Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
The beginning of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity dates back to the beginning of the 20th century. Since the 1960s, liturgical materials have been made available to help prepare for local ecumenical celebrations. Texts are proposed annually by an ecumenical group of rotating countries and are adapted by the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. In agreement with the regional preparatory group, a theme and a focus will be defined. The material provided includes an outline of an ecumenical service, biblical texts, and short meditations and prayers for each of the eight days. More information on the history of the week of prayer.
The motto for the 2023 Week of Prayer is “Do Good! Seek justice!” and it comes from the Old Testament book of the prophet Isaiah. In many parts of the world, in the week between January 18th and 25th, prayers will be offered across confessional boundaries for Christian unity and overcoming division, injustice and exclusion. This year’s texts were prepared by a group from Minnesota/USA. Due to her own tragic experiences, she also recommends the topic of racism to us. This week’s concern is not just unity and community within Christianity, but also engagement with the hungry, the sick, the aliens and the oppressed, which the biblical writings admonish. This week, Christian churches and congregations turn to the question: How can we live out our common calling as Christians today to face the evils and injustices of our time?
In numerous oö. parishes, ecumenical prayers, services and events will take place January 18-25. The diocesan ecumenical service during the Worldwide Week of Prayer for Christian Unity will be held on January 25, 2023 at 6:30 pm in the Serbian Orthodox Church of Linz (Address: Posthof 41, 4020 Linz; Bus 27, stop: Posthofstraße). The Forum of Christian Churches in Upper Austria prepares the service. The Serbian Orthodox community in Linz is hosting this year. Serbian Orthodox Bishop Andrej Ćilerdžić, Roman Catholic Bishop Manfred Scheuer, Protestant Superintendent Gerold Lehner and other representatives of Christian churches in Upper Austria will attend the service. Other information.
The ecumenical service of the World Council of Churches in Austria will take place during the week of prayer on January 22, 2023 at 9:30 am in the parish of Wels-St. Francisco and will be broadcast live in Austria and Germany on ORF and ZDF.
day of judaism
On the eve of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity – on January 17, 2023 – Christian churches in Austria have been celebrating Judaism Day for over 20 years. This was introduced by the World Council of Churches in Austria (ÖRKÖ) as a liturgical day of remembrance. It is intended to remind all Christians of their roots in Judaism and the enduring importance of Judaism and its holy scriptures.
The ÖRKÖ statement on the introduction of the Day of Judaism states:
The motto for the “Day of Judaism” is given by the Apostle Paul: “You do not support the root, but the root supports you” he warns in chapter 11 of the Epistle to the Romans. Evidently, even in the first Christian communities there was a tendency to feel superior to Judaism. Later churches forgot Paul’s words. Instead of caring for the root they live on and sustain them, they felt they could do without it. For centuries, theological contempt for Judaism and, consequently, the social devaluation of its faithful, created fertile ground for the growth of racist ideas of anti-Semitism. Only after the catastrophe of the Shoah (the Holocaust) did a rethinking of Judaism begin in all churches. Since then, we have become increasingly aware of the guilt that the churches and their representatives bear. We are on a journey to rediscover Israel’s spiritual and theological riches as the foundation of our own faith. The “Day of Judaism” in our churches, which we want to celebrate every year in the future, should also make a contribution to this.
“Your roots sustain you!” recalls Paul. Seen in this way, the Christian-Jewish dialogue is the fundamental issue for our self-understanding as Christians, it is fundamental to the identity of the churches. It is not brought from outside, but every catechesis speaks of Jews, every sermon interprets Jewish texts. Whoever prays Psalms is praying Jewish prayers. Christians have no arbitrary cause but this specific root. The words “God, Spirit, Kingdom of God, praise, prayer, wisdom, righteousness, justice, peace” or “Messiah” have a concrete biblical-Jewish meaning. It pleased God to deny Israel first and permanently. The words and names “Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Hagar, Sarah, Miriam, Jerusalem, Zion, Hallelujah, Hosanna” are not interchangeable.
Events, dialogue evenings, lectures, discussions and religious services will take place across Austria around January 17th. Other information.
In Linz, this day of remembering and learning will be celebrated with a Ecumenical Judaism Day service at the Ursulinenkirche Linz on January 15, 2023 at 7 pm with music from Jewish traditions by the Kohelet3 group. Other information.
In addition, one Lecture and discussion evening at Catholic Private University Linz on January 17, 2023 at 7pm instead of the theme “‘… an eternal name that will never disappear…” (Is 56,5) The meaning of the name in Judaism and memorial culture”. The speakers are Dr. Barbara Staudinger (Director of the Jewish Museum in Vienna) and University Professor Dr. Susanne Gillmayr-Bucher (Professor of Old Testament Biblical Studies, Catholic Private University of Linz).
Other information.
The Jewish-Christian Committee of Upper Austria
The Jewish-Christian Committee of Upper Austria has been involved in Jewish-Christian dialogue since 2001, strives for critical reflection on current developments, provides opportunities for meeting and learning, and is the point of contact for questions and contacts for Jewish-Christian cooperation. Christian. In particular, Judaism Day, which is celebrated as a day of learning and remembrance, is a firmly anchored part of church and social life in Linz. In addition, various other offers are made, which are also carried out with external specialists and cooperation partners.