Promoted around the world by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU) and the World Council of Churches (WCC), the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (WPCU) takes place at different times in the two hemispheres.
In the northern hemisphere, the traditional WPCU period is 18 to 25 January. These dates were proposed by Paul Watson in 1908, because they cover the time between the festivals for Saint Peter and Saint Paul and are therefore of symbol significance.
For its part, the churches in the southern hemisphere generally celebrate the Week of Prayer during the Pentecostal period (as suggested by the Faith and Order movement in 1926), which is also a symbolic moment for church unity. In Brazil, the National Council of Christian Churches of Brazil (Conselho Nacional de Igrejas Cristãs do Brasil: CONIC) leads and coordinates initiatives for celebrating the week in several states.
Taking into account this flexibility about dates, we encourage all Christians to express the degree of communion that the churches have already achieved throughout the year and to pray together for ever fuller unity, which is the desire of Christ himself (John 17:21).
Click here to download the Brazilian WPCU logo
2017 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (WPCU)
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (WPCU) begins on 28 May. With the theme “Reconciliation: it is the love of Christ that moves us – Celebration of the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation”, the WPUC idea this year is to call all Christians, of all denominations, to unity.
Your Prayer Week booklets can be purchased now. Just e-mail conic@conic.org.br letting us know how many you require. Make sure you include the CNPJ or CPF (company or personal identification numbers) of whoever is making the order and the address for mailing the bank payment slip. The payment slip will be issued for orders of more than 10 booklets. If you require less than 10 booklets, you will need to make a bank deposit into the following account:
Bank: Banco Bradesco
Sort code: 0606-8
Savings account number: 112.888-4
Booklets cost R$ 4.45, including postal and delivery. We will include a free Prayer Week poster for every ten booklets sent. The poster will not be sold individually. For a low resolution version, click here.
Brazil and Germany united in producing booklets
The WPCU material was prepared by the German Ecumenical Commission, in a country considered to be one of the cradles of the Reformation. The German Ecumenical Commission established two WPCU highlights: 1) it must include a celebration of love and the grace of God, the “justification of humanity by grace alone”, reflecting the main idea of the churches affected by the Reformation. 2) the pain of the subsequent and profound divisions which have afflicted the church should be recognized, openly assuming guilt and providing opportunities to take steps towards reconciliation. CONIC in Rio Grande do Sul has adapted this material for Brazil.
Week of Prayer Offerings
The WPCU offerings symbolize our commitment to ecumenism. It is a way of concretely demonstrating that we truly believe in Christian unity (John 17:21). The fruits of collections made during the week will be distributed, annually, in the following manner: 40% for CONIC’s regional offices (where relevant), aimed at supporting local meetings and ecumenical activities, and 60% for CONIC’s national offices, for projects of wider coverage.
It is worth remembering that the collection forms part of the celebration – make sure that you set time aside for it during the liturgy. This is a moment of gratitude for the good things we receive from God. Collections can also be made in the thematic meetings during the WPUC.
Deposit your collections into the following bank account:
Bank: Banco Bradesco
Sort code: 0606-8
Savings account number: 112.888-4
Wherever possible, please identify the following registration number when making your deposit: CNPJ: 00.721.266/0001-23