Every year during the week of January 18-25, Christians around the world pray together for the gift of unity. There is a growing awareness in Christian communities that church unity is a gift to which we need to open our hearts in prayer. The common journey to unity will not be fruitful if it won’t be fulfilled in prayer and conversion of heart.

Each year, the texts for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity are compiled by the regional Churches together with representatives of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Commission of Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches. The final text is sent to all members of the WCC and to the episcopal conferences of the Roman Catholic Church. Everyone is encouraged to use, translate and adapt materials according to their own context.

This year, a text with reflections and a prayer for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity was prepared by Christians of the Middle East (Middle East Council of Churches, Beirut). The theme "We saw the star in the East and we came to worship him" is taken from the Gospel of ap. Matthew (Mt. 2. 1-12). "The Christians of the Middle East offer these resources for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity conscious that the world shares many of the travails and difficulties that they experience, and yearns for a light to lead the way to the Saviour who can overcome darkness. The COVID-19 global pandemic, the ensuing economic crisis, and the failure of political, economic and social structures to protect the weakest and most vulnerable, have underlined the global need for a light to shine in the darkness. The star that shone in the east, the Middle East, two thousand years ago still calls us to the manger, to where Christ is born. It draws us to where the Spirit of God is alive and active, to the reality of our baptism, and to the transformation of our hearts."

Resources for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2022 are available here.