Christians called to work for unity as they celebrate Easter together

Joint message urges all Christians to work for unity as they celebrate Easter Sunday together 

(LWI) - The Lutheran World Federation is one of 12 Christian World Communions that have issued a message to mark the shared date of Easter this year by Christians worldwide, in conjunction with the 1,700^th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council at Nicaea.

The message calls for Christians to work for the unity of the Church in a year when Christians throughout the world will be celebrating the Day of Resurrection on Sunday 20 April.

“This year of the 1,700^th Anniversary celebration of the Council of Nicaea has strengthened our commitment to work together for the unity of the Church," said LWF Assistant General Secretary for Ecumenical Relations, Prof. Dr Dirk Lange. “As we mark Easter together in our parishes and congregations, we are all challenged to put this commitment into practice “so that the world may believe.”

A word of hope 

Historically, the date of Easter has differed between Western churches, which mostly use the Gregorian calendar, and Eastern Orthodox churches, some of which use the Julian calendar as the basis for calculating Easter.

The joint message also offers words of hope “at this time of great political instability in the world, when so many live with fear, suffering, persecution, famine, and other forms of instability and vulnerability.” It says: “All Christians are called together to proclaim the good news of “repentance and forgiveness of sins … to all nations” (Luke 24:47-48).

Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew have publicly advocated for a shared Easter date, seeing it as a step towards greater unity among Christians. The year 2025 is particularly significant as Christians are marking the 1,700th anniversary of the Nicene Creed, formulated by the Council of Nicaea and later revised at the Council of Constantinople.