Unità dei Cristiani

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...

2025 12 02 Visit of Pope Leo XIV to the Armenian Apostolic Cathedral in Istanbul

Thu, 04 Dec 2025 13:34:05 +0100

On Sunday, 30 November, the Holy Father visited the Armenian Apostolic Cathedral in Istanbul, where he met with His Beatitude Sahak II and participated in a prayer service with the Armenian community. Welcoming the Holy Father, Patriarch Sahak stated in his address that “Nicaea was more than a meeting of bishops; it was a spiritual turning point in Christian history, reminding us that unity is essential, that truth must be spoken with courage, and that our shared faith in Christ transcends...

2025 12 01 Joint Declaration by Pope Leo XIV and Patriarch Bartholomew

Thu, 04 Dec 2025 13:17:33 +0100

On Saturday, 29 November, at the Phanar, after attending a doxology at the Patriarchal Church of St. George, during which he thanked Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew for his welcome, Pope Leo XIV signed a Joint Declaration with the Patriarch at the Patriarchal Palace. Referring to the commemoration of the Council of Nicaea, the declaration emphasises that “the purpose for commemorating this event, however, is not simply to call to mind the historical importance of the Council, but to spur us on...

2025 12 01 Ecumenical meeting at Mor Ephrem Syriac Orthodox Church in Istanbul

Thu, 04 Dec 2025 13:19:27 +0100

On Saturday 29 November, at the Syriac Orthodox Church of Mor Ephrem in Istanbul, on the occasion of the commemoration of the First Council of Nicaea, Pope Leo XIV took part in a private ecumenical meeting, attended by Church leaders and Christian leaders who had participated the previous day in an ecumenical prayer service in Iznik. Welcomed on his arrival by His Holiness Ignatius Aphrem II, Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, and His Eminence Filüksinos Yusuf Çetin, Metropolitan of the...

2025 12 01 Ecumenical prayer in Iznik to commemorate the First council of Nicaea

Thu, 04 Dec 2025 13:32:52 +0100

On Friday, 28 November, as part of his apostolic journey to Turkey and Lebanon, the Holy Father made a pilgrimage to Iznik, where he participated in an ecumenical prayer meeting near the archaeological excavations of the ancient Basilica of St. Neophytus. His Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew, in his introductory remarks, stated, "we are gathered here not simply to remember the past. We are here to bear living witness to the same faith expressed by the Fathers of Nicaea. We return to...

2025 12 01 Apostolic Journey in Turkyie and Lebanon

Thu, 04 Dec 2025 13:50:26 +0100

From 27 November to 2 December 2025, the Holy Father made an Apostolic Journey to Turkey and Lebanon, including a pilgrimage to İznik on the occasion of the 1700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea. This first apostolic journey of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV included many ecumenical moments: An ecumenical prayer in Iznik (28 November) An ecumenical meeting in the Syriac Orthodox Church of Mor Ephrem in Istanbul (29 November) The signing of a Joint Declaration by Pope Leo XIV and...

2025 11 29 DPCU represented at an Interdisciplinary Conference at Campo Santo Teutonico

Tue, 09 Dec 2025 10:35:09 +0100

As part of an interdisciplinary conference at Campo Santo Teutonico, a round-table discussion was held on 29 November 2025 on the topic of "Hülle und Fülle. The Textiles of Christ, the Popes and the Church". Father Dr Augustinus Sander OSB, German official of the Western Section of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity (DPCU), emphasised in the conversation with Prof. Dr Barbara Vinken (München) and Prof. Dr Birgitt Borkopp-Restle (Bern) the...

2025 11 27 Visit of United Methodist Bishop of Nordic-Baltic-Ukraine Area

Fri, 28 Nov 2025 09:23:35 +0100

On Wednesday 26 November 2025, the Bishop of the United Methodist Church’s Nordic-Baltic-Ukraine Episcopal Area, Bishop Knut Refsdal, visited the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity. Bishop Refsdal, who was consecrated in April 2025, oversees the United Methodist Church in Denmark, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Ukraine. Bishop Refsdal, a former General Secretary of the Christian Council of Norway is currently serving a second term on the oversight board of the Methodist Ecumenical...

2025 11 27 Fourth Session of Salvation Army-Roman Catholic Informal Conversations

Thu, 27 Nov 2025 13:23:02 +0100

The fourth session of the current series of Informal Conversations between the Salvation Army and the Catholic Church took place at Casa La Salle, Rome, from 21 to 24 November 2025. Following the first set of conversations from 2007 to 2012, the general theme for the current series of conversations is Discipleship for Mission. The previous meeting in the current series took place at Sunbury Court near London in November 2024. The theme for this year’s meeting was Formation of the People...

2025 11 23 Apostolic Letter In unitate fidei on the occasion of the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea

Thu, 04 Dec 2025 09:38:34 +0100

On 23 November, a few days before his apostolic journey to Turkey on the occasion of the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, Pope Leo XIV published an Apostolic letter entitled In unitate fidei, which contains numerous ecumenical reflections. In particular, the Holy Father states in n. 12: Finally, the Council of Nicaea is relevant today because of its great ecumenical value. Indeed, the achievement of unity among all Christians was one of the main objectives of the last Council,...

2025 11 17 Ecumenical Conference in Vienna on the Healing of Memories

Tue, 25 Nov 2025 17:10:10 +0100

From 13 to 16 November 2025, the Pro Oriente Foundation organised an international ecumenical conference entitled “Healing of Wounded Memories: The Responsibility of Churches to Heal” in Vienna. A total of 70 participants from 25 countries attended the conference, initiated by the Pro Oriente Steering Committee for Orthodox–Catholic Dialogue (POSCOCD), including experts in various disciplines and fields of work. Most of the participants came from South-Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and...