- Paul Couturier
Paul Irénée Couturier (1881-1953) was a French priest and a promoter of the concept of Christian unity. He was instrumental in the establishment of the
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity .Early Life and Career
He was born and educated in educated at
Lyon ,France , to a family with someJewish blood. He was raised inAlgeria , 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. Irenaeus. After spending three years studying physical science, he started teaching at theInstitution 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. 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 CardinalDésiré-Joseph Mercier and was introduced to the work ofDom Lambert Beauduin , which stimulated his own interest in the ecumenical movement. 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 aTriduum for Christian Unity at Lyon, which later became anOctave in 1934, extending from the feast of theChair of Saint Peter to the feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul. This was an outgrowth from the Octave for Church Unity which had been established by twoAnglican s in 1908. 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 theWorld Council of Churches .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. 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 theMelkite Greek Catholic Church Patriarch of Antioch ,Maximos IV Sayegh . He is also commemorated in the Calendar of saints of theAnglican Church of Australia onMarch 24 .Impact
Couturier's philosophy of ecumenism is reflected upon during Weeks of Prayer for Christian Unity. Cardinal
Walter Kasper of thePontifical 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. 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".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
- Cardinal Walter Kasper [ [http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/card-kasper-docs/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_20080117_kasper-ecumenismo_en.html Reflection of Cardinal Walter Kasper] ]Dombes Group and byRoger Schutz and theTaizé Community . Sr. Maria Gabriella also drew great inspiration from him. 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.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
* [http://paulcouturier.faithweb.com/pcbiography2.html Paul Couturier at faithweb.com]
* [http://paulcouturier.faithweb.com/pcbiography.html Biography of Paul Couturier at faithweb.com]References
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