Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (January 2026)
- Jan 27
- 4 min read
Updated: Feb 5
Priests, pastors, reflect on being “one Body” amid denominational divide
For more than a quarter of its 90-year history in Singapore, the Mar Thoma Syrian Church in Singapore did not have its own place of worship and used the premises of different Christian communities, including the Catholic Archdiocesan Education Centre on Highland Road from 2001 to 2004.
At a Jan 21 prayer service at the Armenian Apostolic Church of Saint Gregory the Illuminator on Hill Street during the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Reverend Raj Elias Varghese, Vicar of the Mar Thoma Syrian Church, shared how the Armenian Christians and the Anglicans hosted his community from 1936 to 1946 and 1947 to 1957 respectively.
“The journey of our faith community in Singapore has always been an ecumenical one,” said the Kerala-born priest to the 87 Christians gathered.
“Our growth is a direct result of the unity and fellowship we share with our sister churches,” said Rev Varghese, whose parish has been based in Upper Thomson since 2004.
One body, one spirit, one hope
The ecumenical service brought together priests, pastors, and lay faithful from different Christian communities, and was one of four held at different Christian venues from Jan 19-23. The other locations were the Bible House on Armenian Street, Blessed Sacrament Church and Queenstown Lutheran Church, both on Commonwealth Drive.
At each service, the congregations sang hymns, listened to Scripture readings, and recited common prayers such as the Lord’s Prayer and the Nicene Creed.
A priest or pastor would give a homily based on the theme for this year’s week of prayer taken from St Paul’s letter to the Ephesians: “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling”.
At the Blessed Sacrament Church on Jan 22, Parish Priest Father Johan Wongso SSCC said Christians should not cling to their denominational identities so strongly that they fail to recognise Christ in others.
“When divisions arise – through pride, prejudice, or fear – we begin to live as if Christ were divided, said Fr Wongso. “But Christ is not divided. His cross is one, His resurrection is one, and His love is one.”
Speaking in Mandarin at Queenstown Lutheran Church on Jan 23 to some 100 Christians, Rev Ray Soh of the Lutheran Church of Our Redeemer said “our unity is first given as gift to us in our baptism and we too are commanded to strive towards this unity, as Christ himself prays for the unity of all his children at the Last Supper.”
“We do not see that everyone is united in the faith, for otherwise there would only be one monolithic Christian faith,” said Rev Soh. “Instead, there are globally around 45,000 denominations with a total of 2.3 billion Christians, from all walks of life.”
Faith across cultures
The gathering at Queenstown Lutheran Church was the first Mandarin Week of Prayer for Christian Unity service in Singapore since the global initiative began here 36 years ago.
“As Singaporeans, God has blessed us with many languages,” said Rev Soh. “It is in this spirit of trying to learn and appreciate another language that the organisers have put together this prayer service, so that we can learn each other’s ways of calling, praying to, and worshipping our God.”
At the Armenian Church, visitors from different denominations were able to appreciate Armenian culture through a heritage tour led by Mr Paul Pavel Karapetyan, volunteer caretaker of Singapore’s oldest church which was built in 1835.
Armenia was the first nation to turn to Christianity, having done so in 301AD when its King was converted by St Gregory the Illuminator, ending years of persecution of the faithful.
Praying as one
Church of the Risen Christ parishioner Ms Lilian Teo, who attended the service at the Armenian Church with her friends from a weekly intercessory group, said the experience of praying together with Christians of other denominations felt like a throwback in time to the first century, when the faithful prayed as one.
“Praying the Lord’s Prayer with them helped me to appreciate what we have in common,” said Ms Teo. “We may come from different faith traditions, but we believe in the same God.”
Each of the four services was organised by the respective venue hosts, the Archdiocesan Interreligious Dialogue and Ecumenism Centre of Singapore (AIRDECS), and the Archdiocesan Catholic Council for Ecumenical Dialogue (ACCED).
The Mandarin service was supported by the Archdiocesan Commission for Apostolate of Mandarin-Speaking (ACAMS).
Photo Gallery (from AIRDECS):
