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Last Updated: 24 February 2016

CWN - Numerous Coptic Orthodox bishops and clergy gathered in Samalut, Egypt, on February 16 to mark the anniversary of the beheading of 21 Christians who had been abducted by the Islamic State militants in Libya.

The Christians, who died with the name of Jesus on their lips, are venerated as martyrs in the Coptic Orthodox Church.

References:

• The Coptic Church celebrates the 21 "martyrs of Libya" a year after their massacre (Fides)
• The Diocese of Samalot is preparing to celebrate the first anniversary of the martyrdom of 21 Copts in Libya (Fides)
• Egypt Church Marks 1st Anniversary of Beheading of 21 Christians (BosNewsLife)
• Pope prays for Christians slain in Libya (CWN, 2/17/15)

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Last Updated: 24 February 2016

CWN - Two days after he met with Pope Francis, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow described their encounter as “an event of great significance for the history of Christendom.”

Preaching at Our Lady of Kazan Orthodox Cathedral in Havana, Patriarch Kirill said on February 14 that “I had a meeting, brotherly, open and full of love, with the Bishop of Rome, Pope Francis. For all still existing theological differences between the Orthodox Christians in the East and Catholic Christians in the West, we are well aware today of our shared responsibility for what is going on with people.”

He added:

What we are responsible for is, certainly, the preservation of peace on our planet, so that people, despite their political, economic and other differences, may learn to live in peace, so that pursuing foreign policy goals may not lead to the use of force in order to gain victory. This is an ideal world, an ideal image, of course. Yet, if there is no ideal, there is no goal either. That is why, acting together, we called on the whole of Christendom and the whole world to pursue this goal. We cherish the hope that the world will hear us.

References:

• Primate of Russian Orthodox Church Celebrates Liturgy at the Church of Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in Havana (Moscow Patriarchate)

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Last Updated: 24 February 2016

CWN - An Iraqi prelate whose see was taken over by the Islamic State in 2014 told a recent pro-life gathering in Jerusalem that “our diocese is at its end.”

Archbishop Youhanna Boutros Moshe, the Syriac Catholic archbishop of Mosul, said that “ISIS no longer recognizes any dignity of the human being, because for them the value of life is zero, comparable to that of a cow or a pack of cigarettes.”

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem reported that Archbishop Moshe “concluded by addressing Pope Francis, begging him to have compassion for the Iraqi Christians who ‘lost everything, except their faith and moral values … we are in great danger, our diocese is at its end, and with it the whole [Syriac] church, one of the most ancient churches of Christianity.’”

References:

• Symposium at Notre Dame: “Human Life is sacred, precious and inviolable” (Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem)

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Last Updated: 24 March 2016

CWN - In a lengthy interview, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) said that the joint declaration of Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill showed two parties operating on “completely different planes … pursuing different goals.”

Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the head of the largest of the Eastern Catholic churches in full communion with the Holy See, warned against criticism of Pope Francis: "I found myself experiencing authentic admiration, respect, and a certain reverential awe for the humility of Pope Francis, a true “suffering servant of God,” who seeks one thing: to bear witness to the Gospel of Christ before humankind today, to be in the world, but remain of Christ, to have courage to be “not of this world.” Thus, I would invite all not to rush in judging him, not to remain on the reality level of those who expect only politics from this meeting and want to exploit a humble pope for their human plans at all costs. If we don’t enter into the spiritual reality of the Holy Father and do not discern together with him the action of the Holy Spirit, we shall remain imprisoned by the prince of this world and his followers."

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Last Updated: 24 February 2016

risu.org.ua - Rev Peter Galadza, Acting Director and Kule Family Professor of Liturgy Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies (Ottawa) commented on joint statement signed in Havana:

"The inability to get any kind of reference in the joint statement to foreign aggression in Ukraine is a major flaw in an otherwise decent statement - Ukrainians worldwide will be very disappointed. And Antonii Pakanych's (metripolitan of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate) prominence in the Moscow Patriarchate delegation without anyone even remotely representative of Eastern Catholicism (not to mention Ukr. Gr. Catholicism) is also very unfortunate."

On February 5 Rev Galadza signed a statement of the Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies Regarding the Meeting of Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow in Cuba

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Last Updated: 24 February 2016

risu.org.ua - The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father and the fellowship of the holy Spirit be with all of you” (2 Cor 13:13).

1. By God the Father’s will, from which all gifts come, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the help of the Holy Spirit Consolator, we, Pope Francis and Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, have met today in Havana. We give thanks to God, glorified in the Trinity, for this meeting, the first in history.

It is with joy that we have met like brothers in the Christian faith who encounter one another “to speak face to face” (2 Jn 12), from heart to heart, to discuss the mutual relations between the  Churches, the crucial problems of our faithful, and the outlook for the progress of human civilization.

2. Our fraternal meeting has taken place in Cuba, at the crossroads of North and South, East and West. It is from this island, the symbol of the hopes of the “New World” and the dramatic events of the history of the twentieth century, that we address our words to all the peoples of Latin America and of the other continents.