“The stubborn son and how to deal with him”

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, delivered his weekly Sermon at Wednesday’s March 8, 2023 meeting, from the Church of the Virgin Mary and Saint Bishoy at the Papal Residence in the Abbaseya Cathedral, Egypt. The Sermon was broadcasted on Christian satellite channels and the C.O.C channel of the Church’s media center on the Internet.

His Holiness completed the series of “Stations of the Journey of Great Lent and Connecting It to Family Life”, and His Holiness recited part of chapter 15 in the Gospel of our teacher St. Luke, which contains the parable of the “Prodigal Son” that the Church takes as the subject of the Gospel of next Sunday, and His Holiness dealt through the parable with the problem of the stubborn son…

His Holiness Pope Francis greets participants in an interreligious dialogue group between the Holy See and Palestine, and recalls the universal value of Jerusalem for the three major monotheistic religions.

By Devin Watkins

The Holy See hosted a meeting in Rome this week of the Joint Working Group for Dialogue between the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue and the Palestinian Commission for Interreligious Dialogue.

His Holiness Pope Francis encouraged the efforts of this working group, as he met with participants on Thursday in the Vatican.

Complementing the work carried out under the directives of His Beatitude Patriarch John X, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, and in light of the continuous earthquake emergency response work that began during the first hours of the earthquake disaster, GOPA-DERD team, at the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East, continues an intensive response operation on the ground, in order to meet the priorities of the great need on more than one level.

In Hama, GOPA-DERD's team distributed food kits, ready-to-eat meals, and family hygiene kits to the affected families in the shelter center located in the Monastery of St. George.

A historical event took place today, Friday March 3 2023, in Jerusalem where the oil that will be used for the anointing of His Majesty King Charles III in the coronation ceremony on the 6th May 2023, was consecrated by His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, and later by the Anglican Archbishop in Jerusalem, The Most Reverend Hosam Naoum.

JORDAN – From March 3rd to March 5th, 2023, His Beatitude Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, made a pastoral visit to the Latin parish of the Sacred Heart of Jesus church, in Til’Al’Ali.

In Jordan, Christians from all denominations celebrate the Easter season together, in unity. Thus, last Wednesday March 1st marked the beginning on the Lenten season for 2023.

The first day of the visit, coincided with the first Friday of lent, March 3rd, 2023. Thus, His Beatitude Pierbattista Pizzaballa led the way of the cross Prayer, and the Mass at the Sacred Heart of Jesus church.

On Sunday, February 20/March 5, 2023, the Sunday of Orthodoxy was celebrated by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

On this Sunday, the First of the Fast of Holy and Great Lent, the whole Church commemorates and celebrates the restoration of the holy icons, their restoration to the Church under Empress Theodora and her son Michael after the persecution and destruction, they suffered under the impious iconoclast emperors Leo the Isauros and the husband of Saint Theodora Theophilos.

On Saturday March 4, 2023, His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, consecrated, with the participation of four Bishops, the Church of the Virgin Mary and Bishoy in the Narges area in the Fifth Settlement, Egypt, which was built in 2007, and His Holiness consecrated the main church there in 2016.

Upon the arrival of His Holiness Pope Tawadros II to the Church, His Holiness removed the curtain from the commemorative plaque that dates its inauguration, and commemorative photos were taken of His Holiness next to the plaque, along with the bishops and priests participating in the Prayers.

Then the procession of His Holiness Holiness headed inside the church to start the consecration Prayers, where the main altar was consecrated on the name of St. Bishoy, another altar after the name of St. Mark the Apostle, and another altar after the name of the St. Demiana the Martyr.

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, On March 2, 2023 inaugurated the LOGOS Leadership Program (LLP) which aims to prepare young leaders who are academically , ecclesiastically and spiritually qualified at a modern academic level to serve in Logos forums for Coptic youth in the dioceses, whether inside or outside Egypt which had started since 2018.

The “program” will last for 120 days and will be attended by a number of fathers and specialists in the fields of leadership, commitment and youth interaction with the spirit of Christian discipleship along with some activities and workshops.

The second stage of the way of Lent brings us, as is customary, to a high mountain (Mt 17:1) that tradition identifies with Mount Tabor, where Jesus ascends together with Peter, James, and John.

Mountain tops immediately refer to the place of encounter with God, to the place where He reveals Himself. And here also, in this event, God effectively reveals Himself. In this case, He does it in a completely new way. The place where God reveals Himself is not in the powers of nature, not in all His power, but in the man Jesus.

As a result of sin, man became incapable of reflecting or revealing the glory of God: closed in on himself, hunched on himself, man was able only to manifest himself, his works, his limits.

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, delivered his weekly sermon at Wednesday’s March 1, 2023 meeting, from the Church of the Virgin Mary and Saint Bishoy at the Papal Residence in the Abbaseya Cathedral. The sermon was broadcast on Christian satellite channels and the C.O.C channel of the Church’s media center on the Internet.

His Holiness continued the series of “Stations of the Journey of Great Lent and Connecting It to Family Life.” His Holiness discussed a part of the fourth chapter in the Gospel of our teacher Matthew (verses 1 to 11). His Holiness referred to the topic of next Sunday, which is “Sunday of Temptation,” and the wars of the enemy that Christ faced after Fasting and its forms in the life of the family,

from the Diocese of Jerusalem and the Diocese of Dublin and Glendalough at the Visitation Home – Fuheis

At the beginning of Lent, clergy from the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem and the Diocese of Dublin and Glendalough (Ireland) met at the Rosary Sisters’ Visitation Home in Fuheis Jordan to participate in a joint retreat that started on Sunday Evening February 26th, 2023. The sessions were given by His Eminence Bishop Hosam Naoum, the Anglican Archbishop in Jerusalem, and His Eminence Bishop Michael Jackson, the Archbishop of Dublin – Ireland, about the first letter of Peter.

