Some Key Dates in the History of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
| ca. 1740 - In Scotland, a pentecostal movement with North American links includes prayer for and with all churches in its revivalist message |
| 1820 - The Rev'd James Haldane Stewart publishes "Hints for the General Union of Christians for the Outpouring of the Spirit." |
| 1840 - The Rev'd Ignatius Spencer, a convert to Roman Catholicism, suggests a "Union of Prayer for Unity." |
| 1867 - The First Lambeth Conference of Anglican Bishops emphasizes prayer for unity in the Preamble to its Resolutions. |
| 1894 - Pope Leo XIII encourages the practice of a Prayer Octave for Unity in the context of Pentecost. |
| 1908 - The observance of the "Church Unity Octave" is initiated by the Rev'd Paul Wattson. |
| 1926 - The Faith and Order movement begins publishing "Suggestions for an Octave of Prayer for Christian Unity." |
| 1935 - Abbé Paul Couturier of France advocates the "Universal Week of Prayer for Christian Unity" on the inclusive basis of prayer for "the unity Christ wills by the means he wills." |
| 1958 - Unité Chrétienne (Lyons, France) and the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches begin co-operative preparation of materials for the Week of Prayer. |
| 1964 - The "Decree on Ecumenism" of Vatican II emphasizes that prayer is the soul of the ecumenical movement and encourages observance of the Week of Prayer. |
| 1966 - The Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches and the Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity (now known as the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity) begin official joint preparation of the Week of Prayer text. |
| 1968 - A joint committee of The Canadian Council of Churches and the Canadian Catholic Conference (now the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops) begins to rewrite the international materials for Canadian use. |
| 1994 - The Commission on Faith and Witness of The Canadian Council of Churches adapts and expands the Week of Prayer text to create a larger resource. |
| Spring 2010 - The ecumenical Week of Prayer Writing Committee of The Canadian Council of Churches meets to create the resource for 2011. |
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