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Photo: Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I embrace.
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11.08.2008, [17:02] // UGCC //RISU.ORG.UA
Kyiv — A session of the Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) will be held on 2-9 September in western Ukrainian Lviv. The main theme of the synod will be evangelization. Patriarch Lubomyr (Husar), head of the UGCC, asked for prayers for the meeting’s success. ugcc.org.ua posted the news on 11 August 2008.
“What does evangelization mean?” So said Patriarch Lubomyr in a commentary for the UGCC’s Department of Information. “This means passing on the good news brought by Jesus Christ, that a person regardless of his faults, thanks to the charity and kindness of God, can be saved. Every one of us is a sinner and needs the help of God. It is a great joy to us that from a sinner can develop a child of God. Everyone who has already experienced this blessing should become stronger and share his experience with those who have yet to hear about this. This is evangelization,” explained the head of the UGCC.
Other themes of the synod of the bishops will be questions about the publication of the UGCC catechism, liturgical life, and much time will be devoted to addressing problems of ministry to those who are outside the developed structure of the UGCC.
Patriarch Lubomyr also stated that “the synod is not a parliament where something is decided by the most votes. A synod is a search to find God’s will, entrusted to the leadership of the church, the bishops. That is why they jointly pray and seek that which is necessary for the church.”
The head of the UGCC also thanked everyone who wrote letters expressing their ideas for the main theme of the synod and for taking part in the preparation of the synod.
Source: http://www.ugcc.org.ua/ukr/press-releases/article;7380/
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HEAD OF GEORGIAN CHURCH UPSET THAT ORTHODOX RUSSIANS BOMB ORTHODOX GEORGIANS
Portal-credo.ru, 11 August 2008
Patriarch-Catholicos of all-Georgia Ilya II devoted his Sunday sermon delivered after the Divine Liturgy in the Holy Trinity cathedral of Tbilisi on 10 August to the situation surrounding the military-political crisis in Georgia.
As a Portal-credo.ru correspondent reports, citing the official website of the Georgian patriarchate, the patriarch expressed his concern that Orthodox Russians have bombed Orthodox servants of Georgia, recalling that such aggression has never before been in the history of the two nations.
"Actually, we are confronted by very serious danger, but we are not frightened by this," the patriarch said. "God is with us and the Holy Virgin Mary will protect us, but at the same time one circumstance affects us very deeply; it is that Orthodox Russians are bombing Orthodox servants of Georgia. This is an unprecedented act in the history of relations between our countries."
The head of the Georgian patriarchate called his flock "to intensify prayers for the salvation of God-preserved Georgia." (tr. by PDS, posted 11 August 2008)
Source: http://www.stetson.edu/~psteeves/relnews/0808c.html#17
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GEORGIAN PATRIARCH ILYA II: "WE ARE NOT FIGHTING ANYONE AND WE CONSIDER OSSETIANS OUR BROTHERS"
Portal-credo.ru, 9 August 2008
Catholicos-Patriarch of all-Georgia Ilya II addressed Russia, USA, and European countries with a call to do everything for resolving the conflict in South Ossetia peacefully. This was stated by the head of the official Georgian Orthodox church addressing the flock on the evening of 8 August in the patriarchal "Sameba" (Holy Trinity) cathedral in Tbilisi, IA Novosti-Georgia reports.
"I want to ask big countries like Russia, America, and the European countries that they do everything so that this conflict be resolved peacefully," the catholicos-patriarch declared.
"We are not fighting anyone; we are trying to defend our native land. We have considered them (Ossetians) and we do consider them our brothers and we call them to remain like brothers. This conflict is dangerous. I want to ask the Lord that the Lord would give us strength, spiritual strength firstly, and give us wisdom and love. We ask the Lord that he give us peace and prosperity," Ilya II said.
Earlier on 8 August the Georgian patriarchate issued a statement in which the catholicos-patriarch of all-Georgia called the flock of the Georgian church to intensify prayer for peace.
According to the statement of the patriarchate, daily services for peace should be conducted in all active churches of the Georgian Orthodox church until the cessation of military actions. (tr. by PDS, posted 10 August 2008)
Source: http://www.stetson.edu/~psteeves/relnews/0808b.html#16
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On Tuesday, April 1, 2008, His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew received His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem, together with the senior member of the Holy Synod of the Jerusalem Patriarchate, Metropolitan Vasilios of Caesaria (Palestine) and other clergy. Final details for the implementation of the agreements were completed, with a mutual decision that these communities come under the canonical jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of America. Following the meeting at the Phanar, His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America was directed to proceed with the implementation of the agreements by the creation of a Vicariate for the inclusion of the clergy and communities within the Archdiocese of America. The official name of the Vicariate is: “Vicariate for Palestinian/Jordanian Communities in the USA.”
The clergy and communities of the Vicariate will be directly under the Archbishop of America and will report to the Archdiocese through the Vicar. Through the Archdiocese, all of these clergy and communities will be able to participate in the programs and agencies of SCOBA.
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ORTHODOX BELIEVERS IN UKRAINE DECLINE
Portal-credo.ru, 1 August 2008
The state Committee on Affairs of Nationalities and Religions of Ukraine has noted a decline in the number of believers professing Orthodoxy in the country. This was stated by the chairman of the committee, Professor Alexander Sagan, in an interview with the "Ukraina moloda" newspaper.
"The situation for Orthodoxy in Ukraine really is not very bright. Even if we talk about the number of parishes, it is quietly declining," Alexander Sagan emphasized. He said that in western Ukraine this is connected with the vigorous migration of the population.
Speaking of the situation in eastern Ukraine, Alexander Sagan noted that there the role of protestantism is increasing in its turn. At the same time the chairman of the state committee on religions thinks that the number of registered church societies is substantially distinguished from the real number of believers and that is being used by some politicians for manipulation.
"We have one picture relative to the registration of church societies and another for the real picture of the quantity of believers themselves. This inconsistency permits some 'politicians of the church' to manipulate the figures and deceive people for the achievement of certain goals," he noted.
In Alexander Sagan's opinion, the creation of a single local church in Ukraine also would make manifest the decrease of the number of Orthodox believers. At the same time he noted that today in the world Orthodoxy is "the greatest source of believers for other confessions," but Ukraine still is an exception to this rule. (tr. by PDS, posted 2 August 2008)
Source: http://www.stetson.edu/~psteeves/relnews
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Damascus, Aug. 1, 2008 (CWNews.com) - A top Islamic leader has issued an invitation for Pope Benedict XVI to visit Syria during the current Pauline year, the Italian Apcom news agency reports.
Sheik Ahmad Badereddine Hassoun, the grand mufti of Syria, told reporters that he hoped the Pope would visit "in the footsteps of St. Paul." He volunteered to travel to Rome to help the Pontiff prepare for such a trip.
The Vatican acknowledged the invitation without making any commitment. Father Federico Lombardi, the director of the Vatican press office, observed that the invitation was a sign of warm relations between the Holy See and Syria's Islamic leadership.
The Syrian grand mufti has not always been so cordial in his attitude toward Pope Benedict. Following the Pope's Regensburg lecture, Hassoun said that the text revealed the Pope's "ugliness and extremism."
More recently, however, Hassoun joined the other Islamic officials in the "Common Word" initiative designed to encourage talks between Catholic and Islamic leaders. The first session of those talks is now scheduled to take place in Rome in November.