2025 has several anniversaries marking the Christian calendar. One is the 1,700^th anniversary of the first Christian ecumenical Council at Nicea (near Constantinople) in 325. Highly important, this council affirmed the divinity of Jesus Christ and the Trinity, thus opposing Arianism, a prevalent heresy claiming Jesus had only a human nature, not a divine one as well. The Council also fixed the date of Easter, no longer relying on the Jewish lunar calendar. It also forbade kneeling during the Easter Season, for kneeling was a penitential posture, while standing is a posture of affirmation and celebration.

The theme for this year’s Church Unity Week is “Do you believe this?” This is the question Jesus posed to Martha at the death of her brother. Martha’s belief in the power of Jesus was realized in the raising of her brother Lazarus.

It seems to me that the efforts toward Christian unity have dissipated over the past years at least in my experience. Do you remember pulpit exchanges, special inter-faith prayer services, and the frequent singing of “They’ll Know We Are Christians”?  Perhaps we could challenge ourselves to revive the prayer and events “that all may be one.”