Unità dei Cristiani

2026 03 04 WCC Leadership visits the Vatican and meets Pope Leo XIV

Thu, 05 Mar 2026 09:26:25 +0100

A delegation of the World Council of Churches (WCC) visited the Vatican on 27–28 February 2026 for a series of encounters highlighting the long-standing collaboration between the Catholic Church and the world’s largest ecumenical organisation. The delegation included Bishop Prof. Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria), Moderator of the WCC Central Committee; H.E. Archbishop Vicken Aykazian (Armenian Apostolic Church) and Revd Merlyn Hyde Riley (Jamaica Baptist...

2026 03 02 Ecumenical prayer in memory of Saint Gregory of Narek

Tue, 03 Mar 2026 10:16:45 +0100

On Friday, 27 February, the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches and the Representation of the Armenian Apostolic Church to the Holy See (Catholicosate of Etchmiadzin) organised an ecumenical celebration at the Vatican to mark the liturgical memorial of Saint Gregory of Narek, Abbot and Doctor of the Church, in the Roman General Calendar. Archbishop Khajag Barsamian led Vespers according to the Armenian liturgy in the Chapel of the Choir of St Peter's...

2026 02 17 Head of the Parishes of the Moscow Patriarchate in Western Europe Visits the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity

Tue, 03 Mar 2026 13:04:53 +0100

On 16 February 2026, the Secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, H.E. Mgr Flavio Pace, received H.E. Metropolitan Mark of Ryazan and Mikhailovsk, Head of the Parishes of the Moscow Patriarchate in Western Europe, at the Dicastery. The Metropolitan was accompanied by the Reverend Father Ambrosij Matzegora, Vicar General of the Parishes of the Moscow Patriarchate in Italy and Rector of the Church of Saint Catherine in Rome.

2026 02 10 Pope Leo receives a delegation of young priests and monks from the Oriental Orthodox Churches

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 15:15:30 +0100

On Thursday, 5 February, Pope Leo XIV received in private audience a delegation of young priests and monks from the Oriental Orthodox Churches in Rome for a study visit organised by the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity (DPUC). In his address, the Holy Father referred to the theme of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity for the year 2026. Reflecting on the link between unity and peace, he quoted the words of Patriarch Athenagoras: “I am disarmed of the need to be right, to justify...

2026 02 10 Study Visit of young priests and monks from the Oriental Orthodox Churches

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 15:15:30 +0100

The annual Study Visit for young priests and monks from the Oriental Orthodox Churches, organised by the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, took place from 31 January to 7 February in Rome. The delegation included twenty-one young priests and monks from all the Oriental Orthodox Churches: Antiochian Syrian Orthodox Church, Armenian Apostolic Church (Catholicosate of Etchmiadzin and Catholicosate of Cilicia), Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and...

2026 01 28 Pope Leo presides at Vespers for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

Thu, 29 Jan 2026 11:33:08 +0100

On Sunday 25 January 2025, Pope Leo XIV marked the end of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity by presiding at Vespers for the Solemnity of the Conversion of St Paul at the Basilica of St Paul outside the Walls. Representatives of many Christian churches and communities were present at the celebration. From among the Christian leaders present, Metropolitan Polykarpos of the Orthodox Archdiocese of Italy, representing the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and Bishop Anthony Ball, representing the...

2026 01 26 Annual Study Visit of the Bossey Ecumenical Institute

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 10:49:27 +0100

From 19 to 26 January 2026, a group of 34 students, faculty members, and staff of the Bossey Ecumenical Institute took part in their annual study visit to Rome and the Vatican. The participants represented more than twenty Christian traditions, including Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and a wide range of historic and emerging Protestant communities, and came from diverse cultural and geographical contexts across the world. The programme offered an in-depth introduction to the life and mission of...

2026 22 16 60th anniversary of the lifting of the excommunications of 1054

Fri, 16 Jan 2026 13:27:00 +0100

On Wednesday, 21 January 2026 at the Angelicum, a public conference dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the lifting of the excommunications of 1054 was held as part of the ‘Cattedra Tillard’ series. Speakers included Cardinal Kurt Koch, Prefect of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, and Metropolitan Job of Pisidia of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, both Co-Presidents of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox...

2026 01 19 Dicastery Official preaches in English Royal Palace

Tue, 03 Feb 2026 08:35:55 +0100

On Sunday 18 January, the Dicastery Official responsible for relations with the Anglican Communion, Revd Fr Martin Browne OSB, was the invited preacher at the weekly service of Choral Mattins in His Majesty’s Chapel Royal, at St James’ Palace, London. St James’ Palace, one of the official residences of the British sovereign, was the site of the formal proclamation in 2022 of the accession to the throne of the United Kingdom of His Majesty King Charles III. As well as marking the first day of...

2026 01 09 In Memoriam Mgr Francis Frost

Mon, 12 Jan 2026 13:10:12 +0100

The Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity learned with sadness of the death of Monsignor Francis Frost, Catholic priest, theologian, and dedicated servant of Christian unity, who passed away on 4 January 2026 at the age of 93. Ordained a priest for the Diocese of Salford, England, in 1958, Monsignor Frost devoted his life to theological teaching, pastoral ministry, and ecumenical engagement. Holding a doctorate in theology, he made a lasting contribution to dialogue between the Catholic...

