Zagreb (IKA) — A prayer meeting of representatives of the Catholic, Serbian Orthodox, Macedonian Orthodox, Evangelical and League of Baptist Churches was held on January 18 in the Roman Catholic Church of St. Joseph in the Trešnjevka section of the Zagreb Archdiocese. This also was a commemoration of the twentieth anniversary of the ecumenical meetings of the Zagreb churches, which for the first time this year will leave Zagreb so that ecumenical meetings will be organized in four cities of the archdiocese: Bjelovar, Sisak, Karlovac and Krapina. The theme of this year’s World Prayer Octave is “I Give You My Peace,” and the materials for the Prayer Week were proposed by Christians from the ecumenical city of Aleppo in Syria.

When love once again becomes the foundation of the life of all the Churches, then in its light the dogmatic differences that today seem unbridgeable will be overcome, said the chairman of the Commission of the Zagreb Archdiocese for Ecumenicism and Dialogue, Auxiliary Bishop Vlado Košić of Zagreb, quoting the Russian theologian Nikolai Afanasyeva, who once wrote: “Does not the reason for the division of the churches come down to the fact that some lost the true dogmatic doctrine and others lost true love, or more precisely, that each of them lost each other?” Speaking about the twenty years of ecumenical meetings in Zagreb, the representative of the Evangelical Church, Branko Berić, expressed the opinion that they helped Christians become better acquainted with each other, note differences, and respect each other in their differences. These meetings are hope for the achievement of the ecumenical intention, i.e. the unity of Christians, said Berić.
The representative of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the Very Reverend Stavrofor Marinko Juretić, pointed out that the moment when Christian love was lost, it was not possible to sense the peace that God gives, stating that insofar as they are ready for mutual forgiveness, Christians will have the right to pray the Lord’s Prayer together, in which it says: “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” The General Secretary of the League of Baptist Churches in Croatia, Željko Mraz, pointed out that ecumenical gathering is a contribution by all Christians to a better world, and the goal of these meetings is for believers to become better acquainted with each other and for the Churches to work together in our society. Those present were also addressed by the president of the Macedonian Orthodox Church Municipalities, the Rev. Kirko Velinski.

The main ecumenical celebration will be held on January 25 at 7 p.m. in the Serbian Orthodox Church of the Transfiguration of Our Lord in Zagreb.