Ecumenical prayer week begins in Hungary

Cardinal Peter Erdő, Hungary’s Catholic leader, stressed the importance of the “helping love” that binds Christians together and touches everyone, at the opening of an ecumenical prayer week at Saint Stephen’s Basilica in Budapest on Sunday evening.

Christians are united by the fact that they are all disciples of Christ and recognise Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah, the Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest said.

“And if we are his disciples, then we must follow his teachings,” he added.

Explaining the story of the Good Samaritan, the central parable of the prayer week, Erdo said the message of the parable was that “for the sake of God, we must turn to each other with helping love and we cannot exclude anyone from this love”.

Reformed Church Bishop József Steinbach, head of the Ecumenical Council of Hungarian Churches, said the introduction to the parable of the Good Samaritan, when a lawyer asks Jesus what he should do to inherit eternal life, highlighted “that all of our problems … stem from the fact that we have become separated from God and are mortal”.

read also:

  • Hungarian Catholic Church goes against Pope Francis concerning blessing same-sex couples – details HERE
  • State secretary Azbej talks about Christian persecution in Europe, details HERE.

Ecumenical week of prayer

The biblical motto for this year’s ecumenical week of prayer is found in the Gospel of Luke:

‘Love the Lord your God. and your neighbour as yourself.’

The central Gospel presents the contrasts of unity-sharing and love-hatred, but the parable of the Good Samaritan also highlights the importance of hospitality.

According to the information, the material for this year’s event was prepared by the Ecumenical Council of Burkina Faso in Africa, and the final text was produced by members of the international commission set up by the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity of the Vatican.

The ecumenical week of prayer has been held since 1908, when it was first attended by members of the Anglican and Catholic Churches and held in Graymoor, United States. Since 1968, prayer books have been produced for the event and sent around the world to be translated into local languages.

The event also has a long tradition in Hungary.

Source:

Tags