024 “We hope that the spiritual life of the conference will be the heartbeat of the meeting, shaping the daily rhythm of the gathering,” said Rev. Dr Mikie Roberts, programme executive for Spiritual Life and Faith and Order with the World Council of Churches (WCC), after a meeting of the Spiritual Life committee preparing for the Faith and Order conference.  Hosted by the Coptic Orthodox Church, the 2025 World Conference will mark the 1700th anniversary of the first Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, a key moment in the history of Christian faith. The 5–13 November meeting of the Spiritual Life committee took place in the United States at the invitation of Bishop Peter Eaton of The Episcopal Church and was hosted by the Roman Catholic St Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach, Florida. “It was truly impactful and a most memorable experience to gather in the context of a Roman Catholic seminary where the pursuit of theology is matched with spiritual and pastoral formation,” said Roberts. “It was a moment of ecumenical spirituality inspired by Roman Catholic devoutness.” During their five-day meeting, the members of the Spiritual Life committee prepared the daily rhythm of prayers for the World Conference, around the themes of incarnation, faith, mission, unity, and the trinity.  “In these times of growing division and polarization, the legacy of the First Council of Nicaea renews our hopes for the unity of the church, strengthens our common faith, and encourages Christians worldwide to continue partnering with God in the mssio Dei,” said one of the committee members, Rev. Dr María Eugenia Cornou, associate director and program manager for the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship. The Faith and Order conference will take place near the St Bishoy Monastery, one of the most important monastic centres in Egypt, and the prayers have been inspired in part of the writings of the patristics and the desert fathers and mothers. “By working on the texts of the prayers for the World Conference in 2025, we came into a deep ecumenical exchange with each other and in a spiritual dialogue with the early church represented by mothers and fathers of the desert and of the church,” said Rev. Prof. Dr Angela Berlis of the University of Bern and a member of the WCC’s Commission on Faith and Order. During the meeting, members of the committee were able to enter into discussion with the faculty and students of the seminary.  “The incarnational reality of this visit, that the group shared life and prayer and table with the seminary community was important to building bridges, which is at the centre of our mission as a seminary,” said Fr Alfredo I. Hernández, the rector and president of the St Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary. Bishop Eaton praised the collaborative and ecumenical spirit of the meeting, “in the context of a wonderful partnership between the WCC, the Episcopal Church, the Diocese of Southeast Florida, and Saint Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary.” More about the Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order Publication: Toward the Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order - Commemorating the Council of Nicaea: Where Now for Visible Unity? See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 352 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches Chemin du Pommier 42 Kyoto Building Le Grand-Saconnex CH-1218 Switzerland