New Book!

A series of essays by Patriarch Emeritus Gregorios III

148 pages with colour illustrations

Published by Eastern Christian Publications

http://ecpubs.com/product/ecclesiology/

ISBN: 978-1-940219-33-2

Price $15

press.vatican.va (2018-02-12) - At 11.45 this morning, the Holy Father Francis received in audience the members of the Greek-Melkite Synod, and addressed the following words to them:

Address of the Holy Father

Beatitude, dear Brothers in the Episcopate,

Thank you for your visit. The happy occasion is given by the public event of the Ecclesiastical Communion, which will take place tomorrow morning during the Eucharistic celebration and which I have already had the opportunity to grant to Your Beatitude in the Letter of 22 June, after your election as Patriarch, Pater et Caput, on the part of the Synod of Bishops.

So, as today, dear Brother, I assure you of my constant closeness in prayer: that the Risen Lord will be near you and accompany you in the mission entrusted to you. It is a prayer that cannot be dissociated from that for the beloved Syria and for all the Middle East, a region in which your Church is deeply rooted and performs a precious service for the good of the People of God. A presence, yours, which is not limited to the Middle East, but has extended, for many years now, to those countries where many Greek-Melkite faithful have moved in search of a better life. My prayer and my affectionate remembrance goes also to those faithful in the diaspora and to their Pastors.

Zenit.org - Pope Francis visited Rome’s Greek-Catholic Community of Ukrainians today at the Basilica of St. Sophia on Via Boccea, northwest of Rome, Jan. 28, 2018.

The Pope arrived around 4 p.m., after having celebrated Mass this morning at Rome’s Marian Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, and after having his traditional noon Angelus.

Jumbotrons were set up outside the church transmitting coverage to the faithful unable to be inside. Faithful welcomed the Pope with Ukrainian Christmas songs because for Greek-Catholic Ukrainians, following the Julian calendar, it is still Christmastime, since the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple is February 18.

Continue reading at Zenit.org.

Patriarch of Antioch for Syriac Catholic Church Ignatius Youssef III Younan Delivers Christmas Message Shedding Light on His People’s Situation

Here are excerpts of the Christmas message of Ignatius Youssef III Younan, Patriarch of Antioch for Syriac Catholic Church, provided to Zenit by Patriarch Younan:

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Christmas Message 2017

of Ignatius Youssef III YOUNAN

Patriarch of Antioch for Syriac Catholic Church

***

“And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14)

Dear brothers and sisters: I am quite confident that in each Christmas celebration, while contemplating the Divine Child of Bethlehem, Emmanuel, we deepen our faithfulness to our Lord Jesus Christ and strive to live His message of Love and Peace. God so loved us that He became one of us to lift us up to Him:

“And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (Jn 1:14)

The message of Christmas Night brought down by the angel to the humble shepherds of Bethlehem, still resonates year after year in our heart, as a message of peace, joy and reconciliation. A wonderful message that was chanted by the Angels: “Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth to people of good will”. Let us remember that in the Syriac-Aramaic version of this angelica song, we read: “..and Good hope for human beings!” (Lc 2:14).

Saint James of Sarug (5th-6th century) one among the greatest fathers of the Syriac Church, gave us this following hymn: ”Glory to the Father who sent His Word to become flesh, adoration to the Son who, though unlimited, became limited in a manger and thanksgiving to the Spirit who chanted in the mouth of the angels: Glory in the highest and peace on earth”

Chaldean Patriarchate Media

Candle lights, fragrant of incense and sounds of bells brought back to life in the Chaldean Church of St. Paul in Mosul (Almajmoua’ Althaqafyia suburb). The Eucharist, symbol of the New Testament for the salvation of all mankind is back again on the altar. All this happened on Sunday, 24 December 2017, when His Beatitude the Chaldean Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako celebrated the mass in participation of the Chaldean Auxiliary Bishop Shlemon Warduni, the Archbishop of Mosul of Syriac Catholics, Putros Moshi and the Archbishop of Mosul of Syriac Orthodox, Nicademos Sharaf, in addition to some priests. Among them Fr. Paul Thabet, was the one who organized the altar. The atmosphere was filled with the praises of the worshipers  and the symbolism of the feast was marked by 1,500 food baskets to the needy Mouslian families in cooperation Iraq-Caritas.

The Mass was commenced with an Iraqi Anthem in attendance of several VIPs from Nineveh such as, Major General Najem al-Jubouri; Police Chief Brigadier Wathiq Al-Hamdani, President of Mosul University, Prof. Dr. Obay Al-Dewachi, President of Nineveh University, Prof. Dr. Muzahim Al-Khayatt; leaders of tribes and religious groups and a big crowd of  believers.

“A light to lighten the Gentiles”

Letter of Patriarch Emeritus Gregorios III
For the Christmas Feast 2017

Dear Friends

This is the first letter since my renunciation of patriarchal service. I drafted these basic ideas in early November during a visit to Palermo, capital of Sicily, where, at the Pontifical Theology Faculty for all Sicily’s dioceses, I gave the inaugural address for the academic year 2017-18. I added some other ideas while attending and speaking at a congress on the topic of Christian Persecution Today held at the Schönblick Conference Centre, near Stuttgart (Germany). On both occasions I highlighted the presence and role of Christians in the East and the importance of peace for that.

On 16 November at Istanbul airport, during a long wait to return to Beirut, I started writing the first pages. For me, Istanbul means Constantinople, New Rome, capital of Orthodoxy and capital of the Byzantine or Eastern Roman Empire - until its fall in 1453

At the time of writing the present, it is almost eighty-five years since I entered this world in my dear home-town of Daraya (today destroyed by war), where Saul-Paul saw the light of the risen Christ. With the sixtieth anniversary of my priestly ordination (1959) already on the horizon, I have served some forty-three years, first as patriarchal vicar in Jerusalem, then as bishop and latterly as patriarch (1974-2017).

Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarchate
Ain Traz, Aley, Lebanon

December 2017
Good Wishes for Christmas
and the New Year 2018

Dear Friends

This year’s festive greetings are inspired by my pilgrim visit to the Holy Land in October 2017, after a seventeen-year absence and twenty-six-year service.

You were in my prayers, especially at the Church of the Resurrection and that of the Nativity at Bethlehem and in the other holy places that I visited.

My prayer for you is one of thanks to the Saviour and to you, because you have been my companions along my priestly, episcopal and patriarchal road, through your love, generosity and friendship. Those were fruitful years of service, with projects to the glory of God and for the welfare of my sons and daughters! In reflecting on the course of my priestly, episcopal and patriarchal life (lasting fifty-eight years) I have discovered that projects occurred annually, meaning that there were altogether fifty-eight such!

Thanks to the Saviour and to you for this abundant harvest. God and your love have filled my life with fruitfulness and dedication.

With these feelings, I wish you a Merry Christmas, after my retirement from patriarchal service! Please continue to accompany me with your prayers and love.

I repeat my favourite saying: I love you!

Merry Christmas!
Happy and Holy 2018!

+Gregorios III
Patriarch of Love, Reconciliation and Peace!

By Maria Lozano

THE RE-CONSECRATION of the altar in the Cathedral of Our Lady Queen of Peace (Dec. 1, 2017) was a new milestone on the journey back to normalcy in Homs, Syria. For three long years, 2011-2014—the city split between rebels and the Syrian regime—it was the setting for some of the fiercest fighting of the civil war. By the time the government took full control of Homs again, the city was left in ruins.

In his emotional homily for the occasion, Melkite Patriarch Youssef Absi said, addressing an audience of more than a thousand: “Many have fallen as martyrs, your homes were destroyed; you were displaced and you lost your belongings and money; nevertheless, you did not allow these hardships to overcome you and defeat your spirit. You came back, with your strong will, to rebuild what has been destroyed; and here, today, you, with your presence, bring life back to this cathedral.”

risu.org.ua - On a Tuesday afternoon, November 7, 2017 several dozens of Ukrainian-Americans gathered in the nation’s capitol for the Memorial service (Panakhyda) at the National HOLODOMOR Memorial in Washington, DC, Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA informs.

His Eminence Archbishop Daniel of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA and Bishop John Bura of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, assisted by the Orthodox and Catholic clergy led the Requiem service. As seminarians of both Catholic and Orthodox seminaries chanted the prayerful MEMORY ETERNAL, Archbishop Daniel censed the Monument-Memorial erected in memory of 10 million Ukrainians that starved to death during the cruel regime of Stalin’s Soviet Union in 1932-1933.

Opening the short Memorial program, Mr. Michael Sawkiv of the Ukrainian Informational Bureau (Ukrainian Congress Committee of America) welcomed numerous dignitaries and diplomatic representatives that on a rainy day still joined the group of Ukrainian-Americans at their monument to honor the memory of the lost. Ambassador of Ukraine Valeriy Chaly spoke in English and Ukrainian languages calling to memory the lives of millions of innocent people. Former President of Lithuania Vytautas Landsbergis also joined the Ukrainian community in their commemorative events with offering sincere and strong message not only to the Ukrainian-American community about the need to remember the tragic events of 1930s but also to the modern political powers that often forget about the dignity of human lifeIn the early evening hours of November 17th, US Congress opened its doors to the community of Ukrainians of American background to participate in the formal Ukrainian Genocide briefing.