By Martin Hoegger*
The congress held in Castel Gandolfo, in the hills above Rome, from 27 to 29 March 2025 concluded with a selection of ecumenical experiences. They bear witness to the importance of a spirituality based on relationships between people and churches. This spirituality inspires people who testify that unity among Christians is possible.
Sharing our faith journeys: the Global Christian Forum
Natacha Klukach represents the Global Christian Forum, whose charism is the ‘sharing of faith stories’, which enables the building of relationships between people of different faiths. ‘Discovering the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives breaks down barriers,’ she says.
The Christian Forum is an open space with ‘four pillars’: the Catholic Church, the World Council of Churches, the World Evangelical Alliance and the World Pentecostal Fellowship. Its current objective is to ‘widen the table’, by increasing the number of these spaces and disseminating the sharing methodology.
The highlight of the last assembly in Accra (Ghana) in April 2024 was a pilgrimage to Cape Coast. In this prison, the Church was complicit in slavery, an antithesis of hope! During the penitential service that followed this visit, the call for Christian unity was linked to respect for the image of God in everyone. There was a need to repent of the sin of having broken the body of Christ through slavery.
A three-dimensional unity: the World Pentecostal Fellowship
William Wilson, the president of theWorld Pentecostal Fellowship, gave a brief three-point message on the prayer of Jesus in chapter 17 of the Gospel of John. A prayer that has been with him for a very long time:
1. Unity must be relational, just as the Father and the Son are one and love one another.
2. Unity must be missionary, otherwise it will disperse. To stay together, we must be missionary, so that the Gospel can be shared everywhere.
3. Unity must be spiritual. Without the presence of the Spirit of God, the Church is a club. He enables us to relate to one another. The presence of the Spirit allows us to be simultaneously united and missionary. May God grant us this supernatural synergy!
Marching in unity to celebrate 2000 years of the resurrection. JC2033
JC2033 is a movement that invites Christians to prepare and celebrate together 2000 years of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Martin Hoegger, a Swiss pastor, is part of the small interdenominational team that has visited churches in more than 50 countries. The Catholic Church organised the first ‘Jubilee of the Redemption’ during the ‘Holy Year 1933’, then in 1983. It will undoubtedly organise a worldwide programme in 2033, as it did in the year 2000.
‘Can we seize the opportunity to organise the jubilee of 2033 together, in an ecumenical way, in our cities, in our countries and throughout the world? It would be wonderful to have an ecumenical Jubilee… Let us walk together with Jesus in our midst towards 2033… welcoming one another, as he welcomed us! He will enlighten us on this path of unity and witness if we move forward with him,’ he said.
Unity, a sign of hope: Together for Europe
Gerhard Pross, the moderator of Together for Europe, sees this initiative of the 2033 Jubilee as a sign of hope, because it brings together Christians from all Churches. He also recalls Chiara Lubich’s funeral at the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, which we visited yesterday. ‘It was a very beautiful experience for me, a sign not of sadness, but of hope’.
He shares other signs of hope: at the Together for Europe meetings, which bring together so many Christians from various Churches and movements, he sees the features of ‘the Church of the future… a sign that God is at work, through the friendship between Christians and leaders’. He thinks of the immense crowd mentioned in the Book of Revelation. This transcending of boundaries between denominations and spiritualities is a great sign of the work of the Holy Spirit, even in countries where war is raging, such as Ukraine, because ‘Jesus is the sign of our hope. He has entered all our divisions through his death and resurrection’.
From tribulation to vocation: ‘Somos uno’
Mayara Amaral Pazeto, from the ‘Somos uno’ (we are one) movement in Brazil, is driven by ‘patience and hope in tribulation’, as mentioned in the letter to the Romans. She movingly shares that she was not told that she was born of her father’s extramarital affair. But her father converted to Christ, which changed his life, and he became a Pentecostal pastor. At the age of 16, she met her father for the first time. Christ then spoke to her and she became a convinced Pentecostal and was led to forgiveness and reconciliation.
‘Tribulation became a vocation’ … By attending a Catholic theology faculty, she discovered a calling to ecumenism. Later, she became a member of the dialogue between Catholics and Pentecostals and launched the charismatic movement “Somos uno”, “we are one”.
Young people filled with the love of God: Ikumeni
‘Ikumeni’ is a Latin American ecumenical project for young people. It offers a four-month training course and has trained 300 young people in 20 countries. In contexts of conflict and polarisation, if peace begins in the heart, it must be translated into concrete actions. In this movement, we experience an ecumenism that puts itself at the service of the poorest and most vulnerable. Ties are also forged with members of other religions.
