WCC News: Prayer: we enter Holy Week, “knowing that we are not alone”

A morning prayer for World Council of Churches (WCC) staff and visitors at the Ecumenical Centre on 30 March was organized in partnership with the Old Catholic World Communion. 23 October 2025, Wadi El Natrun, Egypt: Rev. Prof. Dr Angela Berlis of the Old Catholic Churches of the Union of Utrecht pictured at the World Council of Churches Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order taking place 24-28 October 2025 in Wadi El Natrun, Egypt, around the theme “Where now for visible unity?” Photo: Albin Hillert/WCC 30 March 2026 Prof. Dr Angela Berlis, full professor for History of Old Catholicism and Church History, co-director of the Centre of Competence in Liturgy at the University of Berne, and member of the Faith and Order Commission of the WCC, offered a reflection on John 12: 1-8.  “So today (the day after Palm Sunday), we take a step back and return once more from Jerusalem to Bethany, where we join Jesus at the home of Lazarus, Martha, and Mary in Bethany,” she said. “There, a dinner is held in Jesus’ honor.” Berlis described how the meal is very festive and that Jesus then also receives a gift—a completely unexpected gift in a completely unexpected way: Mary pours an entire flask of nard oil over his feet and massages them with her hair. “What an expensive product!” Berlis said. “But also: What an intense scent must have filled the air after Mary poured the oil over Jesus’ feet. So much oil, so much drama!” And then Mary uses her hair to massage his feet and rub the oil in. “As listeners, we don’t yet know that this is an act that has two interpretations and two interpreters, by Judas and by Jesus: Judas, the money-minded man, who thinks only of the price,” said Berlis. “And Jesus, who interprets this as an anointing for death, an anointing for the death that is to come very soon.” Nard essential oil is said to possess a powerful calming effect; the oil has a soothing effect, especially in stressful situations, and helps alleviate anxiety and cope with difficult circumstances.  “Nard oil is therefore far more beneficial to the living than to the dead!” noted Berlis. “Through her action, Mary anoints Jesus and thus prepares him for the final stage of his life.” The story of the anointing makes it clear: Jesus walks toward his destiny with open eyes, continued Berlis.  “Let us, too, enter this Holy Week as those who know, as those who await, as those who are loved: knowing that we are not alone, in the expectation that God’s promise will be revealed to us; anointed by the oil that enables us to walk and master this path and every path in our lives as those who are loved,” Berlis said. In addition to Berlis, the prayer was prepared and led by Pfarrer Christoph Schuler, and Pfv. Ilya Kaplan. Berndt Wallet, archbishop of Utrecht, also took part in the prayer and shared his greetings. With the Ecumenical Prayer Cycle this week we pray for the churches and people of Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia. Learn more about the Ecumenical Prayer Cycle 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