2025 Christmas Greetings

Tue, 23 Dec 2025 08:03:33 +0100

"I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness. but will have the light of life" John 8:12 May Christmas bring light, joy, and blessing, and may the New Year be filled with the grace of the Lord. Nativity by Puccio di Simone ca. 1350 ...

2025 12 16 Dialogue with Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church

Tue, 16 Dec 2025 12:58:04 +0100

On Friday, 12 December, the 26th meeting of the Joint International Commission for Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church was held at the Malankara Syrian Orthodox Theological Seminary at Udayagiri, Vettickal, Kerala, India, co-chaired by Metropolitan Mor Theophilose Kuriakose and Archbishop Mathew Moolakkatt as Archbishop Flavio Pace was unable to attend. As agreed at the last meeting in 2024 (see Report), the first part of...

2025 12 16 Dialogue with Mar Thoma Church

Tue, 16 Dec 2025 12:58:04 +0100

On 11 December, the third meeting of the bilateral dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church was held at the Christian Educational Centre of Charalkunnu, Kerala, India, co-chaired by Suffragan Metropolitan Joseph Mar Barnabas and Archbishop Mathew Moolakkatt, as Archbishop Flavio Pace was unable to attend. The meeting included presentations on the development of Eucharistic ecclesiology in a Catholic perspective (Rev. Dr Varghese Kochuparampil) and in the...

2025 12 15 Dialogue with Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church

Tue, 16 Dec 2025 12:58:04 +0100

On 9-10 December 2025, the 33rd meeting of the Joint International Commission for Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church was held at the Catholicate Palace in Devalokam, Kottayam, India. The meeting was co-chaired by Metropolitan Yuhanon Mar Demetrios, President of the Department for Ecumenical Relations of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, and Archbishop Mathew Moolakkatt, as Archbishop Flavio Pace was unable to attend. As agreed during the 2024...

2025 12 15 Visit of the Anglican Communion’s Commission for Unity, Faith and Order

Mon, 15 Dec 2025 17:29:02 +0100

The Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity, Faith and Order (IASCUFO) held its annual meeting in Rome from 7 to 11 December 2025. The Commission’s role is to promote the deepening of communion between Anglican churches, and between Anglicans and other churches, including with regard to ecumenical dialogue, co-operation and agreement. Members include bishops and theologians from around the world. On Wednesday 10 December, the members of IASCUFO attended the Holy Father Leo XIV’s General...

2025 12 15 Msgr Flavio Pace at the International Consultation between Judaism and Orthodox Christianity

Fri, 19 Dec 2025 13:20:34 +0100

From 7 to 9 December, the Vice-President of the Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, H.E. Msgr. Flavio Pace, participated in Geneva as an observer in the 12th International Academic Consultation between Judaism and Orthodox Christianity, on the theme Sanctity of Place – Sanctity of Space. The program included the commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the meetings between the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Jewish world, which were initiated and carried forward by the then...

2025 12 15 Publication of Methodist-Catholic Dialogue Commission Synthesis Document

Mon, 15 Dec 2025 13:27:14 +0100

The Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, together with the World Methodist Council, has published a synthesis document entitled We Believe in One God, synthesising the work of the Joint International Commission for Dialogue between the World Methodist Council and the Roman Catholic Church (MERCIC) over the past six decades. Printed by Libreria Editrice Vaticana as part of the Dicastery’s Ut Unum Sint series, the volume draws together the results of 11 reports produced by the Commission...

2025 12 09 An Hungarian Delegation visits the DPCU

Mon, 12 Jan 2026 12:12:41 +0100

As part of a pilgrimage to Rome led by Archabbot Cirill T. Hortobágyi OSB, a Hungarian delegation including official representatives from the Catholic Church, Ecumenism and Culture visited the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity (DPCU) on 9 December 2025. Cardinal Kurt Koch, Prefect of the DPCU, gave an overview of the history and current tasks of the Dicastery. Fr. Dr. Augustinus Sander OSB, DPCU staff member responsible for the relations with the Lutherans, provided relevant information...

2025 12 02 Pope Leo XIV presides over an ecumenical and interreligious meeting in Beirut

Thu, 04 Dec 2025 13:45:21 +0100

On Monday, 1 December, in Martyrs' Square in Beirut, the Holy Father participated in an ecumenical and interreligious meeting. In his address, referring to the 60th anniversary of Nostra Aetate, the Holy Father emphasised that ‘the Second Vatican Council opened a new horizon for encounter and mutual respect between Catholics and people of different religions, emphasizing that true dialogue and collaboration is rooted in love – the only foundation for peace, justice and reconciliation”. The...

2025 12 02 The Holy Father attends the Divine Liturgy for the Feast of Saint Andrew

Thu, 04 Dec 2025 13:35:36 +0100

On Sunday, 30 November, at the conclusion of his apostolic journey to Turkey, the Holy Father attended the Divine Liturgy for the Feast of Saint Andrew, presided over by His Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in the Church of Saint George in Phanar. In his homily, Patriarch Bartholomew referred to the anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, stating in particular: ‘Its Symbol of Faith, its canons and its decisions, especially the one pertaining to the establishment of shared criteria for...