Abandonment of Patriarchal Service
“Lo, I come to do thy will, O God.” (Hebrews 10: 9)

Patriarchal Headquarters, Rabweh
6 May 2017

Abandonment of Patriarchal Service is the culmination of my Catholic Christian, monastic and humanitarian life’s work: a period during which the Holy Saviour has bestowed his blessings on me.

On November 29, 2000, I was elected patriarch, so am now in the seventeenth year of my service at the Patriarchate, having completed many projects with the grace of the Saviour and thanks to the generosity and love of friends, especially German ones.

In January 2011, during a private spiritual retreat in Cairo, I wrote down a spiritual prayer and concluded, "I hope to resign from my patriarchal service in due time after seven to ten years.” Then, in the retreat for Damascus priests in Seidnaya in June 2011, I wrote a spiritual meditation saying, "I hope to give up my patriarchal service in either 2014 or 2015, when I am aged 83 or 84 or at most 85." God is behind the intention.

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Saturday accepted the resignation of the Melkite Greek Patriarch of Antioch, His Beatitude Gregory III Laham, from his pastoral office. A letter from the Holy Father to the Patriarch-emeritus and all the Melkite bishops explains that His Beatitude presented his resignation during the course of a special audience with the Holy Father in February, and that the Holy Father has decided to accept the resignation.

In the letter, Pope Francis thanks the 83 year-old Patriarch-emeritus, “a zealous servant of the People of God, for the generous service to his Church and for keeping the international community’s attention focused on the tragedy of Syria.”

The Holy Father goes on to write, “I invoke upon you all the intercession of The Holy Mother of God and willingly give the Apostolic Blessing to our dear Greco-Melkite Church as a sign of grace and encouragement for the future of communion and witness of the Gospel.”

(27-28 April 2017)

Cairo, Egypt
28 April 2017

This conference is the second organised this year by Al-Azhar on a new international and interfaith platform.

The first such, with the very significant title Religious Freedom: citizenship, diversity and integration, had been held from 28 February to 1 March 2017. My talk at that conference was published in the conference acts, but I further outlined my ideas in a dozen interviews in various media outlets.

Christian and Muslim faith leaders, scholars and political figures were invited to both conferences.

Talks were given by Eastern and Western Christian and Muslim international figures from the Arab world, Asia, Africa and Europe; these were not only in Arabic, but also in English, French and Italian.

vatican.va - The Holy Father has appointed as bishop of the eparchy of Saint Nicholas of Chicago of the Ukrainians (United States of America) His Excellency Msgr. Venedykt (Valery) Aleksiychuk, M.S.U., transferring him from the titular see of Germaniciana and the office of auxiliary of the archieparchy of Lviv of the Ukrainians.

Msgr. Venedykt (Valery) Aleksiychuk, M.S.U. was born on 1 January 1968 in the village of Borshchivka, in the region of Rivne, Ukraine. He attended the major seminary of Drohobych and on 29 March 1992 he was ordained a priest.

In 1993 he was received in the Univ Holy Dormition Lavra of the Studite Rite and on 21 December 1995 he gave his first vows. He obtained a doctorate in spiritual theology from the Catholic University of Lublin, Poland.

He exercised his ministry in the parish of Bystrytsia (deaconry of Drohobych); in Belarus in Polock, and in the in parish of Vitebsk (1994-1996); and in Canada (1996-1999). He has served as Igumeno of the Lavra of Univ (2000 and re-elected in 2005); member of the commission of the Major Archbishop for Monasticism (2004); and administrator of the parish of St. Nicola Peremyshlany (2004). Since 2007 he was head of the secretariat of the Council of Monks of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church; president of the liturgical council and president of the major superiors of male religious institutes of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.

He was elected as auxiliary bishop of Lviv of the Ukrainians on 3 August 2010, and was consecrated on the following 5 September.

Photo: Participants in the OL XX Conference in June 2016

Fairfax, Virginia – The theme for the Orientale Lumen XXI Conference on June 19-22, 2017 in Washington, DC will be “Chieti and Crete: Two Historical Events.” Speakers and participants will discuss the Chieti Agreed Statement of September 2016 in which the Orthodox-Catholic International Dialogue agreed on the role of the Bishop of Rome during the First Millennium. The second topic will be the Great and Holy Council of the Orthodox Church held on Crete in June 2016 which produced, among other documents, a statement on the ecumenical relationship of the Orthodox Church with other Christian Churches. The conference is a “grass roots” ecumenical movement open to the public that includes laity, clergy, theologians and hierarchs from the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Eastern Catholic and Oriental Orthodox Churches.

risu.org.ua - Now all visitors can take a virtual tour of the unique wooden churches in the Carpathian region included in the World Heritage List.

