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Here you will find news and general information about the Byzantine Catholic (Greek Cath- olic) and other Eastern Christian Churches.

Fasts & Feasts

May

6 - Samaritan Woman
13 - Man Born Blind
17 - Ascension
20 - Holy Fathers
27 - Pentecost

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Seventh Sunday of Pascha

May 20, 2012
Sunday after the Ascension of Our Lord, God and Savior, Jesus Christ
Sunday of the Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council

John 17:1-5 - When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed." (ESV)

Eternal Life in Christ - In asking to be glorified, Jesus is asking his Father not to give him glory so much as He is seeking to reveal the honor the Father had already given Him. The Son's willing obedience and his glorious deeds reflect back on the Father. They are then passed onto us as the gift of salvation we receive through faith.

The Gospel recounting the High Priestly Prayer is placed on this Sunday after Ascension because today we also celebrate the memory of the Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council held at Nicea in A.D. 325. It was at this Council when the Church affirmed that Christ was of one essence with the Father and the Holy Spirit.

Scripture Readings:
Vespers - Genesis 14:14-20, Deuteronomy 1:8-1, 15-17, Deuteronomy 10:14-21
Matins - John 21:1-14
Divine Liturgy - Acts of the Apostles 20:16-18, 28-36, John 17:1-13

Statement from Their Holinesses and Beatitudes the Patriarchs of Syria

Friday, 18 May 2012 09:56

Damascus - We: Ignatius IV Hazim,Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, Mar Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, and Gregorios III Laham, Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, of Alexandria and Jerusalem, condemn the cowardly criminal act that took place in the Qazaz district of Damascus on the morning of Thursday, 10 May 2012, and condemn all acts of terrorism that have targeted different regions of the beloved Syrian land, claiming the lives of many innocent victims and wounding both civilians and military personnel, the children of this great nation.

In view of this grievous loss, we pray to God to heal the wounds of Syria and Syrians, and to restore the children of the one homeland to one another in love, openness and reconciliation, tolerance, mutual assistance and wisdom, preferring always the interest of the country to any other interest, distancing themselves from violence in all its forms, aiming for the good of our beloved country and building it again on the basis of civilized, humane, firm justice and good citizenship, co-existence and peaceful freedom of expression; all that is related to serving the nation and citizens.

With one mouth and one heart we raise our prayer to Almighty God to give rest to the souls of the homeland’s martyrs, comfort the hearts of the bereaved, preserve Syria and bring it to a haven of safety, peace, sovereignty and prosperity. In a spirit of pastoral responsibility we call on all the children of this country, both Muslims and Christians, to join us in prayer to Almighty God to protect Syrians from all danger and harm, trusting in the Lord’s saying to us: “Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

May the name of the Lord be forever blessed. Amen.

Melkite Patriarch Gregorios III, “Unprecedented Barbarity: People Say, Enough”

Monday, 14 May 2012 15:06

Damascus 10 May 2012

“We were praying in the cathedral chapel when a strong explosion shattered all the windows. The walls of the nave shuddered as if jolted by a sudden gust of wind; we thought it might be an earthquake.” H.B. Gregorios III Laham, Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch of Antioch and All the East is still incredulous, while describing to MISNA the moments of terror that accompanied the double bombing of the Syrian capital this morning. The Cathedral of Bab Sharqi, at the end of the `Via Recta' that leads to the Chapel of Ananias (a Christian martyr who enabled Saint Paul to recover his sight), is perhaps some two or three kilometres from the site of the explosion which up to now, according to a provisional estimate, has killed at least 55 and injured another 300.

“The television showed images of a huge crater, cars and buildings shattered, blood everywhere. The minibus bringing the children to our school had come that way barely 10 minutes before. It is a miracle that they were not involved,” explains the cleric, President of the Assembly of the Catholic Hierarchy in Syria, condemning “an act of cruelty without precedent in Syria, which has shown the true face of the forces at work behind this absurd propaganda war.” The Patriarch’s voice, shaking with emotion on the day of the worst attack in the country’s recent history, is also raised against the world that “is not listening to the Syrian people’s cries of distress.”

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