From January 11 to 18, 2026, the Alliance Prayer Week (APW) took place in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. This prayer meeting has a long tradition in Bratislava and even took place (albeit to a limited extent) during the totalitarian regime. Since the political changes of 1989, the Alliance Prayer Week has gained a wider reach. It took place regularly every year and presented one of the main regular events of the Slovak Evangelical Alliance.
This year’s APW was held under the motto “God’s faithfulness to His people” with a central theme from Psalm 78 and biblical interpretations prepared by brothers and sisters from the Italian Evangelical Alliance. The goal of this year’s meetings was, as declared 180 years ago in London, “…to visibly demonstrate the unity of Christians through common prayer…” By this we want to present unity in diversity and diversity in unity.
Each evening took place in a different Christian community. We met at the Slovak Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Reformed Calvinist Church, but also at smaller Christian gatherings such as the Baptist Brotherhood, the Brethren Church, Christian Congregations, the Apostolic Church, and the Adventist Church. This diversity was reflected in the various meeting places, ranging from the completely modernized premises of the Apostolic Church in a former factory building, through a converted former cultural center used for worship, to the buildings of churches and cathedrals of traditional churches.
Every evening, the host church prepared a program with Bible readings, multimedia presentations, prayers, and music—from modern Christian songs, choral compositions accompanied by organ to a choir singing. The entire week of prayer once again contributed to a better mutual understanding. We realized that despite the different forms of worship, for example prayers, we are united by something much more important—our common faith in God, the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the presence of the Holy Spirit, who brought unity even in this diversity.
Biblical reflections from Psalm 78 responded to the current situation in our society. Slovakia is currently facing many political and social challenges, mainly due to the confrontational atmosphere on the political scene, which is also felt in everyday life. For this reason, Christian groups have started a national reconciliation program, which began with a joint ecumenical service of forgiveness. However, during the eight evenings, we also focused our prayers on other current issues, such as praying for peace in Ukraine or praying for the people and especially women in Iran.
We were greatly encouraged by the large turnout of believers from various churches, even though it was somewhat limited by bad weather, especially black ice. An even greater encouragement was the presence of representatives of the European Evangelical Alliance, led by General Secretaries Connie Duarte and Jan Wessels, as well as the creation of the Central European Learning Community of the EEA, which will allow us to become more closely involved in the family of Evangelical Alliances in Europe and around the world.
The Alliance Prayer Week gives us hope for the new year 2026 that God, just as He remained faithful to His people, will also acknowledge us and “shepherd us with an upright heart and guide us with a skilled hand” (Psalm 78:72).
By Rastislav Synak, Board Member of the Slovak Evangelical Alliance
From January 11 to 18, 2026, the Alliance Prayer Week (APW) took place in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. This prayer meeting has a long tradition in Bratislava and even took place (albeit to a limited extent) during the totalitarian regime. Since the political changes of 1989, the Alliance Prayer Week has gained a wider reach. It took place regularly every year and presented one of the main regular events of the Slovak Evangelical Alliance.
This year’s APW was held under the motto “God’s faithfulness to His people” with a central theme from Psalm 78 and biblical interpretations prepared by brothers and sisters from the Italian Evangelical Alliance. The goal of this year’s meetings was, as declared 180 years ago in London, “…to visibly demonstrate the unity of Christians through common prayer…” By this we want to present unity in diversity and diversity in unity.
Each evening took place in a different Christian community. We met at the Slovak Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Reformed Calvinist Church, but also at smaller Christian gatherings such as the Baptist Brotherhood, the Brethren Church, Christian Congregations, the Apostolic Church, and the Adventist Church. This diversity was reflected in the various meeting places, ranging from the completely modernized premises of the Apostolic Church in a former factory building, through a converted former cultural center used for worship, to the buildings of churches and cathedrals of traditional churches.
Every evening, the host church prepared a program with Bible readings, multimedia presentations, prayers, and music—from modern Christian songs, choral compositions accompanied by organ to a choir singing. The entire week of prayer once again contributed to a better mutual understanding. We realized that despite the different forms of worship, for example prayers, we are united by something much more important—our common faith in God, the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the presence of the Holy Spirit, who brought unity even in this diversity.
Biblical reflections from Psalm 78 responded to the current situation in our society. Slovakia is currently facing many political and social challenges, mainly due to the confrontational atmosphere on the political scene, which is also felt in everyday life. For this reason, Christian groups have started a national reconciliation program, which began with a joint ecumenical service of forgiveness. However, during the eight evenings, we also focused our prayers on other current issues, such as praying for peace in Ukraine or praying for the people and especially women in Iran.
We were greatly encouraged by the large turnout of believers from various churches, even though it was somewhat limited by bad weather, especially black ice. An even greater encouragement was the presence of representatives of the European Evangelical Alliance, led by General Secretaries Connie Duarte and Jan Wessels, as well as the creation of the Central European Learning Community of the EEA, which will allow us to become more closely involved in the family of Evangelical Alliances in Europe and around the world.
The Alliance Prayer Week gives us hope for the new year 2026 that God, just as He remained faithful to His people, will also acknowledge us and “shepherd us with an upright heart and guide us with a skilled hand” (Psalm 78:72).
By Rastislav Synak, Board Member of the Slovak Evangelical Alliance
