WCC NEWS: Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2026 resources available worldwide

Churches and Christian communities worldwide are invited to use the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2026 resources to pray together for the unity among churches throughout the year. Prayer service for peace in Armenia, for support for refugees, and the release of war hostages in St Pierre Cathedral, Geneva, Switzerland, 10 November 2024. Photo: Ivars Kupcis/WCC 10 July 2025 For the year 2026, the prayers and reflections for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity were prepared by the Inter-Church Relations Department of the Armenian Apostolic Church. The resources are jointly published by the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity and the World Council of Churches (WCC). The final material is sent to WCC member churches and Roman Catholic episcopal conferences. Persons are invited to translate the text and contextualize or adapt it for their own use. The drafting group had a unique opportunity to reflect on and celebrate the common Christian faith that remains alive and fruitful in the churches in Armenia today. The resources draw upon historic traditions of prayer and petitions used by the Armenian people, along with hymns that originated in the ancient monasteries and churches of Armenia, some of which date as far back as the fourth century. The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2026 offers Christians throughout the world the opportunity to draw upon this shared Christian heritage. The theme for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity for 2026 comes from Apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians: “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling” (Eph. 4:4). In a world with diverse and often divided traditions and expressions of Christian faith, Ephesians 4:4 reminds us that all believers are part of the “one body” of Christ. The traditional period in the northern hemisphere for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is 18-25 January. In the southern hemisphere churches often find other days to celebrate the Week of Prayer, for example around Pentecost, which is also a symbolic date for the unity of the church. Mindful of the need for flexibility, organizers of the Week of Prayer invite you to use this material throughout the year to express the degree of communion which the churches have already reached, and to pray together for that full unity which is Christ’s will. Resources for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2026 Learn more about the Week of Prayer for Christian 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 356 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