Damascus, Syria May 1, 2023

His Beatitude Patriarch John X, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, and President of the Middle East Council of Churches for the Orthodox Family, received His Beatitude Patriarch Youssef Al-Absi, Greek Melkite Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, accompanied by His Eminence Archbishop Nicolas Antiba, in the Patriarchal Headquarters in Damascus to wish His Beatitude greetings on the glorious Pascha.

(Jn 10: 1-10)

The similarity of the good shepherd, which we find in this tenth chapter of the Gospel of John, is very rich and developed.

In fact, Jesus does not only compare himself to the “good shepherd”, a figure that has many references in various passages from the Old Testament; but He also compares himself to the “gate”, and uses the image several times also in reference to the shepherd, who enters the sheepfold by the gate.

Let us first look at this aspect. (Jn 10: 1-3).

The gate is what creates a connection, a passage between two places that would otherwise remain isolated from each other. And it is the image of human reality after the fall, after the drama of sin: humanity had become inaccessible, far from God, a world unto itself, unable to connect with the world of God; unable to listen.

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, prayed the Liturgy on the Feast of the Martyrdom of St. George, on Monday 1 May 2023 morning, at St. Mark’s Cathedral in Alexandria, Egypt.

The Liturgy was attended by the General Bishops of the districts in Alexandria, Father Abraam Emil, Patriarchal Vicar in Alexandria, a large number of Priests from Alexandria, and the congregation who filled the corners of the great Church there.

In the sermon of the Liturgy, His Holiness Pope Tawadros II spoke about the many Feasts of Martyrs and Saints in the month of May, such as St. George the Martyr, St.Mark the martyr, St. Pope Athanasius the Apostolic, St. Demiana the Martyr and St. Anba Pachomius the Great.

BETHLEHEM - From April 28 to 30, 2023, His Beatitude Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, made a pastoral visit to St. Catherine's in the city of Bethlehem, where he prayed, listened to the consecrated persons and parishioners, and took note of all the pastoral activities of the parish.

On the first day, the Terra Sancta scout group welcomed His Beatitude at the entrance of the church of Saint Catherine, along with Fr. Rami As'akira, the parish priest, who expressed his joy for the Patriarch's visit. Mgr Pizzaballa then met with the scouts before going to Bethlehem University, where he met with Fr. Iyad Twal, Executive Vice President of Bethlehem University, as well as several heads of departments to learn about the latest developments on the campus.

Sunday, the 17th / 30th of April 2023, was celebrated by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem as the Sunday of the Myrrh-bearing Women and Joseph of Arimathea in accordance with the Gospel narratives and the book of Pentecost on the 3rd Sunday of the Resurrection.

On this Feast, the Church commemorates Joseph of Arimathea, the present day Ramle, who asked for and received the Immaculate Body of the Lord from Pilatewrapped it in a shroud, and buried it in an empty Tomb that was close to the place of His Crucifixion. (John 19, 38-42). It also commemorates the Myrrh-bearing women, who “after the Sabbath bought perfumes, so that the Body of Jesus would be anointed, and coming to the monument they saw the stone being measured and a white angel sitting on the monument and saying “he is not here…, see the place where they placed him”, (Mark 16,6). These glad tidings were announced by the myrrh bearers to the apostles and by the apostles to the whole world.

HAIFA - On April 30rd, 2023 took place the traditional procession of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, in the city of Haifa, Galilee. You can find the video for more details.

Click here to see all the pictures.

A Special Interview with His Beatitude on Télé Lumière and Noursat

Télé Lumière and Noursat presents a special interview in Arabic with His Beatitude Patriarch John X, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, and President of the Middle East Council of Churches for the Orthodox family, under the title " The Light from Antioch the Great with His Beatitude Patriarch John X", from the Church of the Archangels Michael and Gabriel in Mersin.

This interview comes within the Patriarchal visit held by His Beatitude to Antioch, Alexandretta and Mersin, following the earthquake that struck the North of the Antiochian Levant. It was prepared and presented by the journalist Lea Adel Maamary and directed by Farid Assaf. You can watch the video by clicking here.

