Paul Irénée Couturier (1881-1953) was a French priest and a promoter of the concept of Christian unity. Year 1881 ( MDCCCLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Year 1953 ( MCMLIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. He was instrumental in the establishment of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is an international Christian ecumenical observance kept annually between 18 January and 25 January.
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Early Life and Career
He was born and educated in educated at Lyon, France, to a family with some Jewish blood. ||-||} Lyon, also known as Lyons in English is a city in east-central France. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ He was raised in Algeria, among the largely Muslim population there, but later returned and was ordained to the priesthood in 1906 as a member of the Society of St. Algeria ( ar [[Arabic]] الجزائر, Al Jaza'ir ælʤæˈzæːʔir Amazigh: ⴷⵥⴰⵢⴻⵔ Dzayer) officially the People's Irenaeus. After spending three years studying physical science, he started teaching at the Institution des Chartreux at Lyon, where he remained through 1946.
Ecumenism
In the 1920s he worked with the thousands of refugees from Russia and became acquainted with their Russian Orthodox spiritual heritage. See also Eastern Orthodox Church Structure and organization The Slavic Orthodox Church is organized in a hierarchical structure Later, in 1932, when he was with the Benedictine Monks of Unity at the Priory of Amay-sur-Meuse, he read an introduction to the work of Cardinal Désiré-Joseph Mercier and was introduced to the work of Dom Lambert Beauduin, which stimulated his own interest in the ecumenical movement. Désiré-Félicien-François-Joseph Cardinal Mercier ( November 21, 1851 &mdash January 23, 1926) was a Belgian Dom Lambert Beauduin (1873&ndash1960 was a Belgian monk who founded the monastery now known as Chevetogne Abbey in 1925 He became an oblate there, and took the name of Benoit-Irenee in acknowledgement of his two primary sources of inspiration. In 1933, he established a Triduum for Christian Unity at Lyon, which later became an Octave in 1934, extending from the feast of the Chair of Saint Peter to the feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul. Easter Triduum, Holy Triduum, or Paschal Triduum is a term used by some Christian churches particularly the Roman Catholic Church, the In Music, an octave ( is the the use of which is "common in most musical systems The Cathedra Petri ( Latin) or Chair of Saint Peter is usually understood of a particular chair preserved in St The Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul is a feast celebrated during the Liturgical year on January 25, recounting the Conversion of Saul of Tarsus, who This was an outgrowth from the Octave for Church Unity which had been established by two Anglicans in 1908. Anglicanism is a tradition of Christian faith Churches in this tradition either have historical connections to the Church of England or have similar beliefs However, Couturier specifically offered his Octave for the unity of any and all baptized into the Christian faith, including Orthodox, Anglican, and other Christian groups. Beginning in 1939, it's name was changed to the "Week of Universal Prayer".
He also worked to establish closer ties between the various Christian faiths, arranging meetings at La Trappe des Dombes and at Présinge. He also maintained a hugh correspondence, with Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and all kinds of Christians, created and distributed a number of tracts on prayer for unity, and kept in close contact with the World Council of Churches. The World Council of Churches ( WCC) is an international
He also studied the work of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, a fellow scientist, and was strongly influenced by Chardin's view of the unity of all humanity in Christ, regardless of their beliefs. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (pjɛʀ tejaʀ də ʃaʀdɛ̃ 1 May 1881, Orcines, France – 10 He personally believed that praying for the increased holiness of all peoples would inevitably lead to a greater understanding of God, and eventually a greater understanding of Christ by all peoples of the world.
In 1952, for his work in promoting religious unity he was granted the honorary title of Archimandrite by the Melkite Greek Catholic Church Patriarch of Antioch, Maximos IV Sayegh. The title Archimandrite ( Greek: - archimandrites) primarily used in the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches Meaning of church name Melkite comes from the Syriac word malko for "imperial" which was originally a Pejorative term for Middle-Eastern Patriarch of Antioch is a traditional title carried by the Bishop of Antioch. Maximos IV Sayegh (Saïgh (April 10 1878 – November 5 1967 was Patriarch of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church from 1947 until his death in 1967 He is also commemorated in the Calendar of saints of the Anglican Church of Australia on March 24. The calendar of the Anglican Church of Australia (as published in A Prayer Book for Australia (1995 follows Anglican tradition with the addition of significant The Anglican Church of Australia, a member church of the Anglican Communion, was previously officially known as the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania (renamed Events 1401 - Mongol emperor Timur sacks Damascus. 1603 - James VI of Scotland
Impact
Couturier's philosophy of ecumenism is reflected upon during Weeks of Prayer for Christian Unity. Cardinal Walter Kasper of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity recently summarised important aspects of Couturier's impact:
While [Father Paul] Wattson maintained that the goal of unity was the return to the Catholic Church, Abbé Paul Couturier of Lyons (1881-1953) gave a new impetus to this Week in the 1930s, ecumenical in the true sense of the word. Walter Cardinal Kasper (born 5 March 1933 in Heidenheim an der Brenz) is a German Prelate of the Roman Catholic The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity origins are associated with the Second Vatican Council which met intermittently from 1962-1965 Fr Paul Wattson (1863 - 1940 was the founder of the Society of the Atonement. He changed the name "Church Unity Octave" to "Universal Week of Prayer for Christian Unity", thus furthering a unity of the Church that "Christ wills by the means he wills". The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is an international Christian ecumenical observance kept annually between 18 January and 25 January.
Paul Couturier's 1944 spiritual testament is very important, profound and moving; it is one of the most inspired ecumenical texts, still worth reading and meditating on today. The author speaks of an "invisible monastery", "built of all those souls whom, because of their sincere efforts to open themselves to his fire and his light, the Holy Spirit has enabled to have a deep understanding of the painful division among Christians; an awareness of this in these souls has given rise to continuous suffering and as a result, regular recourse to prayer and penance".
Paul Couturier can be considered the father of spiritual ecumenism. His influence was felt by the Dombes Group and by Roger Schutz and the Taizé Community. The Dombes Group is an unofficial gathering of 20 Roman-Catholic and 20 Protestant theologians that has met regularly since 1937 in a small Monastery near Frère Roger (Brother Roger ( Provence Switzerland, May 12, 1915 - Taizé, August 16, 2005) baptised Roger Louis Sr. Maria Gabriella also drew great inspiration from him. Blessed Sister Maria Gabriella Sagheddu was a Trappist Nun. She was born in Sardinia in 1914 and died of Tuberculosis in the Trappist monastery Today, his invisible monastery is at last taking shape through the growing number of prayer networks between Catholic monasteries and non-Catholics, spiritual movements and communities, centres of male and female religious, Bishops, priests and lay people.
- Cardinal Walter Kasper [1]
See also
- Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
- Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity
- World Council of Churches
- Ecumenism
- Catholic Church and ecumenism
External links
References
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is an international Christian ecumenical observance kept annually between 18 January and 25 January. The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity origins are associated with the Second Vatican Council which met intermittently from 1962-1965 The World Council of Churches ( WCC) is an international Ecumenism (also oecumenism, œcumenism) refers to initiatives aimed at greater Religious unity or cooperation The Roman Catholic Church has been heavily involved in the ecumenical movement since the Second Vatican Council (1961-1965Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic