What do we mean when we pray for Christian unity?

January always contains the “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity,” spanning the week from Jan. 18–25, ending on the feast of the conversion of St. Paul. St. Paul was a man driven to proclaim the gospel, emphasizing that Jesus Christ bridges the divide between Jews and Gentiles (cf. Eph. 2:14). By giving their lives in faith to Jesus, both groups could have equal membership in God’s people and equal opportunity for salvation.

Therefore, it is supposed to be characteristic of God’s people, that they are one. The Creed states that we believe in “one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.” Unity of mind and heart among Jesus’ followers should demonstrate the love they share and the one gospel they follow. However, we all bring our sinful habits into the church, so the unity that Jesus intends for his followers has always been fragile.

To paint in very broad brushstrokes, there have been two long-lasting fractures among Christ’s followers over the past 2,000 years. The first is commonly dated to the year 1057, when Christians in the east (basically Eastern Europe and the Middle East by today’s understanding) and the West (largely in western and central Europe) separated over the issue of the Pope’s authority over all other bishops. The western Christians, long centered on Rome, were comfortable seeing the Pope as the successor of Peter and the head of the Bishops. Christians in the east, now calling themselves Orthodox rather than Catholic, did not dispute the pope’s authority as a bishop, but denied his authority over their own bishops. Today, the divide between Catholic and Orthodox Christian still centers around the authority of the Bishop of Rome. Catholics and Orthodox largely see the sacraments in the same ways (with some distinctions), the Communion of Saints, and the means of salvation.

The second divide has its roots in 1517, with Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation. This was largely a division within western (Roman) Catholicism. Much has been said about the movement Martin Luther began, but his central dispute was against the belief that the sacrament of Holy Orders embedded any special power in ordained clergy. The Protestants emphasized the “priesthood of all believers”—a notion that is Catholic as much as it is Protestant—and denied that there was any other sort of priesthood (what we call the “ministerial priesthood”) that helps the flock grow in grace through celebrating the sacraments. Since Luther allowed for no teaching authority rooted in Holy Orders, Luther became an authority in his own right, a pattern followed by many of his contemporaries and many in Protestantism today. Therefore, Protestant Christianity is not a homogeneous body, with many differences based on the religious and cultural ideals emphasized by the founders of different denominations.

Therefore, the followers of Jesus are not nicely unified. So how should we see each other whether we are Catholic, Orthodox, or Protestant? Can we call ourselves brothers and sisters in the Lord? The Catholic Church would say yes, though in an imperfect, limited, way. The Second Vatican Council did much within Catholicism to bridge the divides between Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestants, recognizing that “elements of sanctification and of truth” (Lumen Gentium, 8) are found outside the visible boundaries of the Catholic Church. These paths for grace include the sacred Scriptures, the life of grace, the virtues of faith, hope, and charity, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, etc. (CCC 819).

However, despite the things that we share, the divisions within the church are significant. Catholicism doesn’t hold only a portion of what helps us follow Christ, but the fullness of it. Therefore, the historic divisions of the Church were rooted in sin. Though the people of today are not to blame for them, the ongoing divisions can turn others away from Christ entirely. That is why the Council wrote, “it is through Christ’s Catholic Church alone… that the fullness of the means of salvation can be obtained. It was to the apostolic college alone, of which Peter is the head, that we believe that our Lord entrusted all the blessings of the New Covenant, in order to establish on earth the one Body of Christ into which all those should be fully incorporated who belong in any way to the People of God” (CCC 816).

These words may not sit well in a culture like ours that speaks so much about pluralism and diversity. We may have diverse ways of understanding, but truth itself has no diversity. Therefore, Christ entrusted his Church with the truths we need for salvation, and we pray that the separated portions of the flock may be united in the Church once again. While we pray for unity among Christ’s followers, let’s say yes to the deeper conversion and holiness that unity requires. And if there are prayer services in your community during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, it would be good to plan to attend.