On April 25, 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 an online meeting of the General Secretariat of the Holy Synod. Their Eminences, members of the General Secretariat: Mor Justinus Boulos Safar, Patriarchal Vicar in Zahleh and Beqaa, Mor Philoxenus Mattias Nayis, Patriarchal Vicar in Germany, Mor Dionysius John Kawak, Patriarchal Vicar in the Archdiocese of Eastern USA, Mor Nicodemus Daoud Sharaf, Archbishop of Mosul, Kirkuk, Kurdistan and Environs, Mor Timotheos Matta Al-Khoury, Archbishop of Homs, Hama, Tartous and Environs, and Mor Joseph Bali, Patriarchal Assistant, participated in the meeting.

The Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East (UAECNE) held a 108th anniversary service of remembrance for the martyrs of the Armenian Genocide Monday, 24 April 2023, in the Emmanuel Armenian Evangelical Church of Nor Amanos (Lebanon).

The congregation was joined by a delegation from Switzerland representing the Protestant Church of Switzerland. Also present was Mr. Mihran Shaninian, attending on behalf of the S.D. Hunchakian Party.

Rev. Jirayr Ghazarian, noting the painful reality of the day, read Psalm 88 as a collective expression of lament, and invited those present to open their hearts before God, whereupon he offered the opening prayer.

The theological students of the UAECNE took part in the service, with Mr. George al Sahili reading Psalm 32 and Miss Aline Tahazian reading Romans 5.3-11.

NICOSIA - Day-by-day overview of the conference "10 years after Ecclesia in Medio Oriente - Rooted in Hope", that saw the gathering of all the Catholic Churches of the Middle East in the city of Nicosia, to discuss the impact of Pope Benedict's Apostolic Exhortation and the future implications for the Churches of the region.

Day 1: welcoming speeches by H.E. Claudio Gugerotti, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches and President of the Symposium, and H.E Gian Petro Dal Toso, Apostolic Nuncio for Jordan and Cyprus, prayers in various rites, and a talk by His Beatitude Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, during which he presented the Exhortation, the events that took place since its publication, and, in its light, some possible orientations for the Churches of the region.

Day 2: after a Holy Mass celebrated according to the Chaldean rite by Cardinal Louis Sako, the morning was split between three talks. First speaker was H.E. Paolo Martinelli, ofm cap, Apostolic Vicar for the UAE, Yemen and Oman, who spoke of the essentiality of Christian formation and its challenges. "The fundamental challenge for Christian formation," he notably said, "could be summarized in these terms: "One must move from a Christianity transmitted by convention through a social bond taken for granted to a Christianity transmitted by conviction, intercepting the new anthropological questions that the younger generations have in their hearts, aroused by the unprecedented situations they face in order to work, live and love."

On Sunday April 23, 2023, at the Papal Residence in Cairo, His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, received the priests and servants of the Jerusalem League in Cairo, where they presented to His Holiness the Holy Light, which was sent by His Eminence Bishop Antonius, Metropolitan of Jerusalem and the Near East, to Egypt for the second year in a row.

Sunday, April 10/23, 2023, was celebrated by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem as Antipascha or Thomas Sunday, that is, as a commemoration of the fact that the Lord on the eighth day after His Resurrection appeared to the disciples again, as they were gathered in the Upper room with the doors closed when Thomas was also with them and He said to Thomas: “bring your finger here and put it in my side and do not be an unbeliever but a believer”, “because you have seen and believed in me, blessed are those who have not seen and believe”, (John 20, 27-29).

This event was celebrated during Vespers in the evening in the Catholicon of the Church of the Resurrection and the Divine Liturgy in the morning in the Holy and Life-giving Sepulchre, presided over by His Eminence Metropolitan Isychios of Kapitolias, concelebrated by their Eminences, the Metropolitan Ioannikios of Montenegro and Archbishop Makarios of Qatar, Hagiotaphite Hieromonks and deacons. The chanting was delivered by His Eminence Archbishop of Aristovoulos of Madaba and Hierodeacon Simeon. The service was attended by the Consul General of Greece in Jerusalem Mr Evangelos Vlioras and the Consul Mrs Christina Zacharioudaki and their families, as well as the pilgrims visiting for Easter.

His Beatitude Patriarch John X, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, and President of the Middle East Council of Churches for the Orthodox family, Presides over an extraordinary session of the Holy Synod of Antioch, which convenes today, Tuesday 25 April 2023, in Balamand, Lebanon. During this session, the attendees discuss emergency situations and urgent events.

"Ecclesia in Medio Oriente", Cyprus, Sunday April 23, 2023

By the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East and the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East

Beloved brothers, sisters, and spiritual children,
Christ is Risen! Truly, He is Risen!
We greet you today in this festive and exalted Paschal period, having our eyes fixed on the cross of suffering, and knowing that the Lord of glory transformed this cross of suffering into a cross of glory. Today, we remember the cross carried by the Christians living in this Middle East, suffering from murder, displacement, and terror. Today, we remember the spear which has marked for us as Christians, in the last two thousand years, the Passion of our Lord at the Calvary, and the other spear which has wounded us for the last ten years ago, and this wound has not been healed. Today, we remember the kidnapping of our brothers, the Archbishops of Aleppo, Youhanna Ibrahim and Boulos Yazigi, which occurred on April 22, 2013.

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, sent a congratulatory message to the Grand Imam, Dr. Ahmed Al-Tayyib, Sheikh of Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, on the occasion of Eid Al-Fitr, which reads as follows:
The Grand Imam, Sheikh of Al-Azhar, Dr. Ahmed Al-Tayeb
On my behalf and on behalf of the Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church, I am pleased to congratulate you and all our beloved Muslims on the occasion of Eid Al-Fitr.
We pray that God grant you success in completing your work to raise our dear homeland and your enlightening role in spreading awareness and the values of tolerance, brotherhood, the culture of peace, citizenship and coexistence.

April 17, 2023

His Beatitude John X, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, paid a visit to visited Turkish Mersin Governor Ali Hamza Pehlivan, accompanied by Bishops Constantine Kayal and Arsenios Dahdal, Father Esper Timur, parish priest of the Archangels Michael and Gabriel in Mersin, Archimandrite Paul Ordoloǧlu, Vicar of Patriarch John in Antioch, and the President of the Association in the parish of Mersin, Mr. Jan Arab, at the governor's residence in Mersin.

At the outset, the governor of Mersin, Mr. Ali Hamza Pahlawan, welcomed His Beatitude and the accompanying delegation, thanking him for the stance of love and brotherhood that he took during such a difficult and hard circumstance that afflicted the people of the region after the earthquake. The governor commended the merits of His Beatitude, who stood by his children from the first moment, promising Patriarch John to complete and provide aid In Mersin, Antioch, Iskenderun, and wherever needed, to alleviate the suffering and pain of the Church's children in these hard conditions.

On Monday 18 April 2023 morning, the Monastery of St. Virgin Mary El-Syrian in Wadi El-Natrun hosted His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, and a number of Bishops and Metropolitan for breakfast.
H.H. delivered a spiritual sermon on the occasion of the Resurrection during the meeting, which is an annual tradition of Sham El-Nassim for H.H. and the members of the Holy Synod.

On Saturday April 15, 2023 evening, His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, prayed the Resurrection Liturgy at St. Mark’s Cathedral, Abbasia, Cairo, with the contribution of several General Bishops Vice patriarchy in Cairo along with some priests and monks. The Divine Liturgy witnessed the participation of a large number of people.

The prayers were broadcast on Egyptian television, Official Website of the Coptic Orthodox Church, Coptic satellite channels, and the COC channel of the Coptic Orthodox Church’s media center on the Internet.

The cathedral witnessed a large number of people who came to congratulate, from among statesmen, representatives of many institutions and bodies, and ambassadors of some countries, while the sides of the cathedral were filled with worshipers from the church.

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, prayed Good Friday prayers at St. Mark’s Cathedral in Abbaseya. The prayers started early in on Friday 14 April 2023 morning and ended around evening time. The prayers consisted of six prayers which are the first, third, sixth, ninth, eleventh and twelfth hours of Good Friday prayers, which goes moment by moment of the events of the day on which Christ was crucified, starting from when He was arrested, passing through the stages of condemning the Savior and from His Crucifixion to the tomb.
The cathedral was full of people who filled its both sides.
A number of general bishops of the dioceses in Cairo, priests of the churches, and deacons of the Theological College in Anba Rouis participated in the prayers.