His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, prayed, on Sunday 9 April 2023 morning, the Palm Sunday Liturgy in the Great Cathedral of St. Anba Bishoy Monastery in Wadi El-Natrun, Egypt, with the participation of the Bishop and Abbot of the Monastery, His Grace Bishop Aghabios, the monastery’s monks, and a large number of congregation filled the Cathedral.

The deacon’s received His Holiness Pope Tawadros II with palm branches and crosses as they chanted the Palm Sunday melody “Evlogimenos”, and His Holiness prayed the Palm Sunday stations, which includes 12 Chapters of the Bible.

On Saturday, March 26/April 8, 2023, the feast of the resurrection of Lazarus was celebrated by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem in Bethany and on the Mount of Olives. On this feast day, the whole Church, even that of Jerusalem, celebrates what was handed down in the Gospel of John (11:1-45) of the raising from the dead of the four-day-dead friend of the Lord Lazarus, in testimony of the common resurrection before His Passion: “Giving us before Thy passion an assurance of the general Resurrection, Thou hast raised Lazarus from the dead, O Christ our God”.

This feast was celebrated in the Holy Monastery of his sisters Martha and Mary with a Divine Liturgy presided over by His Beatitude Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos III…

Dear brothers and sisters,
May the Lord give you peace!

Every night, the light of the risen Christ illuminates the darkness. We see it shining in the flame of the Paschal candle, which has drawn the light of the new fire. It is not a light that can only be seen; it can also be heard. We have heard it today, in the Word that the liturgy of this vigil has offered us: so many lights that illuminate the steps of our faith.

We have heard the story of a long promise of life. The promise of a God who created the world for the specific purpose of making a covenant with man. Starting from creation, we went through the whole story that mankind was called to follow: to accept and to become responsible for the gift received, the gift of God’s covenant.

The traditional Good Friday Way of the Cross procession unfolds at Rome’s Colosseum, with texts chosen by His Holiness Pope Francis to reflect the suffering of humanity as it lives the third world war fought piecemeal.

By Linda Bordoni

An unseasonal cold snap in Rome kept His Holiness Pope Francis from being physically present at the Colosseum on Holy Friday night for the Way of the Cross procession.

Considerations regarding his health after a three-day stay in hospital last week for a bronchitis, led to him having to follow events from his residence in the Vatican.

At the Good Friday liturgy of the Passion of the Lord at St. Peter's Basilica, the Preacher of the Papal Household, Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, reflects on the Death and Resurrection of the Lord in our secularized societies.

By Lisa Zengarini

Before the Way of the Cross in the Colosseum on Friday evening, His Holiness Pope Francis presided over the liturgy of the Passion of the Lord at St. Peter's Basilica, commemorating the last hours of Jesus' life.

Fr Tony O’Riordan, who is coordinating the Jesuit Refugee Service’s efforts in Syria, speaks about the humanitarian crisis in the country, and how local Christians are celebrating Holy Week amidst the ruins.

By Joseph Tulloch

Christians in the war-devastated and earthquake-devastated Syrian city of Aleppo are celebrating the Easter Triduum, the holiest period in the Christian calendar, amid the ruins of war.

Holy Thursday, on 6 April, also marked exactly two months since the deadly earthquakes in Syria and Turkey, which left more than 50,000 dead and around 1.5 million homeless.  

JERUSALEM - As the world marks Good Friday, (re-)experience the celebrations of the beginning of Holy Week in Jerusalem.

This year's meditations for the Way of the Cross are testimonies narrated to the Holy Father by men and women who have experienced violence, poverty and injustice, during his apostolic journeys and on other occasions. The compilation that makes up the text was edited by several Dicasteries of the Roman Curia.

By Vatican News

The men and women of all ages and from different walks of life who bring their testimonies and prayers to the Way of the Cross this year, all come from lands that are wounded by bombs, gunfire, missiles or fratricidal hatred. Their stories will accompany the 14 Stations of the journey that unfolds today, 7 April, at Rome’s Colosseum. 

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

“Resurrection is  our hope in a hopeless situation” 

“Through him (Christ) you have come to trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are set on God.” 1 Peter 1:21

What is happening in Jerusalem? Why are we living through such tumultuous times? A series of events has left the people and their leaders in confusion and wonder:

Jesus has triumphantly entered the city on a colt. The people, including children, welcomed him by spreading palm branches and their cloaks in the streets. But the religious and political authorities were challenged by this show of triumph and power.

At the Mass of the Lord's Supper at Rome's Casal del Marmo juvenile penitentiary, His Holiness Pope Francis reminds us of how the Lord, in washing the feet of his disciples, teaches us the importance of humility and service that are born of a noble heart.

By Thaddeus Jones

On Holy Thursday His Holiness Pope Francis went to the outskirts of Rome to celebrate the Mass of the Lord's Supper at the Casal del Marmo juvenile penitentiary where he carried out the traditional rite of the washing of feet of twelve of the young people there. Diversity characterized the group, varying in ages from 14 to 25 years of age, ten young men and two young women, two of them of Sinti origin, the others from Croatia, Senegal, Romania, and Russia, representing various faith traditions.

