By Munir Bayouk/ en.abouna.org :

At the invitation of the Council of Heads of Churches in Jordan, an Ecumenical prayer service for the unity of Christians was held on Tuesday, January 24, 2023 at Our Lady of Nazareth Church in Amman, Jordan, under the theme of this year’s week of Prayer, “Do good; seek justice”. (Isaiah 1:17)

The  Ecumenical Prayer service was attended by Latin Patriarchal Vicar for Jordan His Eminence Bishop Jamal D'aibes, Greek Catholic Archbishop of Jordan Joseph Jbara, His Eminence Bishop Coadjutor of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem Hosam Elias Naoum, Parish priest of the Virgin Mary Coptic Orthodox Church of Jordan Father Anthony Sobhi, Parish Priest of the Armenian Orthodox Church in Jordan Archimandrite Avedis Ibrejian, and parish priest of the Greek Catholic Church Fr. Benjamin Sham'oun.

His Holiness Pope Francis celebrates Vespers at the conclusion of the “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity” with a reflection on how all Christians are asked to reflect on their wrongs and change their perspective, always putting God at the centre.

By Linda Bordoni

The Lord is grieved by our indifference and lack of understanding before sacrilegious violence His Holiness Pope Francis said during his homily at Vespers on the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, and he called for action to oppose war, violence and injustice wherever they begin to appear.

Celebrating the liturgy to mark the end of the annual “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity” in the Basilica of Saint Paul’s Outside the Walls, the Pope invited Christians of all denominations to change and walk the path of unity “the Lord has placed before us.”

His Grace Bishop Mesrob Sarkissian, Prelate of the UAE and Qatar, and V. Rev. Fr. Bedros Manouelian, Pontifical Vicar of Kuwait and neighboring countries participated, on behalf of the Armenian Church Holy See of Cilicia, in the annual meeting of the Gulf Churches Fellowship, which was held in Ras el Khaimah, UAE, on 23rd and 24th of January, 2023.

The two-day meeting focused on the challenges faced by the churches in the Gulf, especially regarding those caused by the pandemic.

On Tuesday, January 11th / 24th 2023, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem celebrated the feast of our Holy Father Theodosius the Cenobiarch in the Holy Monastery, located in the area between the Village of the Shepherds and the Holy Lavra of Saint Savva the sanctified and the adjacent so-called village of Abediye.

On this day, the Church remembers that Saint Theodosius came from Mogarissa in Cappadocia, he came to the Holy Land in the year 451, when he was 27 years old, he joined the Order of the Studious of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Then he lived as a monk in the Monastery formerly called “Seat of Ikelia” near Jerusalem and in the area where the cave was, where the Magi spent the night “returning by another way to their homeland” (Matthew 2:12).

The Vatican publishes His holiness Pope Francis' Message for the 57th World Day of Social Communications, observed the Sunday before Pentecost, on the theme “Speak with the heart: Veritatem facientes in caritate” (Doing the truth in charity).

By Deborah Castellano Lubov

His holiness Pope Francis has appealed to communicators to always speak from the heart, and find the right words to build a better civilization.

The Holy Father did so in his Message for the 57th World Day of Social Communications, published on 24 January, the Feast of St. Francis De Sales, the patron saint of journalists, on the theme “Speak with the heart: Veritatem facientes in caritate” (Doing the truth in charity).

As the Universal Church gathers this week to celebrate and Pray for Christian Unity, middle school students from all the Christian schools in Jerusalem gathered inside the Melkite Church on January 23rd, 2023, to participate in a Prayer session for the occasion. The session was attended by representatives of all the Churches of Jerusalem, including Mgr William Shomali, General Vicar of the Latin Patriarchate.

As the students filled the church for the Prayer, the place began to ring with worship hymns. Several bishops read passages from the Bible, while others prayed as one for the whole Church.

On January 22, 2023, His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and Supreme Head of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church, participated in the common Prayer on the occasion of the conclusion of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The Prayer was conducted at the Maronite Patriarchal Church in Bkerke, Lebanon.

Their Beatitudes and Holinesses Patriarchs Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and all the East, Catholicos Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church of Cilicia, Mor Ignatius Youssef III Younan, Syriac Catholic Patriarch of Antioch, Youssef Al-Absi, Patriarch of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church of Antioch, and Patriarch Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian, Catholicos of the Armenian Catholic Church of Cilicia.

His Eminence Cardinal Kurt Koch, the Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, reflects on the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, and says Christians need to walk, pray, and work together.

By Devin Watkins & Mario Galgano

As Christians mark the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity on 18-25 January 2023, His Eminence Cardinal Kurt Koch recalled the importance of doing good and promoting justice.

The theme for this year’s occurrence of the Week of Prayer is “Do good; seek justice”. It was selected by the Minnesota Council of Churches, in the United States, and was taken from the first chapter of the Book of Isaiah.

On Thursday, January 6/19, 2023, the solemn ceremony of the Feast of the Epiphany took place in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

The service began with the veneration of the Deposition slate and the Holy Sepulchre by the Head of the feast, His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, the High Priests and the Priests.

Afterwards, while the floats were struck, the Fathers-members of the Holy Synod venerated the Horrendous Golgotha, the Priests received His Beatitude’s blessing to participate in the Liturgy and His Beatitude and the High Priests were dressed in their vestments.

On Thursday, January 19th, 2023, His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church of Cilicia, received Father Andraos Al Anthouny, Pastor of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Lebanon and Syria, and the Representative of His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark.

