News
Byzcath.org News provides news focusing on the Christian East from varous sources and offers links to other sites dedicated to providing the news about the Church.
Churches and organizations that provide news about the Eastern Churches are invited to submit their news stories to us for publication here (use the contact page for submission)..
Materials from the Vatican Information Service, Zenit, CWNews.com and other sources are published here with permission of their owners but may not be republished further without the permission of their original publishers. Please visit these sites to obtain additional general news about the Church. In addition to these sources EWTN News also provides a good general news summary.
Photo: Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I embrace.
- Details
risu.org.ua - Pope Francis gave a lengthy press conference on the flight back from Mexico to Rome on Thursday, among others sharing thoughts on the Church in Ukraine and Patriach Sviatoslav reaction on the joint declaration signed in Cuba.
Pope said he understood these fears, expressed by Greek Catholic Archbishop Sviatoslav Schevchuk, adding that he is entitled to his own ideas regarding the conflict in Ukraine. It’s important to take the comments in context, the Pope insists, since Archbishop Schevchuk also describes the encounter as “a good thing” which he hopes will lead to further dialogue.
Please find the full translation of the Holy Father's answer about the meeting and the Ukrainian Catholics reaction:
- Details
CWN - The Russian Orthodox Patriarchate of Moscow has renewed its sharp criticism of the Byzantine-rite Ukrainian Catholic Church, after a brief lull during the "summit meeting" between Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill.
Metropolitan Hilarion, who heads the external-relations department of the Moscow patriarchate, objected strongly to the interview in which Ukrainian Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk had voiced his misgivings about the joint statement issued by the Pope and the Patriarch. The Ukrainian prelate's statements were "very negative, very insulting not only to our side, but also to the Pope," the Russian Church spokesman said.
"They have their own politicized agenda," Metropolitan Hilarion said of the Ukrainian Catholics; "and even the Pope is not an authority to them."
The Moscow Church spokesman stressed that the statement issued by Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill had emphasized reconciliation, but-- he charged-- the Ukrainian Catholic Church persists in rousing conflict. "Their rhetoric is aggressive, hostile, and loose," he said.
References:
- Details
CWN - Patriarch Kirill of Moscow visited an Antarctic Russian Orthodox church on February 17 to pray for deceased explorers and bless holy water.
Consecrated in 2004, Holy Trinity Church, located at Bellingshausen Station on King George Island, is the only permanent Antarctic church.
“Holy water is an example of union of things physical and earthly with things divine,” the patriarch preached. “However, the union of the divine and the human also takes place in the life of every person. And if it does not happen, if there is no composition of divine and human powers, then you suffer too and your efforts turn out abortive.”
References:
- Details
CWN - A bishop in Syria’s largest city has lamented the killing of civilians by “moderate” Syrian rebels and said that Syrian government forces, backed by Russia, are liberating parts of the city.
Bishop Georges Abou Khazen, the apostolic vicar for Aleppo’s Latin-rite Catholics, said that there has been “continuous bombardment of civilians” by “groups that are called the ‘moderate opposition’” but “do not differ from the other jihadists (Islamic State and al-Nusra) other than by name,” according to Vatican Radio.
In some parts of the city, the Assad government’s “regular army is advancing with the help of the Russians, and in the liberated areas the operation of water and electricity is beginning again, the schools reopen.”
References:
- Details
CWN - The head of the Russian Orthodox Church said that Russia and other nations should work together to combat terrorism in Syria.
“This is a common problem for the whole humanity, and therefore the response to this challenge must be coordinated, coherent and joint,” said Patriarch Kirill, according to a Russian government-owned Sputnik news agency. “Syria, and all that is going on around Syria should not be a place of potential conflict between the West and the East.”
The patriarch made his remarks on February 17 while making a pastoral visit to Paraguay.
References:
- Details
Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch Gregorios III of Antioch and All the East, of Alexandria and of Jerusalem, President of the Assembly of Catholic Hierarchs in Syria, has launched a prayer appeal to obtain Divine Mercy for the people of Syria as they walk the way of the cross and to accompany the international efforts for peace in Syria, Iraq and Palestine.
This service will be held on 18 February 2016 at 6p.m., mainly in the Melkite Greek Catholic patriarchal cathedral of Damascus, with the participation of the leaders of the various Christian denominations and communities, in the presence of Archbishop Mario Zenari, Apostolic Nuncio to Syria and Mgr Stanisław Gądecki, Archbishop of Poznań and President of the Polish Episcopal Conference, who is currently visiting Syria to pray with the Syrian people.