Feature story
The National Council of Churches in Australia welcomed 45 people gathered online for a lunchtime prayer service on 4 June.
National Council of Churches in Australia general secretary Elizabeth Stone said: “Our response in Australia in this anniversary year of the Council of Nicaea, is an Ecumenical Celebration of the Word of God during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity that is timed between the celebration of the great feasts of Ascension and Pentecost and draws on our context in Australia.”
The prayer service, she added, drew on many Christian traditions from churches across in Australia. It included scripture readings, music and song, times of silence, readings, and prayers.
“All of us are called today, anew, to sit with Jesus’ provocative question to Martha: ‘Do you believe this?’ (from John 11:26),” said Stone.
“I think it is a good way to spend a lunch time and I know you are here because you do too,” she said during the service.
Across the country in the state of Western Australia, the Council of Churches of Western Australia prepared resources on Youtube, with a reflection by a church leader on the Nicene Creed for each of the eight days of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
In the city of Brisbane, Queensland, a morning prayer service for Christian unity was held on 5 June at St Stephen’s Catholic Cathedral, hosted by Archbishop Mark Coleridge. The preacher was Bishop Bartholomew Anastasiadis, Greek Orthodox bishop for Queensland and Papua New Guinea and current president of Queensland Churches Together.
Nicene Pilgrimage
Church leaders in Australia’s national capital, Canberra, united in faith on a Nicene Pilgrimage.
More than 100 people gathered at St Christopher’s Cathedral in Manuka to take part in a special ecumenical pilgrimage marking the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea.
Known as the Nicene Pilgrimage, the event brought together Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, and Orthodox leaders and parishioners who walked from St Christopher’s to the Greek Orthodox Church of St Nicholas, praying for the unity of all Christians.
“The great miracle of oneness that Jesus dreamed of is somewhat of a reality 2,000 years later, but not completely,” Archbishop Christopher Prowse said.
“So, we are praying on this pilgrimage for the continued unity of the people of God.”
Prowse said that one of the great times of unity was the composition of the Nicene Creed.
“In proclaiming this ancient symbol of faith, we bear witness to the unity we share and our common commitment to the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” he said.
The theme of unity was echoed by other Christian leaders, including Anglican Bishop Mark Short who said the Nicene Pilgrimage reminded him that “unity is a gift from God.”
Wood of the cross
During the pilgrimage, the church leaders carried an icon written by local iconographer Sue Orchison.
“This icon is one of the traditional icons of the Orthodox Church and one of our founding beliefs in Jesus’ death and resurrection, and the part that His mother and John the evangelist played in our salvation,” Orchison explained.
“The wood of the cross is where we come and offer ourselves with Christ for the glory of God. And when you’re painting an icon, the wood is like the altar, and we paint into the altar, and we give glory to God through the icon and praise and thanks and worship to him.”
To mark the occasion, church leaders signed a joint statement affirming their shared faith.
“On this most significant anniversary, we gather in Canberra, the capital city of Australia, to affirm afresh this central Christian creedal statement,” the declaration read.
“Today is also a point of departure. We want to renew our quest for Christian unity in the grace of the Nicene Creed given to us all.”
The Catholic Bishops of Australia, for the 2025 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, released a Statement on Peace.
“In the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, we are reminded we belong to one human family which is best nurtured by a world free of war and focused on peace.”
