Christians of different denominations attend a seminar-cum-prayer meet Jan. 20 in New Delhi marking the Week of Christian Prayer for Unity. Archbishop Anil Couto of Delhi (in white cassock), who organized the program, sits in the front row along with leaders of other churches. (Photo Bijay Kumar Minj/ucanews.com)
Leaders of different Christian denominations in India gathered in New Delhi to mark the annual prayer week for Christian unity.
Some 200 Christians attended the one-day seminar and prayer meet on Jan. 20 to discuss this year's theme, "From Conflict to Communion."
The Week of Prayer of Christian Unity, originally called Unity Octave when it started in1908, aims to dedicate a week of praying for the unity of Catholic and Protestant Christians. The week starts every year on Jan. 18, the fest of the Confessions of St. Peter and ends on the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul on Jan. 25.
Archbishop Anil Couto of Delhi said this year it was "more important and appropriate as we commemorate the 500th year of Reformation that Martin Luther started to renew the Catholic Church but ended up giving birth to Protestant churches."
Archbishop Couto said the churches have a history of 500 years of conflict but in a country like India where the majority people do not understand the difference of denominations, Christians need to present themselves as a united whole.
Christians form only 2.3 percent or 27 million in India's 1.3 billion people, 80 percent of whom are Hindus. In recent years, Christian leaders have reported increased attacks on their people from hardline Hindu groups who push the idea of making India a Hindu-only nation.
