Rome (NEV), January 18, 2018 – The traditional Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (January 18-25), celebrated all over the world, is kicking off. This year the theme of the ‘Week’ is inspired by the biblical verse “Powerful is your hand, Lord”, Exodus 15:6. For the first time, a president of the Federation of Protestant Churches in Italy (FCEI) was invited abroad for the inauguration. Pastor Luca Maria Negro in fact is the guest of the diocese of Namur in Belgium.

Since 1984, by initiative of the Ecumenical Commission of the diocese, on occasion of the Week of prayer, a church from abroad is invited as “fraternal witness of Jesus Christ”. This year to bring his testimony to the Christians of Southern Belgium and Luxemburg, the president of FCEI, with a preach in the church of Rochefort (near Namur) for the opening ceremony of the ‘Week’, and with an opportunity for public exchange and debate, recalling FCEI’s commitment to migrants with the ecumenical project of the humanitarian corridors, which recently have been established also in Belgium.

The president of the Ecumenical Commission of the diocese of Namur, Father Thaddée Barnas, at the end of November visited the FCEI offices in Rome to organize the coming, inspired by the Ecumenical Congress of Assisi held a few days before, and which in fact laid the foundations for the ‘forthcoming institution’ of the ‘permanent consultation table’ of Christian churches in Italy.

“Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox in Italy will give life to this ecumenical structure just a few days after the end of the Week of Prayer. Even in our country we should finally have a place to develop a unitary ecumenical witness, leaving behind a practice of occasional dialogue”, declared  President Negro.