Lahore: January 20, 2014. (Fr. Inayat Bernard) 18th January, 2014: Our Christian unity should have the tangible expression in our day today life besides the worship, seminars or gatherings”. Church of Pakistan Bishop Manu Romal Shah emiratus Bishop of Peshawar was talking to around 200 pastors, sisters, seminaries and novices with the faithful gathered at the Sacred Heart Cathedral Lahore in an inaugural prayer service. Bishop Romal Shah said that in the recent months he had gone to Istanbul, Turkey and wanted to see the Orthodox Patriarch and was surprised that even the tourist did not know the place of the Patriarch. He said that it was in Ephesus in Turkey where Mother Mary and John the Apostle were residing in the first century. The Christianity has shrunk there. Whatever freedom of religion we have in Pakistan, he continued, is important that we make our unity tangible. He said that as compared to the world, the ecumenical movement is active in South Asia especially the countries like India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Being the retired Bishop of Peshawar he said that he went there to support the affected people in the 22nd September, 2013 two blasts in All Saints Church compound killing over 200 worshipers. He said that the Christians around the country showed their solidarity towards them and helped through the visits, prayers and financial support. He said that we do not need to meet together only in tragedies and difficulties but in the times of peace as well. Representing the Salvation Army, their chief secretary Col Washington Daniel quoted Psalm 133 and said that the bothers meeting together is very encouraging. He congratulated for conducting the united prayer service at the Catholic Cathedral. He said that it is the need of the hour in Pakistan to be united and give witness of our unity to the other people in the country. The moderator of the Presbyterian church in Pakistan Rev. Arif M. Siraj said that we need to be one in our opinion and one in the faith because Christ is one and according to the 1st letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians he expects us to be one in the Lord. God has given us many blessings and we need to use them for the welfare for all by developing one thinking among ourselves. Bishop Irfan Jamil of the diocese of Lahore church of Pakistan said that Jesus Christ is not divided but we are divided. The topic of this Unity Octave “Has Christ been dived” invites us to reflect on each one’s life. The unity is our basis to be one in spirit and opinion. Our attitude is to be broadminded to accept and appreciate the talents found in each one’s churches. Every church is gifted with a special gift as some are apostles, preachers and teachers etc found in the 1 Cor 12. We can benefit from the talents of each other. Let us use them for the greater glory of God. At the end Archbishop Sebastian Francis Shaw OFM of Lahore said, “It is a joyful evening when the brothers of different churches are gathered here at the Catholic Cathedral .It is an evening like the Pentecost when people from different countries were present. They were affected by the Holy Spirit. We need to be soft hearted to appreciate and accept the difference of each denomination.” Bishop Sebastian continued that when we accept the Lord as our creator and all of us are His creation then we can easily come close to each other because all of us are the same creatures. He expected that by our regular meetings we shall come close to each other and be effective witness to the other faiths in Pakistan. Fr. Inayat Bernard rector of St. Mary’s Seminary gave introduction and said that we begin our Unity Octave today on the 18th January, 2014 and will end on the 25th of this month. These dates were proposed in 1908 by Paul Wattson to cover the days between the feasts of St. Peter and St. Paul. For this year 2014 The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity with the Commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches has commonly chosen this topic HAS CHRIST BEEN DIVIDED? based on 1 Cor 1:13. He said that the EUC has been actively working from October 2012 for promotion and understanding among churches. Ecumenical Christmas Carol on 14th December annually, Alleluia Conference after Easter has been a regular activity for the mainline churches to celebrate with their faithful. He ended by saying that the Unity is becoming strong among the main line four denominations. On behalf of the EUC, Dean of Lahore Cathedral Rev. Shahid P.Mehraj of the Church of Pakistan thanked the Bishops, members of the committee, the fathers, sisters, catechists, seminarians and the faithful. He also invited the faithful for the closing ceremony of the Unity Octave to take place on the 25th of this month which is the feast of the conversion of St. Paul and the 127 anniversary of its foundation.