On May 14, 2025, on the occasion of the Feast of the Blessing of the Virgin Mary on the Crops (15 May), is Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, Supreme Head of the Syriac Orthodox Church of the World, and Honorary President of the Middle East Council of Churches celebrated the Holy Qurobo at St. Mary Church in Damascus.

Jn 13:31-33a, 34-35

As Jesus fulfills His mission and returns to the Father, what remains of Him on this earth? What plant will grow from the seed He planted there?

Who will continue His mission, who makes visible the Kingdom He inaugurated?

We listen to today's Gospel (Jn 13:31-33a,34-35) to try and answer these questions.

On Saturday, May 10, 2025, His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Church, Holy See of Cilicia, and Honorary President of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) welcomed the family of the Birds Nest Orphanage, led by the Director, Very Reverend Father Antranig Kurumlian. The gathering included students, staff members, board members, and representatives from the women’s auxiliary. Additionally, His Grace Bishop Dajad Ashekian, Chancellor of the Catholicosate, was present at the event.

On Monday, May 12, 2025, His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Church, Holy See of Cilicia, and Honorary President of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) visited His Beatitude Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rai, Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and All the East at the Patriarchal residence in Bkerke. The visit was to inquire about the Patriarch’s health following his recent hip surgery, which he underwent due to a fall during the Easter liturgy.

His Holiness Pope Leo XIV welcomes Eastern Catholics to the Vatican for the Jubilee of Eastern Churches, and highlights the need to preserve their traditions and pray for true peace, “which is reconciliation, forgiveness, and the courage to turn the page and start anew."

By Christopher Wells

Pope Leo XIV welcomed Eastern Catholics to the Vatican with the traditional Easter greeting, “Christ is risen! He is truly risen!”

On Tuesday, 13 May 2025, a press conference was held at the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem with His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, in the presence of several bishops and priests. The conference focused on the Cardinal’s experience in the election of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, his first time taking part in a Papal conclave, and a historic moment for the entire Holy Land. Cardinal Pizzaballa responded to questions from journalists, addressing the main concerns discussed in the meetings before the conclave, the role of the Church in world problems, as well as any expectations from the new papacy. You can watch clips from the press conference below: 

On the occasion of the Jubilee of Eastern Churches, His Beatitude Raphael Bedros XXI Minassian, Catholicos Patriarch of Cilicia of the Armenian Catholic Church, and President of the Middle East Council of Churches for the Catholic Family, and presides over the Divine Liturgy in the Armenian Rite at St. Mary Major, and calls for the elimination of hatred in all its forms.

12 May 2025

We wish to express our congratulations to His Holiness Pope Leo XIV on his election, and we hold prayer for his this new important spiritual mission. This is a significant event not just in the life of the Roman Catholic Church, but for the world.

On Saturday, May 10, 2025, His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Church, Holy See of Cilicia, and Honorary President of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), on behalf of the Armenian Church, Holy See of Cilicia, extended cordial congratulations to His Holiness Pope Leo XIV on the occasion of his election as the new Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church.

On Sunday, the 28th of April / 11th of May 2025, the Sunday of the Paralytic, according to the book of the Pentecostarion, His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, conducted a Pastoral visit to the town of Reineh, near the city of Nazareth.

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark prayed the Saturday Liturgy of the third week of the Holy Fifties, marking 40 days since the departure of the Thrice-Blessed H.E. Metropolitan Pakhomious, Metropolitan of the Diocese of Beheira, Matrouh, and the Five Western Cities, and Head of St. Makarious of Alexandria's Monastery in Mount Qalali. The liturgy was held at Saint Mark's Vineyard in Damanhour (the diocese headquarters).

Joining His Holiness were H.E. Metropolitan Paula (Metropolitan of Tanta and Papal Deputy for the Diocese of Beheira and its affiliated regions), along with several metropolitans, bishops, the clergy of the Diocese of Beheira, and monks from St. Makarious' Monastery. Priests and monks from dioceses and monasteries of the See of St Mark, as well as nuns, consecrated women, prominent laity from Beheira, and a large congregation also participated in the prayers.

On May 7 and 8, 2025, the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies (RIIFS) held a conference in Amman, Jordan, titled “Christians in the Arab Levant and the Aspirations of Unity and Enlightenment.” His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Church, Holy See of Cilicia, and Honorary President of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), emphasized the need for religious and cultural tolerance during the opening session in his speech.

On May 10, 2025, His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, Supreme Head of the Syriac Orthodox Church of the World, and Honorary President of the Middle East Council of Churches, celebrated the Holy Qurobo at St. Georges Church in Zahleh on the occasion of the centennial commemoration of its inauguration.

From the General Secretariat of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem

On Saturday, April 27th/May 10th, 2025, the Feast of Saint George the Great Martyr and Trophy-Bearer was celebrated by transference in the Holy Metropolis of Acre—Ptolemais in northern [Israel].

This Feast commenced with the reception of His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, by the Scout Corps. The celebration continued with the Divine Liturgy at the Holy Chuch of the Metropolis, concelebrated by their Eminences, Metropolitan Kyriakos of Nazareth, Metropolitan Isychios of Capitolias, and Archbishop Aristarchos of Constantina, together with priests from the surrounding regions of Acre and Galilee, as well as Hieromonks of the Holy Sepulchre Brotherhood, including Archimandrite Meletios and Archimandrite Christodoulos. The choir of Acre, founded and trained by the late Hegumen Archimandrite Philotheos, chanted the hymns. Present were the President of the Municipal Council of Acre–Ptolemais, Mr. Fuad Brek, and the Ambassador of Greece to [Israel], Mrs. Maria Solomou, along with a devout congregation from the city of Acre and its environs. The Patriarchal Representative of Acre–Ptolemais, Archimandrite Silouanos, hosted the event.

Last night the world celebrated the election of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV. We join our Catholic siblings in the Holy Land and around the world in joy and prayer as we look forward to his ministry.

Pope Leo XIV’s first words to the church and the world from his new position were, “Peace be with you.” We pray that the Holy Spirit will guide him to be a voice for peace and justice in our troubled times, and to remember those on the margins whom Christ never forgot.

A Statement from the Anglican Archbishop in Jerusalem

Today, we received with great joy the news of the election of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV as the Bishop of Rome. We join the Christian world in general—and our brothers and sisters in the Roman Catholic Church in particular—in celebrating the beginning of a new ministry and a new era in the life of the church.

"The Growth of the Church Abroad Comes Through Faithfulness to Church Life and Preservation of Coptic Traditions"

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark prayed the Divine Liturgy for the Feast of St. Mark the Evangelist, Apostle of the Egyptian lands, at the Basilica of the Royal Premonstratensian Monastery in Strahov, located in the Czech capital, Prague. The Liturgy comes as part of His Holiness's current pastoral visit of the Diocese of Central Europe, during which he has already visited Poland, Romania, and Serbia. The Czech Republic marks the fourth stop on this tour.

The Coptic Orthodox Church and its Holy Synod, headed by His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, congratulate the Catholic Church throughout the world, clergy and laity, on the election of Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost as the 267th Pope of the Vatican and Supreme Head of the Catholic Church, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV.

"Peace be with all of you!" - the first words of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV. The Conclave has elected Robert Francis Cardinal Prevost as the 267th Bishop of Rome. The new pope was announced to the waiting crowds by Cardinal Protodeacon Dominique Mamberti.

With great joy and deep faith

His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem

on behalf of the bishops, clergy, religious and faithful of the Holy Land, extends heartfelt congratulations to

His Holiness Pope Leo XIV