The Commission for Christian Unity and Interreligious Dialogue of the Catholic Bishops' Conference held a national training seminar on Christian unity at CBCB Center from September 20 to 23.
Around 45 participants from eight dioceses of Bangladesh participated in this training.
The event centered on the theme, "I want everyone to become one and inter-worldly unity".
Father Ajit Costa OMI, in his homily, said, "We Christians are known by different names, but we are all followers of the same Christ. So, Jesus inspires everyone to concentrate on the path of following Christ."
The main objectives of the training program were Christian teaching, meditation, and gaining knowledge about different activities in society.
The program was also aimed to develop an awareness of the Christian perspective, roles, and duties of those involved in interdenominational environments, congregations, and publics, and the formation, skills, and experience to work in interdenominational unity.
During the sessions, the trainers gave lectures that focused on ten distinct subjects.
Church of Bangladesh Deputy Moderator Sourav Folia, shared the similarities and differences between the Catholic Church and other churches.
He said, "The Church is the body of Christ but one and the same. But in the tradition of the time, different styles of different churches are noticeable from long ago. Although there are different groups and opinions, the main source of our life is Christ Himself."
Archbishop Lawrence Subrato Howlader, CSC of Chattogram said, "We have learned in this seminar that there has been a lot of division in this church and we may not be able to solve it easily or remain like the original church. But this world is a struggling world."
The Archbishop also said that there will always be conflicts, but assured those present that “today's scriptures teach us that those who fight auspiciously will win.”
Reaching out to others through “this interfaith dialogue”, will give them “courage, strength to approach each other," he added.
One of the participants, Mrs. Lilian Rozario, shared her takeaway from the seminar.
“Although we have many churches, we should try to build Christian unity by showing mutual respect," she said. - Nikhil Gomes
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
Latest News