The retreat has so far included; a daily Eucharistic service and other Prayer services, small discussion groups after each session, Bible Studies, and personal reflection. Moreover the group did a pilgrimage to Madaba, Mount Nebo, and the Baptismal Site. His Eminence Bishop Naoum welcomed His Eminence Bishop Jackson and all the participants in the retreat.

In the aftermath of the devastating earthquake that struck the North of Antioch, His Beatitude Patriarch John X, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, held a visit to the Archdiocese of Lattakia, under the slogan “I bring you His grace and mercy”, on Tuesday 28 February 2023. In the following two reports, you can find an overview about His Beatitude's visit, in addition to some interviews that were made during it.

The two reports were published on the Facebook Page of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East, and prepared by the journalist Lea Adel Maamary.

We, the Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem, are saddened by the latest escalation of violence in the Holy Land.

On Sunday night, February 26th, dozens of Israeli settlers rampaged through the Palestinian town of Huwara near Nablus, killing a man, injuring dozens of people with metal rods and tear gas, and torching scores of buildings and cars. This took place as a retaliation after a Palestinian gunman killed two Israeli settlers near the same town—an act itself in response to the killing of eleven Palestinians in Nablus the week before.

On February 26, 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 evening prayer at St. Georges Patriarchal Cathedral in Bab Touma – Damascus.

‏At the end of the prayer, His Holiness conducted the special service of Shubqono (Forgiveness) during which the clergy and faithful ask forgiveness from one another, on the occasion of the beginning of the Great Lent.

On Cheese Sunday afternoon, February 13/26, 2023 around 5.00 p.m., at the Monastic Church of Saints Constantine and Helen and during the service of the small Compline, the Prayer of Forgiveness was read by His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, as preparation for the beginning of the Great Lent.

After the prayer, there was the brotherly osculation and the departure for the cells for three days without work or visits at the Central Monastery.

On February 26, 2023, His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and Supreme Head of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church, celebrated the Holy Qurobo on the occasion of the Sunday of the miracle of Cana, at St. Georges Patriarchal Cathedral in Bab Touma – Damascus.

During the Holy Qurobo, His Holiness was assisted by their Eminences Archbishops: Mor Cyril Babi, Patriarchal Vicar in the Patriarchal Archdiocese of Damascus, and Mor Joseph Bali, Patriarchal Secretary and Media Office Director.

His Beatitude Patriarch John X, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, presided over the Holy Mass of the Forgiveness Sunday (CheeseFare), on Sunday 26 February 2023, at the Mariamite Cathedral in Damascus. During the Mass, His Beatitude delivered a Homily in which you can watch it in the video that was published on the Facebook Page of the Greek orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East.

(Mt 4 : 1-11)

The occurrence of Jesus’ temptations in the desert is positioned, in each of the Synoptic Gospels, after the event of Jesus baptism in the Jordan River. Jesus arose from the Jordan filled with the Holy Spirit, of the very life of God.

And it is precisely the Spirit who leads Him into the desert (Mt 4:1), in ordinary life, that life which is put to the test and asks us to unmask our identity, to show who we are.

The identity is exactly that which, in the Jordan River, was revealed as that of being the beloved Son, in whom the Father is well pleased (Mt. 3:17). For Him, therefore, this “who are you?” coincides with “whose son are you? To whom do you belong?”

It is no coincidence, therefore, that the tempter begins with this expression: “If you are the Son of God…” (Mt. 4:3.6). Temptation always pertains to this fundamental aspect of life, it always reaches us here, in our relationship with the Father, because it is from here that our life depends.

On Wednesday February 22, 2023, His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, delivered his Wednesday’s meeting sermon from the Church of the Virgin Mary and Saint Bishoy Cathedral at the Papal Residence, Abbaseya, Egypt. The sermon was broadcasted on Christian channels and the C.O.C channel of the Church’s media center on the Internet.

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II spoke about the importance of the Lent and discussed a part of chapter 6 of the Gospel of our teacher Matthew (verses 19 to 34). His Holiness indicated that the Great Lent focuses on the “Eye”, so during it, His Holiness will discuss a series that talks about the Christian family, in which His Holiness links the “Eye” with the subject of every Sunday of fasting, and its relationship to the family.

“Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Gen 4:10)

ܒܫܡ ܐܝܬܝܐ ܡܬܘܡܝܐ ܐܠܨܝ ܐܝܬܘܬܐ ܕܟܠ ܐܚܝܕ

ܐܝܓܢܛܝܘܣ ܦܛܪܝܪܟܐ ܕܟܘܪܣܝܐ ܫܠܝܚܝܐ ܕܐܢܛܝܘܟܝܐ ܘܕܟܠܗ̇ ܡܕܢܚܐ

ܘܪܝܫܐ ܓܘܢܝܐ ܕܥܕܬܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܬܐ ܐܪܬܕܘܟܣܝܬܐ ܕܒܟܠܗ̇ ܬܒܝܠ

ܕܗܘ ܐܦܪܝܡ ܬܪܝܢܐ ܡ̄

We extend our apostolic benediction, benevolent prayers and greetings to our brethren, His Beatitude Mor Baselius Thomas I, Catholicos of India, and their Eminences the Metropolitans; our spiritual children: Very Reverend Corepiscopoi, Reverend priests, monks, nuns and deacons and the entire blessed Syriac Orthodox people throughout the world. May the divine providence embrace them through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, Mother of God, and St. Peter, Chief of the Apostles, St. Philoxenus of Mabbug and the rest of the Martyrs and Saints. Amen.