Jhansi, India: November 14, 2009. (PCP) Ecumenical Commission of Conference of Catholic Bishops of India, (CCBI), concluded its Regional Secretaries meeting in Jhansi with a call to honour those sacrificed their life for faith. The three days meeting was held in Jhansi , Uttar Pradesh State , which proposed last Sunday of August as the Indian Christian Martyrs’ Day. Final statement of the meeting states that ‘we want to remember all Christians who sacrificed their life ever since St. Thomas, the Apostle, ‘Last Sunday of August’ will be most fitting since it is on that month we have maximum persons from Orissa State. The final statement of the meeting says that Pope John Paul II in his encyclical letter ‘Ut Unum Sint’ clearly writes about the importance of persons who sacrificed their lives for faith in all denominations. We are trying to uphold the teachings of Pope John Paul II. He writes in his encyclical that “In a theocentric vision, we Christians already have a common "martyrology". This also includes the martyrs of our own century, more numerous than one might think, and it shows how, at a profound level, God preserves communion among the baptized in the supreme demand of faith, manifested in the sacrifice of life itself.” Bishop Dr. Anil Cuto , (Bishop of Jalandhar), the Ecumenism Commission Chairman, said, “ we are making an effort to remember those who died for Lord Jesus Christ, martyrdom is the highest form of love expressed. Making a Day as Indian Christian Martyrs Day is not making somebody a canonized saint but remembering their sacrifice to witness Christ. Their brave life is a heritage of the Church and we want to save for the coming generation. It is not just meant for Catholic Church but for all Churches and Ecclesial communities.” The meeting decided to write to Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, National Council of Churches of India and Evangelical Fellowship of India. Bishop Dr. Anil Cuto says, “It must be an ecumenical effort to honour those Christians died for faith, it would also unite the Churches in the Country. If the CBCI General Body accepts our proposals then it will be a historic decision in the history of the Church towards ecumenical unity.” Fr. Anbu svd, National Secretary to the Ecumenical Commission, told, “the Church is standing on the Blood of the Martyrs, we Want to honour them, the Christians who sacrificed their lives are from different denominations and ecclesial communities so it could be an ecumenical effort to unite the Christians towards their great sacrifice. I will pursue this as secretary to the commission.” The proposal was put in the meeting by the Madhya Pradesh Region. Fr. Anand Muttungal, the Regional Secretary for the Commission for Ecumenism and Dialogue, said, “Indian Christian Martyrs’ Day is a day to remember those heroic acts of the Indian Christians. It will create history like that of Acts of the Apostles, it will inspire the Christians in the years to come, we have been celebrating 25th August as Indian Christian Martyrs’ Day in Madhya Pradesh. I feel happy that the ecumenical commission has understood our vision.” The meeting was attended by the Regional Secretaries of the Country. It was a unanimous decision to forward this concept to other Ecclesiastical Bodies to consider it. Madhya Pradesh Isai Mahasngh,(an Ecumenical Organization), has welcomed the proposal. Dr. Manis Mathew, General Secretary, said, “We are happy that our vision for the Christian community is being seen as a factor to unite and honour the Christian personalities who offered their lives for Christ, we will continue to pursue this cause till we achieve the objective.”