News
Byzcath.org News provides news focusing on the Christian East from varous sources and offers links to other sites dedicated to providing the news about the Church.
Churches and organizations that provide news about the Eastern Churches are invited to submit their news stories to us for publication here (use the contact page for submission)..
Materials from the Vatican Information Service, Zenit, CWNews.com and other sources are published here with permission of their owners but may not be republished further without the permission of their original publishers. Please visit these sites to obtain additional general news about the Church. In addition to these sources EWTN News also provides a good general news summary.
Photo: Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I embrace.
- Details
Rome - On Friday, November 6, 2009, the Reverend Bishop Dionisiy (Lyakhovych), Apostolic Visitor for the Ukrainian Greek Catholics in Italy and Spain, made a pastoral visit to the Ukrainian communities in Spain. The visit will continue to the end of the week.
Along with visiting Ukrainian communities, the apostolic visitor will also conduct retreats and meetings with the clergy of the UGCC in Spain, which began on Monday, November 9 in the city of Seville. Today in Spain there are 15 priests ministering for the Ukrainian immigrants.
- Details
CWNews.com - A leading Russian Orthodox official says that relations with the Catholic Church have improved under Pope Benedict’s papacy and that a meeting between the Pontiff and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill is possible.
“Today it can be said that we are moving to a moment when it becomes possible to prepare a meeting between the Pope and the Patriarch of Moscow,” said Archbishop Hilarion of Volokolamsk, the head of the patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations. “There are no specific plans for the venue or timing of such a meeting but on both sides there is a desire to prepare it.”
Archbishop Hilarion added that Pope Benedict is a “very reserved, traditional man who does not seek the expansion of the Catholic Church to traditionally Orthodox regions.”
Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window.
- Details
By Genevieve Pollock
ARBIL, Iraq, NOV. 6, 2009 (Zenit.org).- A new video documentary produced by Catholics in Iraq invites people to experience the history, culture, martyrs and struggles of one of the oldest Christian communities.
Hank and Diane McCormick, a missionary couple working in Northern Iraq, told ZENIT that the first episode of this five-part documentary can be viewed online by people worldwide who want to "meet" the Middle Eastern Catholics.
The video exposes stories about Christian martyrs of that region as well as Catholics -- bishops, priests and laypeople -- who are currently living there and working in schools, hospitals and other services. It incorporates scenes from the area's holy places, footage of ancient artifacts, glimpses of liturgical celebrations and local music.
Diane, who worked on the project as an assistant editor, explained that it was a joint effort of the Chaldean, Syrian, Maronite and Latin Churches, produced as a cry for help.
The message from the Catholics to the world, she said, is: "Help, help now while there is still large enough numbers for the rites to survive."
Diane continued: "They can clearly see the end to their existence within the next 10 years.
"Their departure is a loss, even for Muslims; an East without Christians would not be the same. They cannot cry out any louder for help from the universal Church."
Precarious
The video introduction reports that the situation of that region's Christian community, which dates its origin back to St. Thomas the Apostle, is presently "precarious."
"These Catholics cannot remain in their homeland of 2,000 years without assistance from their Catholic brothers and sisters" on other continents, it states.
The video, titled "An Open Door," offers "insight into the minds and hearts of Catholics living in Iraq."
It explains that their "peaceful nature and status as a minority too small to defend themselves have caused Iraqi Catholics to be targeted and made victims of war after war."
Thus, the number of Christians in the region has dropped from 1.5 million to some 350,000, and it is continuing to fall.
Hank, who served as cameraman and translator for the video, explained to ZENIT that the Church leaders are hoping that people will see this video and "come and help."
He stated that aid is needed in order to "build industry, build Catholic schools, minor seminaries, and hospitals, and adopt parishes inside Iraq, thus opening up communication between Iraqis inside and the world beyond."
"Catholics in the Middle East are neither terrorists nor refugees," the video explains. "They are people, individuals with a deep faith, rich heritage and courage."
Modern martyr
The first episode tells the story of Father Ragheed Ganni, a 34-year-old pastor in Mosul who was shot four times through the heart in front of his church in 2007.
On the video, a fellow priest shows the icon, with a bullet hole through it, that was in Father Ganni's pocket when he was killed.
