HEADS AND REPRESENTATIVES OF CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES OF AZERBAIJAN GATHERED TOGETHER İN PRAYER FOR THE UNITY OF CHRISTIANS

A common Christian prayer service for the unity of Christians was held in the Baku Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, led by Bishop Vladimir Fekete.

This year, the main theme of prayers for the unity of Christians was the Gospel parabola about the Good Samaritan, who is an example of God’s unconditional love for every person, regardless of his race, nationality or religion.

The joint prayer was attended by the press secretary of the Baku and Azerbaijan Diocese, archpriest Konstantin Pominov, the chairman of the Albanian-Udi Christian Community Robert Mobili, the pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Community of Azerbaijan Gerhard Lemke, the chairman of the Azerbaijan Bible Society Rasim Khalilov, heads and representatives of the country’s Christian communities.

As part of the service, Bishop Vladimir Fekete addressed the event participants with a sermon.

“Love is the DNA of the Christian faith. Christians are called to act like Christ, loving like the Good Samaritan, showing mercy and compassion to those in need, regardless of their religious, ethnic or social background. It is not a common identity that should motivate us to come to the aid of another, but love for our “neighbor.” However, the vision of love for our neighbor that Jesus sets before us is being seriously tested in the world. Wars in many regions, imbalances in international relations and inequality all hinder our ability to love like Christ. It is by learning to love each other, despite our differences, that Christians can become neighbors, like the Samaritan in the Gospel,” Bishop Vladimir Fekete noted in his sermon.

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