Christians carry sins of division

TORONTO - We can't have unity without penance, or conversion, or forgiveness, or the Holy Spirit, Auxiliary Bishop William McGrattan told about 200 people gathered for Evensong at Toronto's St. James Anglican Cathedral Jan. 23.

The traditional Anglican version of the evening and night prayers of the Divine Office included music from the 16th through the 20th centuries by the Choir of St. James Cathedral and members of the St. Michael's Choir School. Prayers were offered by representatives of the Catholic Eastern rite churches, Protestant churches, Orthodox churches and Anglicans.

"We all carry the sins and the burden of the division which we have created," said McGrattan in his homily.

Ultimately, Christians must remember the centrality of communion to their identity as Christians, he said.

"To experience Christ is also to experience the mystery of conversion."

Prayers for the Week of Prayer for Christianity world wide were prepared by Orthodox, Protestant and Catholic leaders in Jerusalem, praying for peace in the city of peace.

This is the 103rd year for the week dedicated to church unity since Rev. Paul Watson — then an Episcopal priest, who later joined the Catholic Church along with his Franciscan Friars of the Atonement — established the annual octave of prayer in 1908.

Canadian Catholic parishes this year adhered to the international dates for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Jan. 18 to 25. Some other churches were celebrating Jan. 16 to 23 in order to include two Sundays in the week.