"The situation here is worse than hell," the pastor had written in an e-mail to a former professor the day before he died.
In his honor, some 37 miles from where he died, Catholics established the Father Ragheed Ganni Medical Center, where volunteers work to distribute medicine free of charge to Christians and Muslims alike.
Doctor Ranna Enwyia, who works at the clinic, was a close friend of Father Ganni. She affirmed that the priest was constantly aware that his life could be taken at any time, and yet he was always working, "always happy."
"He taught us how to be happy," she affirmed.
The doctor recalled that the priest used to pray to God: "Even if I lose my life, it's okay, because it will be with you and for you."
She stated: "He taught me that I will live just once. So I have to make every moment of my life to be useful to the other. And if it is useful to the other, it will make me happy."
Enwyia works alongside Doctor Basman Gilal Marcos, a Catholic who, through the medical center ministry, came back to practice his faith after being away for 20 years. They serve hundreds of people that come each Friday and Sunday for medicine.
Hank explained that the impact of Catholics in that area comes from the schools, hospitals and services they provide. "Even in the midst of war they are succeeding," he added.
Father Rayan Atto, a diocesan priest who directs the medical center, tells stories on the video of how Father Ganni has been interceding for the project and aiding with "many miracles."
Compelling stories
As the documentary continues into other episodes, Bishop Jack Ishaak, dean of Babel College in Arbil-Ankowa, explains the rich heritage of the community's 2,000 years of history and the current role of religion in daily life. He and other prelates explore the Chaldean liturgy and its ancient roots in the Jewish rites from Jerusalem.
Episode three reveals how success in Catholic education is being translated into "security" for the future of Christians "living among 25 million Muslims."
The final episode presents testimonies of the Catholics who have been kidnapped or have been victims of crime and religious persecution, and their own explanations of "why they want to stay in their homeland of 2,000 years."
It calls on the global community to help provide opportunities to "enable Christians to shed their refugee status."
Hank noted that this project is "a response to the Church's call for ecumenism and the Holy Father's call to help Christians in the Middle East."
"Because of the wars and the civil violence," he said, "which is constantly shown on the news, people -- Catholics especially -- need to see the picture of Northern Iraq, and to see and hear the stories of Catholics in action."
Father Jean Abou Khalife, founder and director of TV Charity, an apostolate of the Lebanese Maronite Missionaries, took responsibility for producing the video.
The Chaldean Catholic Church, through St. Peter Chaldean Seminary in Arbil, took charge of the content and the directing.
The agenda
Diane explained that the video was "a cooperative effort among the Churches" that they hope will "promote the agenda" of the 2010 Synod of Bishops for the Middle East "through lay means."
She told ZENIT that the documentary's message, as presented by Archbishop Louis Sako of Kirkuk, "mirrors the main points to be discussed in the Synod."
The Chaldean archbishop emphasizes the local Church's need to move from focusing on the past to preparation for the future, to center on identifying its vocation and mission in Northern Iraq today.
This is not something that the Iraqis can do alone, he noted, but it will be possible in communion with the universal Church.
Hank affirmed: "Our job is to raise awareness in the West of the dimensions of the problem, and then generate support for the building of schools, hospitals, clinics and more.
"Iraqi Catholics form a professional class. They have initiative, skills, and the desire to succeed. But the war has left them displaced and unemployed in an economy that cannot absorb their numbers.
"There has to be investment from the outside. The Church will use the Synod to do her part. And we lay need to do ours, which is to cooperate, donate, and sacrifice to help the Catholic community to survive in Iraq."
The first part of the video is currently available for online viewing, but with the completion of the other episodes, expected by the end of the month, a DVD will be produced for distribution.
--- --- ---
On the Net:
Online viewing of first part of An Open Door: www.charityandjustice.org
TV Charity: www.tvcharity.org
To order DVD's email:
- Details
By Antonio Gaspari
ROME, NOV. 5, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Having survived Soviet Communism, Russian Orthodox monasticism now faces the new threat of secularization as it passes through a period of testing that only time can heal.
