19.01.2026
‘Our task is not to create unity but to protect it’ – Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Opens in Dublin
“Unity is not something reached by human effort, it is a gift given by God. Our task is not to create it, it is to protect it, live it and make it visible in a world wounded by delusion.” So said Bishop Hovakim Manukyan, Primate of the Armenian Church of Great Britain and Ireland at the opening service of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2026.
The service, organised by Dublin Council of Churches, was hosted by St Thomas’ Indian Orthodox Church in the recently opened Malankara House in Palmerstown, yesterday evening (Sunday January 18).
Christians around the world join together throughout this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity which is observed from January 18 to 25. Each year Christians from a different part of the world choose a theme and offer prayers and reflections that speak from their context. This year’s theme ‘One Body, One Spirit’ (Ephesians 4:4) was chosen by the Armenian Apostolic Church along with the Armenian Catholic and Evangelical Churches.
Welcoming the large congregation, Fr Stanly David James of St Thomas Indian Orthodox Church said that unity encapsulates the essential call of the Church and divine unity was central to the Church’s mission. By prioritising unity we demonstrate the love of Jesus Christ, he added. He acknowledged the presence of both Archbishops of Dublin, Archbishop Michael Jackson and Archbishop Dermot Farrell, the Romanian Orthodox Bishop of Ireland and Iceland, Bishop Nectarie and clergy and representatives of the member churches of Dublin Council of Churches. He thanked Bishop Hovakim for preaching.
Dublin Council of Churches Chairperson, Deacon Eamonn Murray, commented that unity is a divine mandate at the core of our Christian identity and is more than just an ideal. He pointed out that participants in the Dublin service were joining in prayer with Christians all over the world who pray annually for unity.
The call to worship was read by Archbishop Farrell and prayers were led by Archbishop Jackson and intercessions by the Revd Philip Heak, Denis Poynton, Ayda Lundon and Pastor Martin Sauter. Readings were by Major Margaret Fozzard, the Revd Andrew Kingston, and Fr Stanly with the Psalm led by Pastor Florian von Issendorf and Cherry Poynton. The leaders of all the churches gave the final blessing.
In his sermon, Bishop Hovakim observed that God created us with beautiful diversity of languages, cultures, traditions and histories. “St Paul speaks of one body. A body has many members each with a different action yet animated by the same life giving spirit,” he said. “Armenians pray one way, Greeks another, Anglicans another, Catholics another, yet one Christ is present in all. Unity does not erase identity, it sanctifies diversity.”
The Armenian Church knows the cost of division and the power of unity, he stated. Armenia was the first nation to adopt Christianity as the State religion in 301. “Through centuries of persecution, genocide, exile and suffering our people remained faithful to Christ not because we were strong but because Christ was faithful to us. Today our Church faces painful challenges once again,” he explained.
He said that Armenians are being forcibly displaced, ancient churches and monasteries are being desecrated and destroyed and 19 Armenians are unjustly imprisoned in Baku. In Armenia four bishops are under arrest, clergy are being silenced and the Church is being persecuted, he stated.
“The Church does not seek power. She defends dignity. She speaks for the voiceless. She reminds society that without moral foundations there cannot be true peace,” Bishop Hovakim said. “Yet in the suffering we have seen something powerful. The solidarity of Christians around the world. Churches pray for us and I ask you to continue to pray for Armenia, pray for peace, pray for justice and pray for our people. I appeal to leaders everywhere: do not sacrifice truth for geopolitics, do not normalise injustice, do not forget human dignity. In this we discover unity, not in words but in action.”
The Bishop thanked Ireland and its churches for opening their doors and welcoming Armenian families. He thanked churches for giving space for Armenians to pray, worship and to keep their faith alive.
In a world marked by war and displacement, he remembered Ukraine, Palestine, the Christians and people of Iran and all suffering people. “Their pain is our pain, their tears are our tears. We do not pray for fragile peace. We pray for just peace, rooted in truth, dignity and reconciliation. To be peacemakers means standing where it is uncomfortable, speaking when it is risky and loving when it is costly. St Paul reminds us we are called to one hope,” he said.
He concluded: “This week calls us to examine our hearts. Where has pride replaced humility? Where has judgement replaced listening? Where has tradition replaced Christ? Unity begins not in the institution but in repentance, not in documents but in prayer, not in negotiations but in love… I am not the first to say, the world does not need perfect Christians, it needs united Christians”.
