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Photo: Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I embrace.
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CWN - Easter, which was celebrated on May 5 on the Julian calendar, was a time of continued weeping for Syria’s Christians, according to the Chaldean Catholic bishop of Aleppo, the nation’s largest city. The Syriac Orthodox and Greek Orthodox archbishops of Aleppo were kidnapped on April 22, following the abduction of two priests in February.
“They sang, ‘Christ is risen,’ and while repeating those words of joy and victory, they all had tears in their eyes,” said Bishop Antoine Audo, SJ. “All their prayers mingled with their tears.”
“Everyone is wondering what will become of the bishops and priests,” he continued. “The time that goes by is not a good sign.”
“The daily struggle for survival also prevents one from having a clear overall perception with regard to the ongoing conflict, the consequences of Israeli air raids and the dangers of contagion at a regional scale,” he added. “We are often with no electricity, no water … As president of Caritas, I spend all the time receiving people who are looking for help. And I also had to cancel every transfer from Aleppo, because every movement has become dangerous.”
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CWN - Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill has said that he hopes to see continued improvements in relations between Moscow and the Vatican under Pope Francis, ‘and we have no indication that the incumbent Pope is not open to the same.”
The Russian patriarch said that ecumenical ties had been strengthened under Pope Benedict XVI, largely because of a decision to concentrate attention on issues of mutual interest, such as the drive to counter secularization in Europe.
The Christian churches should work together, Patriarch Kirill said, to bring moral renewal to a society that “cannot restrain its vices and is refusing to do so.” He observed that signs of resistance against aggressive secularization—such as the mass demonstrations against same-sex marriage in France— are “a manifestation of a deep religious feeling” that the Christian community should encourage.
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risu.org.ua - Romereports.com reported on May 2, 2013 that for the first time since establishing full diplomatic relations in 2009, Russia appointed an ambassador to the Holy See. Pope Francis welcomed him on Thursday morning to accept his credentials.
With the assistance of a French interpreter at times, Ambassador Alexander Avdeev, former culture minister for the Russian Federation, met with the Pope, for a brief audience at the Apostolic Palace.
Relations between the two states have an important religious meaning, since the Russian government has strong links to the Russian Orthodox Church.
After the meeting, Avdeev introduced the embassy staff to the Pope.
Though the two states have had relations since 1990, four years ago Russia elevated their office to the Vatican into a full-fledged embassy.
As a gift, Pope Francis gave the Russian ambassador a newly-minted papal medallion of his pontificate. Using his French, he also asked for his now-famous request, to pray for him.
AsiaNews.it reported earlier that Russian President Putin has appointed Alexander Avdeev, 66, as Russia's new ambassador to the Holy See and to the Order of Malta. Described in Church and political circles in Russia as a devout Orthodox Christian who knows well the Catholic Church, the career diplomat is replacing Nikolai Sadchikov, who is at the end of his term.
Mr Sadchikov was the first ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Vatican after full diplomatic relations were established in 2009. Avdeev's name had already been approved by the Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian parliament, and needed only Putin's approval.
Avdeev began his diplomatic career in 1968 as representative of the Soviet Union in Annaba (Algeria). He also worked at the Soviet Embassy in Paris.
Between 1998 and 2002, he served as Russia's deputy Foreign Affairs minister. After that he returned to the French capital as special ambassador and plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation until 2008 when he was recalled to Moscow by then Prime Minister Putin to serve as minister of Culture. In diplomatic circles, he is described as a devout Christian.
During his stay at the Culture Ministry, he called for the revival of traditional Russian moral values. For some foreign observers, in fact it is Avdeev who explicitly favoured the symbiosis between Russian culture and Orthodox Christianity.
"Russian culture will flourish and remain the center of the national idea only if it will be in very close dialogue with the Russian Orthodox Church, if it is connected with the understanding that the spiritual and historical value are both sacred values," he told Russky Mir in 2009.
Speaking to the Izvestia newspaper, Hegumen Filaret (Bulekov), deputy president of the Department for External Relations of the Patriarchate of Moscow, described the new ambassador as a "competent in state-church relations," an expertise he acquired during his stay in France.
