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Last Updated: 14 December 2017

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.”

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Last Updated: 10 December 2017

To His Holiness Bartholomew
Archbishop of Constantinople
Ecumenical Patriarch

Though away from Rome on my Pastoral Visit to Myanmar and Bangladesh, I wish to extend my fraternal best wishes to Your Holiness and to the members of the Holy Synod, the clergy, the monks, and all the faithful gathered for the Divine Liturgy in the Patriarchal Church of Saint George for the liturgical commemoration of Saint Andrew the Apostle, brother of Simon Peter and first-called of the Apostles, the patron saint of the Church of Constantinople and of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. When the deacon invites those gathered during the Divine Liturgy to pray “for those who travel by land, sea, and air”, I ask you, please, to pray also for me.

The Delegation I have sent is a sign of my spiritual solidarity with your prayer of thanksgiving and praise for all that our Almighty and Merciful God has accomplished through the witness of the Apostle Andrew. In like manner, the Delegation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate welcomed in Rome last June demonstrated its spiritual closeness to us as we celebrated the wonderful deeds that God, the source of all good, accomplished through the Apostles Peter and Paul, patron saints of the Church of Rome.

The Apostles proclaimed to the ends of the earth, through their words and the sacrifice of their lives, what they themselves had seen, heard and experienced - the Word of Life, our Lord Jesus Christ, who died and rose for our salvation. Making our own this proclamation enables us to enter into communion with the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit, which is the very foundation of the communion that already unites those baptized in the name of the Most Holy Trinity (cf. 1Jn 1:1-3). Catholics and Orthodox, by professing together the dogmas of the first seven Ecumenical Councils, by believing in the efficacy of the Eucharist and the other sacraments, and by preserving the apostolic succession of the ministry of bishops, experience already a profound closeness with one another (cf. Unitatis Redintegratio, 15). Today, in thanksgiving to the God of love, in obedience to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ and in fidelity to the teaching of the Apostles, we recognize how urgent it is to grow towards full and visible communion.

It is a source of joy to learn that on the eve of the feast of Saint Andrew, during a meeting attended by Your Holiness, the fiftieth anniversary of the visit of Pope Paul VI to the Phanar on 25 July 1967 was commemorated. That historic moment of communion between the Pastors of the Church of Rome and the Church of Constantinople brings to mind the words of Patriarch Athenagoras in welcoming Pope Paul VI to the Patriarchal Church of Saint George, where you are gathered today. I believe that these words can continue to inspire the dialogue between our Churches: “Let us join together what was divided, wherever this is possible, by deeds in which both Churches are involved, giving added strength to the matters of faith and canonical discipline which we have in common. Let us conduct the theological dialogue according to the principle [of] full community in the fundamentals of the faith, liberty both in theological thought, where this is pious and edifying and inspired by the main body of the Fathers, and in variety of local customs, as was favoured by the Church from the beginning” (Tomos Agapis, Vatican-Phanar (1958-1970), pp. 382-383).

I offer my heartfelt gratitude to Your Holiness for the generous and warm hospitality extended by the Metropolis of Leros of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, under the pastoral care of His Eminence Paisios, to the members of the Coordinating Committee of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church. I wish to encourage anew this theological dialogue. The consensus reached by Catholics and Orthodox on certain fundamental theological principles regulating the relationship between primacy and synodality in the life of the Church in the first millennium can serve to evaluate, even critically, some theological categories and practices which evolved during the second millennium in conformity with those principles. Such consensus may enable us to envisage a common way of understanding the exercise of the ministry of the Bishop of Rome, in the context of synodality and at the service of the communion of the Church in the present context. This sensitive task needs to be pursued in an atmosphere of mutual openness and, above all, in obedience to the demands that the Holy Spirit makes of the Church.

Your Holiness, beloved brother in Christ, in recent months I have followed with great interest your participation in significant international events held throughout the world regarding the care of creation, peaceful coexistence among peoples of different cultures and religious traditions, and the presence of Christians in the Middle East. Your Holiness’s commitment is a source of inspiration, support and encouragement for me personally for, as you well know, we share these same concerns. It is my fervent hope that Catholics and Orthodox may promote joint initiatives at the local level with regard to these issues, for there are many contexts in which Orthodox and Catholics can already work together without waiting for the day of full and visible communion.

With the assurance of my continued remembrance in prayer, it is with sentiments of warm affection that I exchange with Your Holiness a fraternal embrace of peace.

FRANCIS

http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2017/11/30/0847/01832.html 

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Last Updated: 10 December 2017

By Peter Bugdon (catholicleader.com.au) - A little over a year after arriving in Brisbane as a refugee, Murhaf Obeid has become a sub-deacon of the Melkite Catholic Church.

Eparch of the Melkite Eparchy of Australia and New Zealand Bishop Robert Rabbat ordained Mr Obeid at St Clement’s Church, South Brisbane, on November 24, a few days before the man from Syria turned 37.

Mr Obeid’s wife Rim and their two sons – Michel, 4, and Marc, 18 months – were among those celebrating with him along with St Clement’s parish priest Fr Elie Francis, parishioners and friends.

Bishop Rabbat, at the end of Vespers for the feast of St Clement and after the ordination, said it was “a great pleasure” to ordain Mr Obeid.

“We hope and pray that soon, by God’s grace, he will be going to higher and higher ordination, according to God’s will,” he said.

