New Delhi: Church leaders belonging to different denominations have appealed for unity among the churches for better understanding and collaboration in nation building.
“Sitting in one platform today itself shows that we are growing in unity, there is momentum hence we should not break it,” newly installed Archbishop Anil J.T. Couto of Delhi said.
The prelate was addressing an Ecumenical Symposium organized by the Delhi archdiocese’s Commission on Ecumenism and Inter-religious Dialogue in the national capital on Jan. 25.
Some 50 people participated in the meet based on the theme “Ecumenical Symposium in the Unity Octave”.
Father Dominic Emmanuel, spokesperson of the archdiocese, told ucanindia.in that the Symposium is a series of program they have planned to celebrate the Year of Faith.
“As today is the last day of Christian Octave prayer in the world, we decided that it is a right time to have ecumenical meet,” Fr. Emmanuel said.
Archbishop Couto said that it is the mandate from the church and our duty to come together and grow in faith as well as nation building.
Better understanding and collaboration among ourselves will help us to grow and for this not only the religious has to come forward but the laity has equal responsibility to participate to help the church, the archbishop said.
Rev. Monodeep Daniel of the Church of North India and one of the speakers at the seminar said, “We all are baptized in the name of Jesus so we are equal, there should not be any hindrance which can separate us.”
Rev. Daniel agreed that “there were differences among ourselves in the past but if we want to grow and excel we have to leave behind the past.”
“We inherited the differences among us from the past and unless we change our mindset there is no hope of unity” he added.
Rev. P.G. George, who spoke on ‘faith in Christ and belongingness to the Church’, said community prayer, care for the Church and community and witnessing God will gradually help in growing strong faith and build unity among ourselves.
“We have a mission to unite and proclaim our faith and suffer for the church if we are the true disciple of God,” said Rev. George of the Mar Thoma Church.
He said, “we have to sensitize our priests and religious to help the migrant people” who have been living in the metro cities.
Prayer and faith sharing will bring them closer to the church and unity among the churches will flourish, he added.
source: ucanews