Father Petr Mescerinov expressed these ideas as he discussed with ZENIT the new and enduring challenges of Russian monasticism. The hegumen (a title similar to abbot) of the St. Daniil Monastery of Moscow was in Italy for a conference on Eastern and Western monasticism.
Father Mescerinov is vice-director of the Center for the Spiritual Formation of Children and Adolescents of the Moscow Patriarchate.
ZENIT: How important is contemplation and action in Eastern monasticism?
Father Mescerinov: I can speak of Russian monasticism. Already from ancient times, by tradition, we have two different monastic ways connected to two Russian saints: St. Nil of Sora and St. Joseph of Volokolamsk. They were contemporaries and argued vehemently, even among themselves.
Those were very profound diatribes, rather complex disputes, and I could summarize thus, briefly, the currents that the two saints advocated: Nil of Sora defended the contemplative dimension, whereas Joseph of Volokolamsk defended the active dimension.
It cannot be said that these two aspects are in contradiction to one another, because in regard to the contemplative dimension, we see its influence also in Russian cultural life, in literature, in the rediscovery of the Church Fathers. On the other hand, if we take St. Joseph Volokolamsk's more active current, more involved with the social [realm], we can observe that with his action he did not intend to replace the state, but remained firm in his adherence to his own contemplative roots.
To conclude, we can say that there is no real contradiction between the two dimensions.
Already St. Macarius the Great said that each monk has his specific vocation, his specific activity; therefore, those who contemplate should not judge those who serve and vice versa, those who serve should not judge those given to the contemplative life, because they are profoundly linked with one another and together constitute the true Christian monastic community.
ZENIT: Who are the martyrs of Russian monasticism? How many are there?
Father Mescerinov: In regard to Russian monasticism, we can speak above all of the new martyrs of the 20th century. Many have been canonized and many others are yet to be canonized, but the massive closure of monasteries in the Soviet age attests that the monks gave their life to defend the monastic ideal.
ZENIT: In face of the rapid and uncontrolled race of modernity, how are Russian monastic communities reacting?
Father Mescerinov: The monastic communities are reacting in two different ways. To answer this question it is necessary to keep in mind that the Russian monastic tradition was violently interrupted during the Soviet period, and because of this, Russian monasticism today is in fact looking for an answer to this question.
For the time being, no answer has been found, so there are two variants: either a radical separation and self-exclusion from the world, which is not the healthy "leaving the world," which was understood in the past when thinking of monasticism, but a maniacal way to protect oneself from the aggression of the world. [And] the second variant is linked to secularization, declaring oneself exteriorly to be a monk, but in reality one is inserted in the course of the secular life of everyone.
This moment of testing has not yet found an answer in the life of the Church. In my personal opinion, I think the community must certainly protect itself from certain phenomena of the modern world, but this protection must happen in a sober, appropriate, healthy and ecclesial way, and not in an asocial way.
ZENIT: What is the reality of these communities today?
Father Mescerinov: The principal tragedy of our ecclesial life today is the absolute lack of community. There are communities that are born in contrast to the position of the Church in a general sense; however, there are no communities as such as a norm of community life.
This is linked no doubt to the Soviet legacy, because in that period every aggregation was regarded with suspicion and in danger of being repressed; in fact, an anti-solidary instinct has been created in the very conscience of many generations of persons.
When people enter the Church today, educated according to this mentality, it is very difficult [for them] to feel and even to understand that it is a Christian community, because any form of aggregation suffers the influence of Soviet collectivism, whereas the Christian community and Soviet collectivism are two things that have nothing to do with one another.
Because of this, Russians today do not have a predisposition to community life, and this is also reflected in monastic life. We do not have true communities and our own monastic communities; we have formally organized monasteries, there are some monks, some individuals alone with a straight and sincere vocation, but they are not able to insert themselves well in the community.
This is no doubt a task for the future, or perhaps our ecclesial and social life has arrived at a point of no return in which it is practically impossible to return to genuine solidarity. But the future will show this.
[Translation by ZENIT]
- Details
Anli Serfontein
Wittenberg, Germany (ENI). The Vatican official responsible for links with other churches has rejected suggestions of a "standstill" in the search for Christian unity.
"There has already been a lot of movement," Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, told Ecumenical News International in Wittenberg, the eastern German town where in 1517, Martin Luther published his 95 Theses, thereby setting in train the breach with the papacy.
