This week is the week of Christian Unity and is an opportunity to think about the things that we have in common with our brothers and sisters who follow God through different denominations. At the heart of the suggested reflections for this year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is the question posed by Jesus to Martha: ‘Do you believe this?’ (John 11:26). This same question resonated throughout the deliberations of the first Ecumenical Council, meeting in Nicaea in 325, which gathered Christian communities from around the world to strengthen their relationships as the Church of Jesus Christ.
Read in isolation the question might appear as a stark challenge, but from the Gospel story it is clear that the words of Jesus are spoken in love and experienced as invitation as well as challenge. Similarly, while the Council of Nicaea was not without its challenges as a wounded and scattered Church sought to discern the truth of the Gospel message, there was an obvious desire to deepen connection and belonging and to live faithfully as disciples of Christ.
Reflecting on these moments we are reminded that the gift of our faith brings both support and challenge. The Nicene Creed, is a way that we can recognise that we share history across the different Christian traditions, despite the many ways in which our paths may have diverged in the years since. There is an opportunity to celebrate and draw strength and encouragement from the gift of our shared faith. In these troubled and turbulent times, we can take heart from the endurance of that faith. The Church that gathered in Nicaea was one that had been shaken and wounded by violence and persecution and was therefore close to the suffering of humanity. It was presented with an opportunity for dialogue with the political power which posed difficult choices about how best to share the Good News of the Gospel as faithful disciples of Christ, whose Kingdom is not of this world. In today’s polarised world, when trust in the willingness of political powers and authorities, including the Church, to protect the most vulnerable has been undermined, how might a renewal of our commitment to Christian unity contribute to positive change?
(Thoughts taken from Dr Nicola Brady, General Secretary, Churches Together in Britain and Ireland)
The Nicene Creed
We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
Do We Believe?
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father;
through him all things were made.
Do we Believe?
For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven,
was incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and was made man.
Do You Believe?
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
Do You Believe?
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
Do We believe?
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
The Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen
Do We believe?
