Towards a Second Council of Jerusalem. Three days of grace in Jerusalem.

A time of prayer in Christ Church

It was with gratitude that I participated in the international meeting of the movement Towards a Second Council of Jerusalem (TJCII), held at Christ Church, near Jaffa Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem, from 21 to 23 October 2025. It was a time of prayer and discernment, bringing together about a hundred participants from many countries: half of them Jews confessing Jesus as Messiah, and the other half Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox and Pentecostal Christians, as well as several Palestinian Christians.

For the past two years, I have been participating in this movement as a delegate of the Swiss group. I was invited to join after a memorable meeting in Wengen in 2023, where I discovered this initiative working towards reconciliation between Jews and Christians (see article here). This first experience had a profound effect on me, and it was in response to this call that I came to Jerusalem.

A spirit of humility and reconciliation

We shared together on essential themes: the centrality of Jerusalem, the historical separation between the Church and Jewish believers, and the concrete way in which we can stand alongside those Jewish believers who recognise Yeshua (Jesus in Hebrew) as the Messiah promised by the prophets. I also taught on the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea and its stance against the Jews. (see a summary here)

What particularly touched me were the moments of reconciliation between Arab Christians and Messianic Jews. After the tragic events of 7 October 2023 and the war that followed, these gestures of forgiveness took on immense spiritual significance. I saw brothers and sisters praying together, asking for forgiveness, crying, and embracing each other. We sang together in Hebrew, Arabic, and English. We prayed for one another and asked the Lord to heal deep wounds and establish genuine trust. It was like a living sign of the unity of the body of Messiah.

The breath of the Spirit in fragility

We also experienced some unexpected situations: on the last day, access to our meeting place was blocked for security reasons, due to the visit of US Vice-President J.D. Vance to the Anastasis (the Basilica of the Resurrection where Christ’s tomb is located). We had to go through the narrow streets of the Armenian quarter, enter through a back door and cross a private garden before reaching Christ Church! This episode, both comical and symbolic, reminded me that the path to unity and reconciliation is never easy. Sometimes you have to go around walls. The Lord always opens a way.

The meeting ended in an atmosphere of intense praise and intercession. This stage in Jerusalem was a preparation for a larger meeting planned for October 2026, when the TJCII movement will continue its work of unity in the Body of Christ, once again in Jerusalem.

Hope for the Church

I am happy to discover that this initiative follows in the footsteps of the « Montées de Jérusalem » (Ascents of Jerusalem,) where I received so many graces! The same call to ‘welcome one another,’ as the Apostle Paul says (Rom 15:8); the same Spirit of listening; the same thirst for reconciliation in the body of the Messiah. The beautiful time of common prayer before the altar between Jews and Christians (see photo above) reminded me of a similar experience I had during the Ascents of Jerusalem.

As I leave Jerusalem, I keep these words in my heart: ‘Behold, I make all things new’ (Rev 21:5). Yes, the Lord is renewing his Church by reconnecting it to its roots, so that it may once again reflect the unity and beauty of his plan.