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Photo: Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I embrace.
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BAGHDAD, Iraq, JAN. 7, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Iraq's only faculty of Christian theology and a seminary have moved out of Baghdad for security reasons.
Babel College and St. Peter's Major Seminary departed for Ankawa, in the Kurdish region of Iraq.
Patriarch Emmanuel III Delly of Babylon of the Chaldeans told Vatican Radio: "We have thought of the move for a long time: to go to a tranquil place to be able to study better. When the situation is calmer, they will return to their site."
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Report by Georgiy Ilyichev and Boris Kliin on poll conducted by Izvestiya and VTsIOM: "Can One Only Believe in Russia?"
Izvestiya and VTsIOM (All-Russia Center for the Study of Public Opinion) found out what gods we pray to.
In late 2006, only 15 years after the collapse of the atheistic Soviet Union, 84% of Russia's citizens believe in God. Sixty-three percent of our fellow-citizens call themselves Russian Orthodox, 6% -- Muslims, 1% each -- Catholics and Buddhists, and followers of other traditional faiths even less; while 16% of the country's population listed themselves as staunch atheists. These figures, which will appear today on the news agency tapes, are the result of a joint project by Izvestiya and the All-Russia Center for the Study of Public Opinion (VTsIOM). But to us it was not the quantitative indicators that were more important, especially since people by no means always tell sociologists the whole truth; it was the attempt to figure out what role faith in God plays in our society's life today. Is a Russian return to church really occurring and where might it lead us?
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They hate him who reproves in the gate, and they abhor him who speaks the truth. (Amos 5:10)
December 31, 2006
Prot. N. 181
To the Very Reverend Protopresbyters, the Very Reverend and Reverend Clergy and Beloved Faithful of the Diocese:
In the day of the Prophet Amos, the Vision of God’s Will was met with ridicule and dismissal. No one in society wanted to hear that God’s Law was being broken and that His Justice was being ignored. The poor were being abused and taken advantage of. The powerless and the weak were trampled on for the sake of a materialistic society.
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December 2006 / January 2007
Prot. N. 180
To the Very Reverend Protopresbyters, the Very Reverend and Reverend Fathers, and the Beloved Faithful of this God-saved Diocese:
Christ is Born! Glorify Him!
Christos Radajetsja! Slavite Jeho!
And while they were there, the time came for her to be delivered (Luke 2:6)
Dear Fathers and Faithful:
We greet each other today with the greatest and deepest of words: "Christ is Born!" And we respond with "Glorify Him!" It is the only possible response that wells up from the hearts of those who can hear the glory of the angels and the peace that God has given to earth.
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VATICAN CITY, JAN 2, 2007 (VIS) - Major Archbishop Cyril Mar Baselios Malancharuvil O.I.C. of Trivandrum of the Syro-Malankars, India, with the consent of the Synod of Bishops and after having consulted the Apostolic See, erected, in accordance with canon 85, para. 1, of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, the eparchy of Mavelikara of the Syro-Malankars (population 2,998,325, Catholics 30,825, priests 75, religious 105), India, with territory taken from Trivandrum of the Syro-Malankars, making it a suffragan of the same metropolitan archieparchy.
Major Archbishop Cyril Mar Baselios Malancharuvil O.I.C. of Trivandrum of the Syro-Malankars, with the consent of the Synod of Bishops and after having consulted the Apostolic See, transferred, in accordance with canon 85, para. 2, of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, Bishop Joshuah Mar Ignathios Kizhakkeveettil, auxiliary of Trivandrum of the Syro-Malankars, to the office of first bishop of Mavelikara of the Syro-Malankars.
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Christmas Pastoral Letter of the Apostolic Visitor to the Ukrainian Greek-Catholics in Spain, Italy, and Ireland
Today all things are filled with joy:
Christ is born of the Virgin. (Orthros of the Nativity)
Christ is Born! Give ye glory!
Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ!
Joy is the distinguishing characteristic of the Nativity of Christ. The Angel of the Lord announced to the shepherds: Behold, I tell you a great joy! (Luke 2:10). The Church’s hymns and liturgical chants summon everyone to joy with the Good News: Let heaven and earth make glad today prophetically, angels and men, let us keep spiritual feast! (The Litany, Grand Compline, first sticheron). Those whom God has sent reveal the reason for joy: Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior (Luke 2:11). In very truth Our Savior, the Dayspring from the East, has visited us from on high. (Exaposteilarion, Orthros of the Nativity). The consequences of this joy reach far beyond Bethlehem: Every error of idolatry has ceased, and Christ reigns unto all ages (The Litany, Grand Compline, Theotokion). Salvation has come to the peoples.