"I hope that there can be even more movement for the unity of the Church, the cohesion of Christianity and for common witness," said the cardinal when interviewed on 1 November while attending a ceremony seeking closer ties on the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017.
"We have learned a lot in the last 50 years," noted Kasper, a former professor of theology in Münster and Tübingen, and bishop of Stuttgart in southern Germany from 1989 to 1999. "At the university I spent a lot of time teaching about Martin Luther, and I have learned from that experience too."
Kasper was asked about comments by Wolfgang Huber, who retired at the end of October as Germany's senior Protestant bishop, in which he said the Vatican had created "difficulties" for ecumenical dialogue in the past decade.
"Well we caused each other difficulties," said Kasper, laughing. "Difficulties are always made from both sides. I also wished for more, but one can wish for a lot in life and it does not happen.
"The main point is that we should stay on the ball and should continue," said the cardinal. "Difficulties are sometimes from the one side and sometimes from the other, one should not overrate them. The basics, the direction is right and we should jointly continue the course."
The Wittenberg event followed celebrations in Augsburg the previous day to mark the 10th anniversary of the Lutheran World Federation and the Roman Catholic Church signing an agreement about the doctrine of justification, a central point of contention at the time of the 16th-century Reformation.
Kasper described the 1999 agreement as a "milestone, but also an interim step, and one on which we would like to build". He added, "In the council for promoting Christian unity we are to hold a conference in February to look towards the future together with our ecumenical partners. We want to think together about what the next steps could be."
At the 10th anniversary celebrations in Augsburg, Kasper had described the joint declaration as a sign of the workings of the Holy Spirit. "We cannot be thankful enough for that and for many, many other steps that have been possible since," he said in a sermon at Augsburg Cathedral, the city where the declaration had been signed 10 years earlier.
"The godless complain about the supposed standstill in the ecumenical movement and the miserable moan about what has not yet been achieved, forgetting all that has been given us in the last few years, all that is sheer ingratitude," asserted the cardinal.
In 2006, the Methodist World Council also affirmed the joint declaration.
In remarks during the Augsburg celebrations, the LWF general secretary, the Rev. Ishmael Noko, said in signing the joint declaration, Lutherans and Catholics had "set out a common journey of healing" their memories of mutual condemnation.
"Ten years ago in this city we committed ourselves to a joint ecumenical journey. We did not doubt that we will walk forward together in new ways," said Noko.
"Of course the mutual condemnations of the past remain a part of our history; that cannot be changed. And the painful legacy of our estrangement gives us memories which bear the wounds of our separation," noted the LWF general secretary. "Ten years ago, in this city of Augsburg we said that these memories of separation and hostility would not be the memories of our children."
In Wittenberg, Noko told ENI that the ecumenical movement continues to grow. "The seeds have been sown and it serves no purpose to be suspicious all the time," he said.
ENI featured articles are taken from the full ENI Daily News Service. Subscribe online to the Daily News Service and receive around 1000 full-text articles a year. Unless otherwise stated, ENI featured articles may be re-printed, re-posted, re-produced or placed on Web sites if ENI is noted as the source and there is a link to the ENI Web site www.eni.ch
© 1994 - 2009 Ecumenical News International - www.eni.ch
- Details
"The synod is an important moment in the life of the church and those who are aware of it, who expect something from it, we ask to prayer so the Lord gives the synod's fathers, the 49 of them, His illumination so that the resolutions of the synod are beneficial for our church and so that the people willingly use it for the own benefit and for the benefit of our people," said His Beatitude Lubomyr as he called the faithful to pray for a successful synod. The head of the UGCC substantiated the importance of prayer by stating: "A synod is not a parliament where something is decided with the majority of votes. A synod is a search for the Divine Will by those entrusted to the church - the bishops. Therefore they jointly with prayer search that which is needed for the church."
- US Catholic, Orthodox prelates criticize Cardinal Kasper’s milestone Ravenna document
- Ecumencial Patriarch Received at White House Oval Office
- Archbishop Hilarion’s book “Patriarch Kirill. His Life and World Outlook” Published
- Meeting of Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church Held