That would mean possible ordination to the diaconate and then priesthood.

Originally from Homs, in Syria, Murhaf entered the St Paul Convent, a monastery of the Missionaries of Saint Paul in Harissa, Lebanon, intending to become a monk.

He studied philosophy and theology there from 2001 to 2009, and that provided a foundation for his latest commitment as a sub-deacon.

Mr Obeid had returned to Syria from Lebanon after leaving the monastery, and he and Rim were married there in 2011.

They were among thousands of people forced to flee their homeland in the wake of ISIS’ brutal takeover, and Australia later accepted them, from Lebanon, as refugees.

The good news keeps coming with Mr Obeid’s ordination.

“I feel like I am part of the body of the Church more than before, and the Church became like a home more and more,” he said following the ceremony.

An accomplished artist and iconographer, Mr Obeid said he would continue to serve in the Melkite chorus at St Clement’s and write Church icons.

He said, as a sub-deacon, he may sometimes give talks to children, youth or elders in the parish.

“I think the main idea about my life now is that I will be like a servant in God’s house, the Church,” Mr Obeid said.

He will continue to work as an administrator with jobactive, a government agency “connecting job seekers with employers” through a network of jobactive providers.

His job is part of a traineeship which finishes in February but his manager has told Mr Obeid he would have a full-time position after that as a consultant to job seekers who speak Arabic.

To improve his prospects, Mr Obeid hopes to complete a Diploma in Community Service.

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Last Updated: 10 December 2017

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Last Updated: 24 November 2017

UNIONTOWN, PA. - Early in the morning of Sunday, Nov. 19, 2017, Sister Rita (Florence) Keshock fell asleep in the Lord at Mt. Macrina Manor. While the community was praying Matins on Sunday, commemorating the Resurrection, she surely met her Risen Lord with joy and gladness.

Sister Rita, the daughter of the late Michael and Sophia (Backus) Keshock, was born in Campbell. She entered the Sisters of St. Basil the Great from St. Nicholas Byzantine Catholic Church in Youngstown on June 12, 1947, and made her final profession of vows on Aug. 28, 1953.

Sister Rita spent half of her religious life in the ministry of education, for which she was well prepared, having earned both a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Education. The remainder of her years in ministry were spent in the world of art as a painter, a calligrapher, a crafter and an etcher. She became known for her ornate eggs etched with icons which were exhibited throughout the country.

Sister Rita was preceded in death by her parents; her sisters, Mary Louise and Alice (Kuzmack); and her brother, Edward.

She is survived by her brothers, John (Katherine), Robert (Kathryn) and Charles (Joann); her sister-in-law, Mary Jo; and several nieces and nephews.

Relatives and friends will be received at the Monastery Chapel in Uniontown on Friday, Nov. 24, from 3:30 to the time of the Parastas Service which will be sung at 7:00 p.m. The Funeral Divine Liturgy will be celebrated on Saturday, Nov. 25, at 10:30 a.m. in the Monastery Chapel by Archbishop William C. Skurla.

Interment will follow in the Dormition Section of Mount Macrina Cemetery.

Eternal Memory!

Link: http://www.vindy.com/news/tributes/2017/nov/23/sister-rita-florence-keshock-osb/

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Last Updated: 18 November 2017

risu.org.ua - On November 10, 2017 in Lithuania, began solemnities on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of establishing the Basilian order of St. Josaphat, in which participates His Beatitude Sviatoslav, the Primate of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.

In the frames of the event, His Beatitude Sviatoslav met with the first vice speaker of the Seimas of the Lithuanian Republic Rima Bashkienie. In the meeting took part, in particular, vice-speaker of the Seimas of the LR Arvidas Nekroshius, the head of the Committee on social protection and employment Algirdas Sisas, the head of the Committee on security and defense Vitautas Bakas, the deputy head of the Committee on international affairs Egidiyus Varejkis, a member of the Committee on international affairs, the head of the subcommittee on transatlantic relations and democratic development Zhygimantas Pavilionis. In the meeting also took part the Ambassador of Ukraine to the LR Volodymyr Yatsenkivsky, lithuania.mfa.gov.ua informs.

During the meeting the sides noted the high level of the mutual relations in various spheres, their important historical basis. His Beatitude Sviatoslav expressed gratitude to the Lithuanian side for supporting Ukraine, he informed about goals of development of the UGCC in Ukraine and the whole world. The Lithuanian side, in particular, expressed readiness to further support our state.

On that day, on the occasion of the Jubilee year of the 400th anniversary of the Basilian order, in the Lithuanian state historical archive took place the solemn opening of the exhibition of the historic documents from the history of the Order, which co-organizer was the Embassy of Ukraine to the LR. This event drew the attention of the public; it was attended by the representatives of the UGCC delegation, headed by His Beatitude Sviatoslav, the Minister of culture of the LR Liana Ruokitie-Yonson, Ambassador of Ukraine to the LR with his wife, representatives of the Embassy of Ukraine to the LR, Ukrainian community of Lithuania, diplomats, accredited in Lithuania, researchers, leading local media.

On that day in the Embassy of Ukraine to the LR took place a friendly meeting of the UGCC delegation, representatives of the Ukrainian Embassy, accredited in Lithuania, Ukrainian community of Lithuania with the representatives of the Lithuanian society.