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Photo: Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I embrace.
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Damascus, 19 October 2016
“O Lord, give peace to our country.”
With this prayer, we concluded the autumn session of our Assembly of Catholic Hierarchy in Syria, which took place at the Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarchate in Damascus.
We studied the situation of our eparchies, and especially, ways of promoting our presence and role, as well as ensuring the service of our people in the tragic situation that we have been experiencing for the last five and a half years.
The participants presented reports on the state of their work in the various committees dealing with the Church’s life and mission in Syria, including: justice and peace, mutual welfare (Caritas Syria), Christian education, ecumenical relations, religious orders, Bible, interfaith dialogue, media, youth, family and canon law.
From Damascus, we wanted to greet Aleppo, which is greatly suffering. It had been decided to hold the meeting of our assembly there, but the security situation prevented us from doing that. As Church pastors, we express our love for Aleppo and our solidarity with its people. We pray for Aleppo’s ordeal to end and for peace and security to reign there, as has been the case elsewhere, in Homs and its countryside, in Ma’alula and most recently in Daraya, and for reconciliation to be built up in all regions of our beloved Syria. We also pray for peace to reign in Syria and throughout the world.
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CWN - As an international military offensive moves toward Mosul, liberating towns from the hold of the Islamic State, Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Raphael I Sako has visited towns on the Nineveh Plains, and seen the destruction and desecration of Christian churches.
The Chaldean prelate said that he is hopeful Christian refugees who fled from the Islamic State will soon return to their homes in the region—which he described as “our holy land.” He said that religious leaders of all denominations should join in building a “culture of peace and harmonious coexistence.”
Speaking from New York, another Iraqi prelate said that it may take a year before Christians are able to settle once again into their old homes in and around Mosul. Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil said that refugees will face enormous challenges as they labor to rebuild their communities.
Archbishop Warda said that in his own archdiocese, about 80% of the Christian population want to remain, despite the threats to their security. But he vowed that even if many more families leave, the Church will continue to serve those who remains, and “there will always be Christians in Iraq.”
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aquinas.scranton.edu | Sara Myers | Faith Editor
University professors and visiting priests will host Byzantine divine liturgies weekly in the Byzantine chapel in Ciszek Hall starting on Nov. 7. Since it was built in 1988 and until last year, there were at least weekly Byzantine liturgies in the chapel in Ciszek Hall.
The Rev. Thomas Sable, S.J., a former theology professor, retired from The University last year. Prior to his retirement, Sable, a biritual priest had been celebrating the divine liturgy each week in the chapel.
This year, some interested professors and students, including Steven T. Dougherty, Ph.D. of the math department and Patrick Clark, Ph.D. of the theology department, decided to start the liturgies up again. After contacting priests in the community and with the support of Campus Ministries, they were able to make arrangements so that every Monday at 6:30 p.m. liturgies can be celebrated in Ciszek Hall. The main focus of the liturgies, Clark explained, is the students.
“We are focusing it toward the students — those who are of that tradition and those who would like to learn more about it,” Clark said.
Read More | Related Article on Walter Ciszek: Chained, but Free: How Walter Ciszek gained spiritual liberation in Lubyanka prison by John Levko, S.J. (2013)
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risu.org.ua - The 21st Regular Sobor of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA ran from October 19-22, 2016.
His Eminence Metropolitan Antony, Metropolitan & Prime Hierarch of UOC of the USA and Diaspora, His Eminence Metropolitan Yurij, Metropolitan of Canada and Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada, His Eminence Archbishop Jeremiah, Ruling Hierarch of the Eparchy of South America and His Grace Bishop Daniel, Ruling hierarch of the Western Eparchy and President of the Consistory of the UOC of USA participated in the Sobor.
Metropolitan Antony presented the formal greeting from His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I. "...as you gather to contemplate ways of spiritual and administrative growth, we encourage you in all you do to keep this standard of love in your hearts. Love for God and neighbor grows in accordance with keeping His commandments – for true love springs forth from LOVE itself – that is, from Christ. Learn to abide in Him so that you may learn to love even more, in order that you may with faith, love and the fear of God, truly draw near to Him ad to each other", reads the letter.
The main topic of the Sobor was the Strategy of the UOC in the USA development. "Our once vibrant Church has suffered from the secularism of our world. We have lost too many of our youth for various reasons, which are not just due to outside influences and societal changes, but, because of how we practice our Faith. How we behave in our parishes and how we treat each other impact how our children view our Faith. Our behavior – in any manner – has consequences in the lives of others. We need to impart a new vigor in to the life of our Church through revival in our individual and collective lives", stated in his sppech Metropolitan Antony. Metropolitan Antony introduced the Strategic Plan explaining how crucial it is that everyone participate in order for it to be successful. The Plan will be introduced at the parish level over the coming weeks and months when individuals within each parish are sought out as volunteers to coordinate efforts with the goal captains, chairpersons and our hierarchs.
The plenary sessions heard the reports of all the ministries of the Church including the Offices of Stewardship, Christian Charity, Youth & Adult Ministry, Religious Education, Liturgical Publications, Public Relations, Cultural Affairs, Archives, External Affairs, Clergy Development, St. Sophia Seminary Library, St. Andrew Cemetery, and All Saints Camp. While the reports were lengthy, they were nonetheless informative and received positively. The Sobor body learned of the various successes that the ministries of the Church have experienced over the years.
During the Sobor metropolian Anthony informed the participants that bishop Daniel Zelinskyj is be nominated for elevation to Archbishop. The nomination will be presented to His All-Holiness Patriarch Bartholmew and the Holy Synod for formal election and inclusion in the Dyptychs of the Holy Ecumenical Church.
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CWN - The Church of the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor in Israel was desecrated during the night on October 24.
Thieves entered the church, broke open the tabernacle, scattered the Blessed Sacrament on the floor, damaged icons and statues, and stole chalices and some money.
“Seeing the damage was really a cause of pain and sorrow,” said Auxiliary Bishop Giacinto-Boulos Marcuzzo of Jerusalem. “An official act of reparation will be held in the coming weeks. This will confirm our love for the place, our sense of the sacred and devotion to Our Lady.”
“Although the incident took place at the end of Sukkot celebrations, I don’t think it is sectarian in nature,” the prelate added. “It is more likely a case of petty crime.”
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CWN - The Chaldean Catholic archbishop of Erbi said that the United States government bears a moral responsibility towards Christians and other minorities in Iraq.
Over 100,000 Christians fled to Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, as the Islamic State advanced on Mosul in 2014.
Calling for American aid to the Mosul region as it is liberated from the Islamic State, Archbishop Bashar Warda said that the US government should “play a role in protecting the minorities, because we’ve seen that, due to this American intervention in 2003, they have a moral responsibility, really, to finish the whole job in a decent and a dignified way.”
“Minorities have suffered a lot because of all this intervention,” he said in an interview with Catholic News Service. “I’m not blaming (the US) directly, but ... they are responsible, morally responsible for what happened.”
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