On the first day of the Ecclesiastical New Year, September 1, 2025, SUPRASL: A World Fellowship of Orthodox Youth initiated a worldwide prayer campaign for the unity of the Orthodox Church and for God’s creation. The campaign, an idea of the participants of the fourth annual SUPRASL World Gathering which took place this past July in Supraśl, Poland, calls upon the entire faithful—hierarchs, clergy, and laity—to unite in daily prayer at a common hour.

The initiative draws direct inspiration from a prayer campaign for Orthodox missions launched in 1957 in Athens by a young theologian, the now-renowned Archbishop Anastasios (Yannoulatos) of All Albania. Archbishop Anastasios of thrice blessed memory, a pivotal figure in the founding of the SUPRASL fellowship, exemplified the power of concerted prayer long before his transformative missionary and patriarchal work.

The 90 students of SUPRASL 2025, representing a multitude of countries, cultures, and a majority of the world’s autocephalous Orthodox churches, have issued a formal letter to Patriarchs, Bishops, youth organizations, and all the faithful, inviting global participation. The letter, composed under this year’s theme, “Living the Creed: From Words to Action,” states: “We have reflected on our belief in One Orthodox Church that cannot be divided. Now, we are moved to act on that faith through prayer.”

The mechanics of the campaign are intentionally simple yet profound. Participants are asked to commit to praying the provided prayer [click here, or see the text of the prayer below] each day at 9:00 PM Central European Time (CET), 10:00 PM EEST; 3:00 PM Eastern Standard Time (EST) etc, no matter their location. The organizers emphasize that this is not a call for physical gatherings or online meetings, but rather a decentralized, personal commitment, creating a unified spiritual front across the globe.

“We act with faith—a faith that assures us that even if only two or three gather in His name, our prayers will be heard,” the letter reads. It further clarifies that the effort is not performative, stating, “We endeavor to act not… through YouTube channels, going viral, getting likes, or reposts, nor by any measurable metric. We put not our trust in princes, nor in the sons of men, in whom there is no salvation.”

The prayer itself is a heartfelt supplication to Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church. It confesses the unity of the Church, mourns for those separated from it, and pleads for the Holy Spirit to guide hierarchs in their witness to unity. The prayer asks for protection from division, from worldly machinations, and from the sin of pride, while seeking healing for wounds caused by a lack of love.

The SUPRASL participants have pledged that this will be “not another document to be filed away, but a living movement of prayer that shakes the foundations of complacency.” They commit that as they pray, they will also act by “building bridges, serving the needy, and becoming living icons of unity in our local parishes and communities.”

All are invited to join this global symphony of prayer that began on September 1.

The full letter can be found here: https://suprasl.org/prayer-letter

This article in its original form, and many other inspiring resources on the SUPRASL worldwide Orthodox Christian youth fellowship, can be found at the SUPRASL website:  www.suprasl.org .  

The Prayer:
For the Unity of the Orthodox Church and All of Creation

O Lord Jesus Christ our God, head of the Church that is thy Body, who prayed for thy disciples to the
Father, “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one
in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me”: To thee we confess that thy Church is one,
and cannot be divided; we mourn for all who separate themselves from Her; we pray that thou mayest
make the schisms to cease.

We put not our trust in princes, nor in the sons of men, in whom there is no salvation; rather, we put
all our hope in thee, and we beg of thee, send thy Holy Spirit to guide our hierarchs, that they may
rightly divide the word of thy truth, and that they may bear witness to the unity of the Church in all
their decisions.

Preserve us, O Lord, from the Evil One and all his attempts to divide us, from the machinations of
governments, from the ambitions of fallen men, and from the sin of pride. Heal the wounds caused by
our lack of love, and fill us, and our hierarchs, with love for one another as brothers in Christ. Keep us
in thy truth; thy word is truth.

To thee, and thy Father, and the Holy Spirit: the Holy Trinity, the source and manifestation of all
unity, one in essence and undivided, do we ascribe all praise, honor, and glory, now and ever and unto
ages of ages.

Amen.