The hegumen hopes that Avdeev will develop "good contacts" with Orthodox parishes in Italy, especially that of Saint Catherine in Rome, which is always in contact with Catholic representatives.
In addition to interfaith dialogue between the two sister Churches, Avdeev will have to deal with issues like peace in the world's hot spots, the protection of minority rights and the worrisome situation of Christians in the Middle East and North Africa.
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CWN - Pope Francis met on May 3 with President Michel Sleiman of Lebanon, for talks that centered on the violence in Syria, the impact of that conflict on Lebanon, and the plight of Christians in the Middle East generally.
“The enormous number of Syrian refugees who have sought safety in Lebanon and neighboring countries arouses much worry,” the Vatican noted in a statement released after the meeting. The statement called for greater relief efforts to help the refugees, along with new initiatives to encourage negotiations to end the fighting in Syria and to advance the peace process between Israel and Palestine.
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Rabweh 2 May 2013
Press release from the Melkite Greek Catholic Chancellery:
Pope Francis has today ratified the episcopal election by the Holy Synod of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, on 22 June 2012, of Archimandrite Nicolas Antiba as Metropolitan of Bosra, Hauran and Jabal al-Arab. The Very Reverend Nicolas Antiba succeeds His Grace Mgr Boulos Borkhosh, who has offered his resignation upon reaching the canonical age. Mgr Borkhosh had been elected bishop in 1983.
There follows a brief biographical notice about His Grace Mgr Nicolas Antiba:
Nicolas Antiba was born in Aleppo, Syria, on 25 December 1945. On 23 June 1964 he took his first religious vows in the Aleppine Basilian Order. In 1967 his Order sent him to Rome to pursue his philosophical and theological studies at the Gregorian University where he gained a licentiate. He was ordained priest in 1971.
From 1971 to 1978 he continued his studies in Semitic Languages and Holy Scripture at the Pontifical Biblical Institute where he obtained a licentiate and completed the year preparatory to the Doctorate in order to obtain a master’s degree in Holy Scripture.
In 1978, his Order sent him to the United States as priest to the Parish of Saint Ann in West Paterson, New Jersey.
In 1989, he was elected Superior General of the Aleppine Basilian Order and elevated to Archimandrite.
In 1995 the Congregation of Oriental Churches appointed him Apostolic Visitor to the Congregation of Aleppine Basilian Sisters.
In 1996 His Beatitude Maximos V called him to the Patriarchal Major Seminary of Saint Anna to provide spiritual leadership and be in charge of the pastoral year.
In 2000 His Beatitude Gregorios III appointed him Chancellor of the Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarchate in Rabweh, Lebanon.
In 2002 His Beatitude Gregorios III appointed him Parish Priest of Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre in Paris, raising him to the rank of Exarch.
Archimandrite Nicolas served on several committees of the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Catholic Churches and his own Melkite Greek Catholic Church.
He taught Holy Scripture at Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, the Antonine University and the St. Paul Institute of Philosophy and Theology, Lebanon.
He is the author of several studies and articles on topics in theology, Holy Scripture, liturgy and spirituality.
He is fluent in Arabic, French, English and Italian and has a working knowledge of German, Spanish, Latin, Greek, Hebrew and Armenian.
The date of his episcopal ordination will be confirmed later.
Father Antony Dib
Chancellor
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Prot. No. 388
† BARTHOLOMEW
By God’s mercy
Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch
To the plenitude of the Church
Grace, peace and mercy from Christ risen in glory
Beloved concelebrants and devout, god-loving children of the Church,
Christ is Risen!
The proclamation of the Resurrection by the myrrh-bearing women to the disciples of Christ was considered delirious. Yet, the word, formerly conceived as delirious, was confirmed as Truth. The risen Lord appeared to His disciples on several occasions.