In partnership with the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, Google Ukraine digitized 8 wooden churches in the region and created a special site “Wooden Churches of the Carpathian Region” where one can learn more about each of the churches, and map route to them on Google Maps. 3D-tours of all the churches are available in Street View mode on Google Maps.

Overall, UNESCO put 16 churches on the list of wooden churches of the Carpathian region - eight of which are located in Ukraine and eight in Poland. The churches can be divided according to 4 types of architecture: Hutsul (Ukraine), Galician (four in Ukraine and two in Poland), Boikos (two in Ukraine and one in Poland) and Lemkos (all five in Poland).

The virtual tour can take you to the heart of the Carpathians and give the opportunity to experience the unique architecture of ancient Ukrainian art, masterpieces of European construction that belongs to UNESCO cultural heritage. With easy navigation and voice guidance, you can learn interesting facts about the old churches in the Ukrainian Carpathians region. Take a virtual tour of each of them and plunge into the atmosphere of past centuries through virtual reality.

CWN - Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew II of Constantinople will join Pope Francis during his visit to Egypt later this month.

Sheikh Ahmed Muhammad el Tayyib, the head of Al Azhar University, extended an invitation to the Ecumenical Patriarch to attend the International Conference for Peace, which Pope Francis is already scheduled to address.

Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros will also attend the event, bringing together the world’s most prominent Christian leaders with the most prominent figure in Egypt’s Christian minority. The conference, sponsored by Al Azhar, will be held April 28 and 29.

References:

• Patriarch Bartholomew will be in Egypt with Pope Francis (Vatican Insider)

TO OUR CLERGY, HIEROMONKS AND BROTHERS, RELIGIOUS SISTERS, SEMINARIANS AND BELOVED FAITHFUL

Xpuctoc Bockpec!   Christ is Risen!

We joyfully sing, “Christ is Risen from the dead, trampling death by death, and to those in the tombs giving life”.  Our joyful proclamation fills us with hope!

Grasp in awe the significance of the words spoken by the angel to the myrrh-bearing women who went to the tomb early on Easter morning to anoint Jesus’ body: “Why look for the living among the dead?  You won’t find Him here. He is Risen!” (Lk 24:5-6).  Love is the victor.  Death is not the end.  The end is life, His life and our lives through Him, in Him.  Our existence has depths of beauty, mystery, and blessings more than the wildest visionary had ever dared to dream.  Christ our Lord has Risen!

CWN - At least 44 Coptic Christians were killed on Palm Sunday, April 9, in two separate bombings.

More than 30 people were killed, and 75 others injured, when a suicide bomber approached the altar of a historic Coptic church in Tanta, north of Cairo, and set up off device at the front of the church. Soon thereafter, another suicide bomber struck at St. Mark’s cathedral in Alexandria, where the Coptic Pope Tawadros was presiding at Palm Sunday services. At least a dozen people were killed, and another 65 injured, in the latter attack.

The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the bombings. Egyptian authorities say that the Muslim Brotherhood was also involved.

The two Coptic churches appear to have been chosen for their symbolic value. The Mar Girgis Church in Tanta is one of the oldes Christian churches in Egypt, dating back to the year 316. The cathedral in Alexandria was likely targeted because of the presence of Pope Tawadros.

From Gregorios, servant of Jesus Christ,
by the grace of God, Patriarch of Antioch and of All the East,
of Alexandria and of Jerusalem,
to their Graces, the Bishops, members of the Holy Synod,
to our sons and daughters in Jesus Christ,
clergy and people, called holy, and to all those called
by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their and our God,
“grace be unto you and peace from our God and Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
(I Corinthians 1:3)

Children of the Resurrection

“Children of the Resurrection” is a beautiful title first used by Our Lord Jesus Christ in his discussion with a group of Sadducean Jews, who denied the resurrection of the dead. Christ countered their argument by saying that human beings after death “are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being children of the resurrection.” (Luke 20:36) He added, “Now that the dead are raised, even Moses showed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him.” (Luke 20: 37-38; cf. Matthew 22: 31-32)

For each of you, this means that because you have been created in the image and likeness of God, you are a child of God, life and resurrection.

“Children of the Resurrection” is the splendid title given in the first centuries to Christians in the East. They are children of life since they participate in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

I have great pleasure in addressing you, my dear friends, by this most noble and deathless title. You are children of the resurrection. You are children of Him who said, “I am the Resurrection and the Life.” (John 11: 25) You are children of Him who rose from the dead: like the son of the widow of Nain (Luke 7: 11-15) and Jesus’ friend Lazarus (John 11: 1-43). You are children of the resurrection, children of life.