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Photo: Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I embrace.
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CWN - Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has written a message to the Orthodox faithful on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of his accession to the See of Constantinople.
The 76-year-old prelate, who holds a primacy of honor in Eastern Orthodoxy, recalled the recent Orthodox synod in Crete and said that all of the Orthodox churches—even those that did not send representatives—were bound to accept its decisions.
Praying for the Middle East’s persecuted Christians as well as for refugees, the Ecumenical Patriarch also recalled his visit with Pope Francis at the Greek island of Lesbos earlier this year.
The Ecumenical Patriarch also lamented the widening gap between rich and poor and decried environmental damage, calling for a “radical change of mentality, the transition from a possessive and consumerist state to a Eucharistic and ascetic use of creation.”
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In city liberated from Islamic State, Iraqi bishop celebrates first Divine Liturgy in over two years
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CWN - Syrian Catholic Archbishop Youhanna Petros Mouche of Mosul presided at a Mass in Qaragosh, Iraq, on October 30—the first time that Mass had been celebrated in the city sine the Islamic State seized the region two years ago.
As an international force nears Mosul, Qaragosh was liberated from the Islamic State last week, and returning Christians found the cathedral of the Immaculate Conception largely intact—although pews had been overturned, graffiti scrawled across the walls, and fires damaged the interior. The archbishop told the AsiaNews service that the cathedral was a vital symbol of the people of Qaragosh. “If we had not found it as it is now—if it had really been destroyed—the Qaragosh people would not want to return,” he said.
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CWN - Authorities in Crimea have decided to exclude Byzantine-Ukrainian Catholics from a state religious council, the AsiaNews service reports.
Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014, has issued new regulations for religious organizations, closely resembling Russian policies. The regulations allow for state recognition of “traditional” religions, including Orthodox Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. However, the policy has been clarified to exclude Ukrainian Catholics. Also excluded are Ukrainian Orthodox churches that are not recognized by the Moscow patriarchate.
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Damascus, 19 October 2016
“O Lord, give peace to our country.”
With this prayer, we concluded the autumn session of our Assembly of Catholic Hierarchy in Syria, which took place at the Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarchate in Damascus.
We studied the situation of our eparchies, and especially, ways of promoting our presence and role, as well as ensuring the service of our people in the tragic situation that we have been experiencing for the last five and a half years.
The participants presented reports on the state of their work in the various committees dealing with the Church’s life and mission in Syria, including: justice and peace, mutual welfare (Caritas Syria), Christian education, ecumenical relations, religious orders, Bible, interfaith dialogue, media, youth, family and canon law.
From Damascus, we wanted to greet Aleppo, which is greatly suffering. It had been decided to hold the meeting of our assembly there, but the security situation prevented us from doing that. As Church pastors, we express our love for Aleppo and our solidarity with its people. We pray for Aleppo’s ordeal to end and for peace and security to reign there, as has been the case elsewhere, in Homs and its countryside, in Ma’alula and most recently in Daraya, and for reconciliation to be built up in all regions of our beloved Syria. We also pray for peace to reign in Syria and throughout the world.
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CWN - As an international military offensive moves toward Mosul, liberating towns from the hold of the Islamic State, Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Raphael I Sako has visited towns on the Nineveh Plains, and seen the destruction and desecration of Christian churches.
The Chaldean prelate said that he is hopeful Christian refugees who fled from the Islamic State will soon return to their homes in the region—which he described as “our holy land.” He said that religious leaders of all denominations should join in building a “culture of peace and harmonious coexistence.”
Speaking from New York, another Iraqi prelate said that it may take a year before Christians are able to settle once again into their old homes in and around Mosul. Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil said that refugees will face enormous challenges as they labor to rebuild their communities.
Archbishop Warda said that in his own archdiocese, about 80% of the Christian population want to remain, despite the threats to their security. But he vowed that even if many more families leave, the Church will continue to serve those who remains, and “there will always be Christians in Iraq.”
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aquinas.scranton.edu | Sara Myers | Faith Editor
University professors and visiting priests will host Byzantine divine liturgies weekly in the Byzantine chapel in Ciszek Hall starting on Nov. 7. Since it was built in 1988 and until last year, there were at least weekly Byzantine liturgies in the chapel in Ciszek Hall.
The Rev. Thomas Sable, S.J., a former theology professor, retired from The University last year. Prior to his retirement, Sable, a biritual priest had been celebrating the divine liturgy each week in the chapel.
This year, some interested professors and students, including Steven T. Dougherty, Ph.D. of the math department and Patrick Clark, Ph.D. of the theology department, decided to start the liturgies up again. After contacting priests in the community and with the support of Campus Ministries, they were able to make arrangements so that every Monday at 6:30 p.m. liturgies can be celebrated in Ciszek Hall. The main focus of the liturgies, Clark explained, is the students.
“We are focusing it toward the students — those who are of that tradition and those who would like to learn more about it,” Clark said.
Read More | Related Article on Walter Ciszek: Chained, but Free: How Walter Ciszek gained spiritual liberation in Lubyanka prison by John Levko, S.J. (2013)