In our time, the proclamation of the Resurrection is again considered delirious by rationalists. Nonetheless, we faithful not only believe in but also experience the Resurrection as a profoundly truthful fact. Indeed, if necessary, we seal our testimony with self-sacrifice because in the risen Christ we transcend death and are liberated from its fear. Our hearts are filled with joy when we repeat: The Lord has risen. Our saints, who have died according to the world, continue to live among us, responding to our petitions. The world that follows death is truer than the world that precedes death. Christ has risen and dwells among us. He has promised to be with us to the end of the world. And so He is – as our friend, brother, healer, who bestows all good things.
Blessed is our God, who has risen from the dead, granting eternal life to all people. O death, where is your sting? Christ has risen, revealing and ridiculing the one who formerly boasted without end to be a mockery. (See the Canon of St. John Damascene, 4th tone, 9th ode) Everything is filled with light and our hearts are replete with limitless joy.
And more than joy, they are filled with strength. For whoever believes in the Resurrection is unafraid of death; and whoever is unafraid of death is spiritually unyielding and unbending inasmuch as what may be the most terrible threat for the majority and for the disbelievers is of little significance to the Christian; for it is the entrance to life itself. The faithful Christian lives the Resurrection even prior to his or her natural death.
The consequence of experiencing the Resurrection is the transformation of the world. It inspires the soul. And an inspired soul also attracts other souls to its ways, when these souls are moved by the genuine joyous experience of immortality. Christ’s Resurrection and our own resurrection are not simply an abstract truth. They are a dogma of faith. They are a tangible reality. They are a force that overcomes the world despite the extremely harsh persecutions waged against it. “This is the victory, which has conquered the world, namely our faith” (1 John 5.4) in His Resurrection. Through the Resurrection, humanity is called to divinity through grace. Through the victory of the light of Resurrection over the impure passions, divine eros and a strange love, which surpasses human boundaries, are established in our souls.
Therefore, Christ is Risen! Our hearts are filled with the light and joy of the Resurrection. We approach the Risen Lord with authenticity and simplicity. For, as the royal Prophet David says, our God, who supervises our hearts from above, “will not despise a broken and contrite heart.” (Psalm 50.19)
The Resurrection is our strength, hope, joy, and delight. Through the Resurrection, we transcend pain and sorrow for all the evils of this natural, worldly life. The Resurrection is God’s response to the helplessness of wounded humanity before the suffering of worldly humanity.
We do not surrender to the difficulties and challenges of the modern world. The gathering of the Lord’s fearful disciples in the upper room in Jerusalem encourages us. We are not afraid because we love everyone, even as He loved us and gave His life for our sake. Mysteriously and invisibly, the Lord accompanies us. We only need to have – and we do have – love. For though love, we understand the power of the Mystery; we know the Mystery itself.
If others hesitate, “garnering their actions in thick sheaves” (Vespers of the Prodigal Son), yet we boast. And if we do not “winnow the chaff of our [sinful and passionate] actions with the wind of His loving-kindness or on the threshing floor of repentance,” the Risen Lord is Love and disperses all forms of darkness and fear that surrounds us, entering our hearts and our world, even when the doors are closed. He “remains with us” permanently through the cross of love. His calling is peace, and He grants us His peace. The powerful of this world pledge and promise peace, but can never produce or realize it. Whereas the power of divine Love, Peace and Wisdom remains beyond all human panic. It is not found on the margins of reality or the surface of human convictions. Instead, it is the heart of humanity, the center of life, the lord of life and death. It is Truth.
The incontestable transcendence of Power invisibly controls the reigns and directs all things, especially at a time when “the minds of so many lie in darkness.”
At this time of widespread dissolution throughout the world, the hope of all throughout the universe, the Wisdom of God, is the presence of the heavenly solution and harmony. At a time of collapse and anticipated death, we have the reality of Resurrection and the strength of our conviction in Christ.
The peace that derives from Him who trampled down death by death through his self-emptying, together with the joy of love, flow and heal our contemporary humanity that sighs and suffers as well as all of creation that groans and laments with us, who “await adoption and redemption” as well as “the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” (Romans 8.20-23)
Truly the Lord is Risen, beloved fathers, brothers and sisters!
Holy Pascha 2013
† Bartholomew of Constantinople
Your fervent supplicant before God