Fr. Andraos conveyed the fraternal greetings of His Holiness Pope Tawadros and shared about issues pertaining to the Coptic community in the Levant. In turn, His Holiness Catholicos Aram I underlined the importance of constantly growing cooperation between the two sister churches, specifically in the theological and ecumenical fields.

On January 19, 2023, His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and Supreme Head of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church, presided over the special rite of Epiphany (Denho) at the Baptism site on the Jordan River.

Their Eminences Archbishops: Mor Clemis Daniel Kourieh, Archbishop of Beirut, Mor Joseph Bali, Patriarchal Secretary and Media Office Director, Very Rev. Raban Benjamin Chamoun, Parish Priest of Mor Aphrem Church in Amman, Very Rev. Raban Andrew Bahhi, and Very Rev. Raban Yacoub Ibrahim as well as deacons and faithful from Jordan, also participated in this ceremonial Prayer.

On Wednesday, January 18th, 2023, a delegation representing the Council of Sunni and Shiite Religious Leaders met with His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Church, Holy See of Cilicia.

The delegation expressed solidarity with the Artsakh Armenians and stressed the imperative of ending the Lachin Corridor blockade, on humanitarian grounds. The delegation also expressed their commendation to His Holiness Catholicos Aram I for his dedication to Christian-Muslim cooperation efforts.

Msgr. Piero Coda, an Italian member of the Synod Theological Commission, offers an overview of the ongoing Continental Stage of the synodal journey, as the Church reflects on the Working Document "Enlarge the space of your tent".

By Adriana Masotti

Msgr. Piero Coda, secretary general of the International Theological Commission and member of the Synod Theological Commission, has offered a general overview of the ongoing Continental Stage of the Synod on synodality.

Msgr. Coda noted that "great Popes have led the Catholic Church in the most recent period of her long history: great in spiritual stature and witness in daily life, in wisdom and culture, in social discernment and prophecy."

The “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity” in Lebanon started on Sunday, January 15th, 2023, at St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Bsalim, Lebanon. With the Blessing of His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Church, Holy See of Cilicia, His Eminence Arch. Shahan Sarkissian, Prelate of the Armenian Prelacy in Lebanon, and V. Rev. Fr. Sarkis Aprahamian participated in the service.

The “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity” is an international Christian Ecumenical observance, at the initiative of the World Council of Churches, and is kept annually around Pentecost in the Southern Hemisphere and between 18-25 January in the Northern Hemisphere.

His Holiness Pope Francis announces an Ecumenical Prayer Vigil, to be held in September prior to the Synod of Bishops, so as to entrust the bishops' work to the Lord.

By Vatican News staff writer

Addressing the faithful gathered in St Peter's Square for the Sunday Angelus, His Holiness Pope Francis looked ahead to the traditional Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which takes place each year from 18 to 25 January.

At 1:00 am in the early morning on Saturday, January 1/14, 2023, the Despotic feast of the Circumcision of the Lord and the commemoration of the Holy Father Basil the Great began in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

In the beginning, Matins was held in psalms of the divinely inspired contrite theological Kathismata and the Canons, iambic and rhythmic of the Megalynaria of the 9th Ode and the Praises and the Doxology.

After this, the Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great began in the Holy Sepulchre, officiated by His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III, Patriarch of Jerusalem…

AL-MAGHTAS – On January 13th, 2023, in the Baptism Site of Jordan, His Beatitude Patriach Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, presided over a Mass on the occasion of the 23rd annual and National Day of Pilgrimage to the Baptism Site of the Lord.

Multitudes made their way to the church of the Baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ – on the banks of the Jordan river – to celebrate its founding, as well as the feast of the Baptism of the Lord.

The celebration was preceded by a press conference, during which His Beatitude Patriach Pierbattista Pizzaballa reminded everyone how the foundation stone of the church in which the Feast was celebrated was laid in 2009 by then His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI himself, with the participation of His Majesty King Abdullah II and Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah.

On January 13, 2023, His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and Supreme Head of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church, attended the Holy Qurobo and Prayer for the Late His Holiness Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, at the Lady of Dormition Greek Catholic Melkite Cathedral in Bab Sharqi, Damascus, Syria.

The Holy Qurobo was celebrated by His Beatitude Joseph Absi, Greek-Melkite Catholic Patriarch of Antioch and all the East, Alexandria, and Jerusalem, and His Eminence Cardinal Mario Zenari, Apostolic Nuncio in Damascus.

At noon on Wednesday, December 29, 2022/ January 11, 2023, the funeral service of the blessed former Patriarch of Jerusalem His Beatitude Patriarch Eirinaios was held at the Holy Monastery of the Holy Metropolis of Samos and Ikaria, Greece, under the brotherly care and supervision of the officiating the service, His Eminence Metropolitan Eusevios of Samos and Ikaria.

The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem was represented by His Eminence Metropolitan Kyriakos of Nazareth after the Presbyter Priest of the Holy Metropolis of Nazareth Fr Simeon and the Exarch of the Holy Sepulchre in Athens Archimandrite Raphael.

JERUSALEM – On January 10th, 2023, His Beatitude Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, presided over the Pontifical Mass of Requiem for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher.

The bells of Pro-Cathedral tolled to announce the passing of His Beatitude Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa and to tell the faithful that the Mass was about to begin... Meanwhile, in the streets of Jerusalem, His Beatitude, accompanied by Bishops and Priests, walked in procession to the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher, with the Kawas leading the way.