‘What a wonder the Lord has done for us, we have discovered brothers and sisters in all the Churches. Jesus‘ commandment to unity has been brought to life. Ikumeni has been a blessing for these young people filled with the love of God’.
A relational unity: John 17 Movement
Joe Tosini, founder of the ‘John 17 Movement’, was inspired by chapter 17 of the Gospel of John to meet, as a Pentecostal, with Catholics, Pope Francis and the Focolari. To live with them a ‘relational unity’. For him, ‘the kingdom of God moves according to the measure of the quality of our relationships. Because of division, we lose our flavour. Today, we must consider a new model: loving one another, in deep humility, is the challenge of the century.’
Building bridges: “Rizal”
The ecumenical project ‘Rizal’ in the Philippines emphasises relationships, with concrete activities such as shared meals and spiritual retreats. It emphasises also the importance of mutual listening and welcoming according to the spirituality of unity. This has also led to social work, such as helping typhoon victims. Thus, people who were suspicious of ecumenism were won over.
One young person received a calling to become a pastor. Seeing the fruits and the bridges built, the Council of Churches of the Philippines and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference entrusted Rizal with the organisation of the opening of the week of prayer for unity last year. ‘We have understood that when we love, unity is possible’.
An anthology of initiatives
How can we be witnesses in a secularised world? A group of Dutch women felt that it was the presence of Jesus Christ among them that attracted young people. For them, ecumenism is not just about celebrating together, but about helping each other in practical ways.
An ecumenical group in Venezuela has been on the road since 1986, not without opposition. But it persevered by remaining in love. The Spirit of God then penetrated the hearts of the critics. Over the years, the relationships between Catholics, Protestants and Pentecostals have become deeper and deeper.
An Anglican priest in Uganda always reminds his community that the Bible calls for unity, not discrimination, and that the unity for which Jesus prayed (John 17) concerns everyone.
In Northern Ireland, in Belfast, the ‘4 Corners Festival’ is a way of getting people to discover other religious and cultural spaces, in a city marked by divisions and oppositions. ‘It is a festival of the Holy Spirit where the ecumenism of the people is lived’. For the 10th edition, Pope Francis even sent a video greeting. Www.4cornersfestival.com
Anke Husberg is part of an ecumenical Focolare community in Augsburg. This diversity enriches all those who participate in the life of this community. Augsburg is the ‘city of peace’: an annual peace festival is celebrated there and a ‘Peace Prize’ is awarded. The churches have launched the initiative ‘Augsburg prays for peace’. 100 prayer evenings have been organised: ‘Praying together allows us to experience a deep peace’.
In a town in Slovakia, the churches are organising an ecumenical Way of the Cross on Good Friday. People visit the various churches on that Way. A thanksgiving service is also organised in turn in a different church. Similarly, a festival of sacred art, with good collaboration with the municipal and regional authorities.
Conclusion: a bouquet of multicoloured flowers.
In conclusion, here are some impressions shared by the participants about this wonderful meeting. They bear witness to the vitality of a spirituality that emphasises love of God and responding to that love by welcoming one another.
‘This meeting was a true pilgrimage, a response from God as I prepare for the pastoral ministry. I will ask God to always lead me beyond that which can divide us’ (a Protestant from Cameroon).
‘I saw a bouquet of flowers in this meeting. Each flower is wonderful, but a bouquet with different flowers is even more beautiful. We are this magnificent bouquet that we can bring to God’ (Ukrainian Reformed pastor)
‘Dialogue involves listening to each other and opening our hearts. It allows us to overcome opposition. It is not an intellectual exercise, but a way of life.’ (A priest from the Philippines)
‘I feel that we are one and the same family. There is an atmosphere of true love here that unites us. Let us continue to pray for one another.’ (A Coptic Orthodox priest from Egypt)
‘What can we leave to our children? If we are a united family, we must leave them a beautiful legacy, not conflict and division’ (A Coptic Orthodox from Egypt)
‘We saw the face of Christ in everyone. Our family grew; we felt at home and our hope was strengthened. One word can define this meeting: ‘edifying’.’ (An Anglican pastor from Venezuela)
‘I felt love in every face. Ecumenism is not a theory, but a reality that Christ has given us‘ (a Protestant youth leader in the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
‘You have shown us that love is the universal language. We all understood each other… even with the pastors’! (A young Colombian Pentecostal)
*Martin Hoegger is a Swiss reformed theologian and writer
