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Dec 29th, 2019
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Peace to thee all,
I am new here and I would like to introduce myself (I hope this is the right forum for this).
My name is Eli, I am 23 year old Melkite Greek Catholic from the Holy Land � or so called Israel by many.
I am named after Prophet Elijah, or Elias in Arabic (my mother tongue) for St. Elijah�s cave (the cave he used to live in) is just near my home and he is looked at as the �guardian angel� of this city.
I am proud of my Christianity and my Byzantine heritage and I am trying to learn it well so I may also pass it to others and my children (when they come).
I am very thankful to you all for having me here in this forum � finally I can discuss my faith and heritage with people who really understand the great faith that forms the base of our Church and the great symbols we use in the mass (other so called �Christian forums� were more �outraged� about me kissing a Holy Icon rather than their rage over killing the innocence of people with phony promises of �fame and fortune provided by God for the follower of the so called -new American church-)
I hope I will be able to give as much as I can,
I have multilingual skills (Arabic, Hebrew and English) and the environment I live in dictated knowledge in Islam and Judaism �
Thank you for your time,
Looking forward to get to know you all,
Eli
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Joined: Aug 1998
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And with your Spirit,
Welcome Eli. I hope you find your time here as enjoyable as I do.
Fr. Deacon Lance
My cromulent posts embiggen this forum.
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Joined: Jan 2005
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salaam aleikum
shalom aleichem
peace be to you, bro.
Arab Christians are always present before me when I think about your homeland. I really can't say much more than that, it's just plain and simple. welcome.
Much Love,
Jonn
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Joined: Nov 2001
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Dear Eli,
Welcome to the Board.
Are there Byzantine Carmelites where you are?
What could you tell us about this . . .
Alex
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Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 1,280
Former Moderator
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Dear Eli, +May the LORD bless you richly! You are MOST welcome here Eli! Everyone is welcome, but someone from the Land of Our Lord's birth, life, death, and Resurrection---is welcome THREE TIMES OVER! May your stay here among us be a experience of grace, may it be LONG, and may you share MUCH with us about your faith and proud people in Palestine. May knowing you bring us all closer to Him Who was your countryman...Our Blessed Lord Himself!
Your brother in the Lord,
+Father Gregory
+Father Archimandrite Gregory, who asks for your holy prayers!
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Eli, Welcome my Melkite brother. We of the Melkite Patriarchate of Antioch are a bit of a minority here, but we hold our own and are treated well  - and, of late, we seem to be increasing in numbers  . Glad to have another. Many years, Neil
"One day all our ethnic traits ... will have disappeared. Time itself is seeing to this. And so we can not think of our communities as ethnic parishes, ... unless we wish to assure the death of our community."
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Joined: Apr 2004
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Indeed, Eli, welcome to the forum! My grandson is named Elijah and we call him Eli too. It is a wonderful name! Peace to you also.  A sister in Christ, Mary Jo
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Welcome Eli,
Glad to have another Melkite on the forum. Although I am Ruthenian Byzantine, we have been in a Melkite Parish for nineteen years now.
It is great that you are able to come at sit at the table with us and discuss serious and silly alike. One thing we all agree on is the necessity of God and prayer in our lives. So we take our commonality(if there is such a word) and use it to glorify the Triune God for the abundance of his tender mercies that he has poured out upon us to allow us to be part of this cyber community.
Pani Rose
or
Sham'mas'
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Eli, welcome to the Forum. Another big Melkite fan here. Eis Polla Eti Despota to His Beatitude Patriarch Gregory!
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Welcome Eli!!!
Can you tell us a little about the life of a Christian in the Holy Land???
I have heard there are struggles in the Holy Land and we all need to support our Christian brothers there.
G-d bless,
SPDundas
Deaf Byzantine
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Thank you all for the warm welcome, I am glad to see that some of you have some knowledge of the native languages of the Holy Land, and I am very glad to find some of my �kind� in the forum � to be honest I know little about the differences between the many �kinds� of the Byzantine Churches (and I don�t mean the west-east \ orthodox-catholic) � and its hard for me to define a �Byzantine Carmelites� � I know we do have Carmelites (just across the street :-] ) but I know not if they are Byzantine or not (is there any other kind?!) � I do live on mount Carmel by the way . About Christians in the Holy Land: Life in the Holy Land is hard as it is. I live in a country where hatred and war are the main themes. Christians are usually stuck in the middle getting bullets from both sides. Thus many Christians have left this country and what is left does not pass the 2% of the whole population. Looking at it from the point of view of the Jews (Israelis) we are nothing but the �Palestinian enemy,� we are treated likewise (maybe not with guns and pistols, but believe me the government can make the life of its citizens hard if it wants to). Many times Christians are treated by the Israeli government as �the good Christians people � our friends,� however, things shift fast here and we suddenly become �the filthy Arabs who support terror.� Those who live across the border in the Palestinian side are treated just the same � one time they are �Palestinians who love their country � friends� and another time �the bloody traitors who support Israel.� Therefore, all Christians here have a very big problem when it comes to identity � many of you when asked may have an answer: �American, Irish, Italian, Russian etc.� however Christians here will give you many answers or a compound answer � among the funniest : �Arab � Israeli � Palestinian � Christian.� As for me I see my self as a Christian only with no political identity or what so ever � and if I asked about my race � I will give a lecture about the Byzantine Empire and the �leftovers� that created my people who became Arabs when Islam came. The situation here is far more complicated � and Christians here suffer persecution from both the Israeli and the Palestinians. Those of you with good memory probably remembers the incident few years ago when some Palestinian terrorists hid in the Church where our Lord was born in Bethlehem. These terrorists (or so called by the Israeli government) could have used the mosque that is just 10 meters away � but I think they had much more respect for their prayer place � However the �main problem� is in what 99% of the world does not know, or didn�t care to hear. These Muslims caused a lot of damage to the church (from the inside � vandalized by them) � meantime the Israeli army made many holes in the building and the monument of our Holy Mother outside � and no one cared � the whole world watched but no one spoke � This incident clearly stated to the Christians of the Holy Land that neither Israel nor Palestine will ever be their country and they will never have any respect neither from the Jews nor from the Muslims. �Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered together thy children, as the hen doth gather her chickens under her wings, and thou wouldest not?� (Matthew 23:37) *** Has anything changed ? *** Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. I am sorry for the long answers � I shall have authentic pictures from the Holy Land brought to you
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Dear Friend, Well, if you live on Mt. Carmel (WOW!), then you are a "Byzantine Carmelite!" Melkite Archbishop Raya wrote to me once and said that he knew of both Latin and Byzantine Carmelites. Could you share with us, please, what does Mt. Carmel look like today? I did not know that individuals could live on it! Alex
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Eli,
Welcome!
Your spiritual life and your take on events in the Holy Land will add to our love of the people of the Middle East.
God bless you.
Paul
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Joined: Nov 2001
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Dear Eli,
Do you have the address of those Carmelites that you live so close to?
Could you share it with me?
Alex
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Joined: Aug 2007
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Dear brother Paul,
thank you very much, I hope that I will be able to carry this risponcibility.
Brother Alex,
I will look into it. It seems that when you live in the Holy Land you look on things as "usual things"
and I will have to re-learn to appreciate this place again ...
I am having a hard struggle with exams and projects i have to finish - but I give you my word that I will be posting pictures from mount Carmel and the many many Holy places on it.
yours in Christ,
Eli
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