Beloved brothers and sisters,

We are celebrating today great and ineffable mysteries: the institution of the priesthood and the Most Holy Eucharist, the new commandment of love. We are celebrating the risen Life of Christ, communicated to us by the Spirit in the Church. This year, I am particularly struck by the time, the climate in which they were instituted, almost founded: “on the night when he was betrayed” (cf. Jn. 13:2). We all know that the intention of the authors here is not simply to provide us with chronological information. Theirs is a theological indication, a “spiritual note”; the hour of Christ coincides with the hour of darkness.

I would thus like here to contemplate with you this great mystery, right where “it became dark over all the earth”, and where the angels later announced the Risen One.

During Chrism Mass in the Vatican on Holy Thursday, His Holiness Pope Francis thanks priests for the good they do, which so often goes unrecognized. And he encourages them to invoke the Holy Spirit as 'the breath of each day,' which, even in times of crisis, gives them joy and points them in the right direction, toward Christ.

By Deborah Castellano Lubov

"Priestly maturity comes from the Holy Spirit and is achieved when He becomes the protagonist in our lives."

His Holiness Pope Francis gave this reminder on Holy Thursday morning during the Chrism Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, as he urged priests to invoke the Spirit not only as "an occasional act of piety," but as "the breath of each day."

And Names Him ‘Malphono’ of the Syriac and Arabic Languages

On March 31, 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 ceremony of the launching of the books published by His Eminence Mor Theophilus Georges Saliba, Archbishop of Mount Lebanon and Tripoli, at St. Jacob of Serugh Hall in the Syiac Orthodox Archdiocesan Center in Baushrieh, Lebanon. During the ceremony, His Holiness honored His Eminence and named him ‘Malphono’ of the Syriac and Arabic languages.

On Holy Tuesday, the Church commemorates the Parable of the Ten Maidens.

Ten girls from the Catholicosate’s Sunday school were present in front of the Altar during the Vespers service, at the Armenian Orthodox Catholicosate of Cilicia, as the ten Maidens from the parable. Prayers and hymns on the theme were recited, reminding the faithful to be prepared for the Day of Judgment.

After the service, His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Church, Holy See of Cilicia, received the ten young girls and encouraged them to continue safeguarding their Christian faith and participate in the traditions of the Armenian Church.

On the occasion of Easter 2023, His Eminence Bishop Sani Ibrahim Azar, Head of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and The Holy Land (ELCJHL), delivered a message, which you can listen to it in the video.

His Holiness Pope Francis releases his Prayer intention for the month of April, and urges everyone to pray and work for a nonviolent culture which promotes peace.

By Devin Watkins

As the Church marks 60 years since Pope St. John XXIII published his encyclical Pacem in Terris, Pope Francis is calling on Christians to pray for a nonviolent culture.

The Pope released a video accompanying his prayer intention for April 2023, produced by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network.

He recalled that “war is madness” which is “beyond reason”.

“Any war, any armed confrontation, always ends in defeat for all,” he recalled.

Two months have passed since the earthquake that struck the North of the Antiochian Levant, and the affected people are still suffering from the repercussions of this disaster. In this context, the Antiochian Orthodox Media Center affiliated to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East, in collaboration with the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines, published on the Patriarchate's Facebook page a video presenting the hymn of "Arise, O Antioch" as a greeting to Antioch, which was severely damaged by the earthquake.

The hymn is written by: Rev. Fr. Philip Saba, Assistant Priest at St. Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Church, Punchbowl, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

It is translated into Arabic by: V. Rev. Fr. Georges El Tahan, Parish Priest of St. Elias Antiochian Orthodox Church, West Croydon, Adelaide, SA, Australia.

It is arranged by: Mary Semaan, Parishioner at St. Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Church, Punchbowl, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

In his Palm Sunday Mass, His Holiness Pope Francis reflects on the faith Jesus placed in God, abandoning himself in his moment of pain because he knew that God's reason would save him.

By Francesca Merlo

His Holiness Pope Francis presided at the Solemn Mass for Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion on Sunday April 2nd morning, his first public appearance after being released from Rome's Gemelli Hospital on Saturday April 1st. An estimated sixty thousand faithful took part in the the celebration that concluded with the recitation of the Angelus Prayer.

HOLY LAND - Symbols of Christian processions, the Kawas are not only part of the folklore of Jerusalem. They are also the guardians of traditions inherited from several centuries of history, who watch over an immutable principle of the Holy Land: that things remain as they are.

[…] Beyond their secular presence and their folkloric aspect, few things are known about kawas. Even the spelling of their name is debated: kawas, cavas, kavas, sometimes cawass... All of which piques our curiosity: who are they really? What is their history? What do they represent today and what is their role today when Christian processions are - most often - escorted by the police?

Beloved brothers and sisters,

I would like to welcome all our parishes, coming from all over Palestine and Israel. Together with you, I greet the many pilgrims who have joined us today on this beautiful day of celebration, prayer and communion. Faithful, religious, priests, bishops, Christians from different churches, we are all united with joy in the name of Jesus, the most beautiful name of all, one that we will never cease to pronounce and celebrate.

I am therefore happy to stand here together with you for this beautiful church experience. At the conclusion of this procession, we may be a little physically tired, but we will certainly leave here strengthened in faith and communion. Because communion in Christ, the unity of community, the feeling that we are all brothers and sisters in Jesus’ name, gives us renewed strength and warms our hearts. We need it. We need these experiences in which the power of the Spirit (cf. Rom. 15:19) unites us and works in us with power.