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Last Updated: 24 June 2016

CWN - Meeting with Chaldean Catholic priests in Ankawa, a city in Iraqi Kurdistan to which thousands of Christians fled two years ago, Patriarch Louis Raphael I Sako called upon priests to live simply and to accompany their suffering people.

“Let us learn from Pope Francis’s experience in simplicity, humility and warmth of love to reveal the face” of Christ, the patriarch said, as he praised the priests for remaining in Iraq rather than emigrating.

“Let us follow the Pope’s example in serving Jesus with a new way of thinking and approaching as well as an ongoing search for new things to serve our brothers and offer assistance to them due to their poverty, worries and suffering so that our church can witness the love, mercy and resurrection of Christ forever,” he continued.

The patriarch also asked priests to embrace liturgical changes:

I believe that updating of liturgy helps the faithful understand and apply it on their daily life, especially [since] our liturgy is mostly dated back to the seventh and eighth centuries A.D. Thus, liturgy has not to be limited to one particular text only and it is not right to say that [a] “liturgical text cannot be touched or translated.” Such [a] mentality is intolerant and not in line with the Gospel: “the Sabbath was made for a man.”

References:

• Meeting of the Chaldean Priests 20 – 21 June 2016, Ankawa, Erbil (Chaldean Patriarchate of Babylon)

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Last Updated: 24 June 2016

CWN - Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople celebrated the Divine Liturgy of Pentecost on June 19 to open the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church.

In recent weeks, four of 14 autocephalous Orthodox churches chose not to send delegations to the council.

“Our Orthodox Church has the supreme gift and blessing of possessing the treasure of truth and preserving intact the gift of the All-Holy Spirit, which 'has filled the whole world' (Wis. 1:7), and it is obliged to give the contemporary world a testimony of love and unity, and to reveal the hidden hope that lies within it,” he preached at the Cathedral of St. Minas in Heraklion, Crete.

“Regardless of our different opinions, we Orthodox Christians ought to point out that the only road on our course in this world is unity,” he continued. “Of course, this road demands a living sacrifice, much work, and is achieved after great struggle. It is certain that this Council of ours will contribute towards this direction by creating a climate of mutual trust and understanding through our meeting in the Holy Spirit and through an edifying and sincere dialogue.”

References:

• Documents and addresses (Holy and Great Council)

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Last Updated: 24 June 2016

CWN - Syrian Orthodox Patriarch Ignatius Efrem II Karim of Damascus survived an attack by a suicide bomber on June 19, but at least four people (including the bomber) were killed by the explosion.

The attack took place as the Syrian prelate was leading a remembrance ceremony for the victims of the genocidal Turkish campaign against Armenian and Assyrian Christians. The bomb exploded just outside the church in Qamishi, Syria, where the Patriarch blessed a memorial for the genocide victims. 

Responsibility for the attack has not yet been established, but suspicions point toward the Islamic State.

References:

• Qamishli, Syrian Orthodox Patriarch Ephrem II escapes a suicide attack (AsiaNews)

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Last Updated: 24 June 2016

CWN - Following his June 19 Angelus address, Pope Francis recalled that the day was Pentecost Sunday on the Julian calendar and prayed for the pan-Orthodox council as it began in Crete.

“Let us unite ourselves in prayer with our Orthodox brothers, invoking the Holy Spirit, that he assists with his gifts the patriarchs, archbishops and bishops who are gathered in Council,” the Pope said, as he asked those present in St. Peter’s Square to pray a Hail Mary for all Orthodox Christians.

The Pope also recalled that June 20 is the UN’s World Refugee Day.

Refugees “are people just like us, but war has taken from them their houses, work, relatives and friends,” he said.

“Their stories and their faces call us to renew our efforts to build peace and justice,” he continued. “We want to be with them, encounter them, receive them, so as to become again artisans of peace, according to the will of God.”

References:

• Angelus Domini - 2016.06.19 (YouTube Vatican)
• Le parole del Papa alla recita dell’Angelus (Holy See Press Office)
• Angelus: On Our Answer to ‘Who Do You Say That I Am?’ (Zenit)

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Last Updated: 24 June 2016

risu.org.ua - (Kyyiv) Ukrainian Parliamentarians asked Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I to issue a decree granting autocephalous status to the Orthodox Church in Ukraine and to recognize invalid the act of 1686, by which Moscow annexed Kyiv Metropolis from the jurisdiction of Constantinople.

The Parliament voted in favor of the appeal to the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I requesting to grant autocephaly (independence) to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Decree No. 4793 was voted for by 245 MPs, against – by 20, 1 MP abstained, 66 did not vote.

Ukrainian Parliament appealed to the Ecumenical Patriarch asking him as follows:

• to recognize invalid the act in 1686 as the one adopted in violation of the sacred canons of the Orthodox Church;

• to take an active part in overcoming  the church schism by convening Ukrainian unification council under the auspices of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which would solve all controversial issues and unite the Ukrainian Orthodox Church;

• for the benefit of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine and the integrity of the Ukrainian nation, to issue the Tomos granting autocephaly to the Orthodox Church in Ukraine, under which it can take its rightful place in the family of Local Orthodox Churches.

The initiators of the draft resolution are Speaker of Parliament Andriy Parubiy, head of the Parliamentary Committee on Culture and Spirituality Mykola Knyazhytskyy, MPs Serhiy Vysotskyy, Andriy Levus and Victor Yelenskyy (“People's Front” faction) and Maria Matios (Petro Poroshenko Bloc).

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Last Updated: 24 June 2016

CWN - Syrian President Bashar Assad has met with the leaders of the Syriac Catholic Church, and announced that he plans a new constitution that will ensure the rights of religious minorities, the Fides news service reports.

Assad met with Syriac Patriarch Ignace Youssif III and six bishops, briefing them on his plans for the new constitution. He said that he intends to make it a thoroughly secular document, removing all references to religion. He also mentioned his determination to resist aggression by the Islamic State, and said that all players in the Middle East should oppose the jihadist ideology. 

References:

• Assad receives the Patriarch and six Syrian Catholic Bishops: "the President is planning a totally new secular Constitution" (Fides)