In the year of consecrated life, 3 days of prayer had been conducted in the three Christian traditions: Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican.
It was with a sense of joy and much enthusiasm that I joined the group of my sisters to participate in the prayer held in the Russian Orthodox church of St. Catherine of Alexandria, here in Rome, on 23rdJanuary. This was organized in relation to the week of “Prayer for Christian Unity”. What urged me was a desire to be in solidarity with another tradition different from the Catholic tradition, believing in our common search for the One God and to experience that PRESENCE calling for respect and communion in diversity.
The Church from the outside was huge, yet the inside space for the faithful was too small to hold the crowd that had gathered that day, that we were almost touching one another. The ceremony was very solemn and prayerful with singing and chanting, both in Italian and in Russian. The Priests alone conducted the whole service and we were mostly an “observing presence”. The “holy of holies” which kept us at a distance from the priests reminded me of the Old Testament times. Since this was my first experience of attending an Orthodox prayer, I was happy to have come to know another unique yet different way of liturgy. For me, the most touching moment was when the deep desire within all of us to be one in heart, praying for unity and oneness, burst into words, as the whole congregation, spontaneously joined in praying the “Our Father” together.