For the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (January 18–25), the members of the NC Conference Christian Unity and Interreligious Relationships (CUIR) committee are sharing daily devotions rooted in Ephesians 4.

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Day 3 – Ephesians 4:3
Make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Last year, I attended the World Council of Churches’ Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order. During our time together, a small group of participants gathered to draft a message for the wider Conference. As the work unfolded and our text developed, we continued to share our diverse perspectives and continually revised our text through sustained conversation. The process was far from easy. Difficult exchanges arose, theological differences required patient negotiation, and moments of frustration and tension were unavoidable. And yet, our work continued in light of our relationships, our shared hopes and desires for the Church, and, I believe, a commitment to the bonds of peace. What sustained our collective work was not placated agreement, but peace. Such peace was not simply fragile politeness or forced consensus, but the kind of peace which allowed open and honest disagreement without severing relationships. This peace developed as a lived practice within our interactions, holding together the unique unity which the Spirit had already given to us.

It seems to me this is the peace for which St Paul is advocating in Ephesians 4.3: “Make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Our unity together as Christians is a gift from God. It is not something which has to be created, but rather something we must each continually cultivate. As with any human relationship, conflict is bound to occur. We have come to expect such conflict from the world, but unfortunately, it is also commonplace within the Church. As Christians, however, we are called to a counter-cultural reality in which we inhabit an upside-down Kingdom. Within the Kingdom of God, we are called to cultivate peace as a fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22) under the reign of Christ, who is our Prince of Peace (cf. Isa 9:6). When we Christians recognize our genuine differences and tensions (theological or otherwise) and yet actively choose to remain bound together, we bear witness to the peace of Christ, projecting a paradigm for a hurting world. As we seek this peace that passes all human understanding, we pray together: bind us together, Lord / bind us together / with cords that cannot be broken.

A Question to Consider

How does St Paul’s teaching that peace is a fruit of the Spirit impact our daily interactions and relationships within our communities, especially where there is need for reconciliation or forgiveness?

Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ,
you are the Prince of Peace.
Strengthen the bond of peace among us and in our troubled world.
Change the hearts of all who make war; touch the wounds of all who are afflicted by war.
We pray especially for the people of Armenia and Artsakh,
and their kindred throughout the world.
Let the light of your love shine in all the dark places of our world
and hasten the day when all peoples may dwell in peace with justice.
Amen.

Inter-Church Relations’ Department, The Armenian Apostolic Church, 2026 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

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