Representatives from eleven European countries affirm their support for His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Louis Raphaël Sako, Chaldean Patriarch in Iraq and the World, the Head of Iraq’s Chaldean Church, amid a social media campaign against him.

By Joseph Tulloch

Eleven different European countries, together with the European Union, released a statement on Sunday evening affirming their support for Iraq’s Patriarch Louis Raphaël Sako. 

The Patriarch – who heads the country's Chaldean Church, and was made a Cardinal by His Holiness Pope Francis in 2018 – is facing criticism over comments concerning political representation for Iraq’s ancient Christian minority.

On Thursday, May 11th, 2023, His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Church, Holy See of Cilicia, accompanied by the Pontifical delegation, visited the Armenian school of Kuwait and the Arekag Kindergarten, where he was warmly received by the principals, administration, Board of Trustees, teachers, and students.

In honor of His Holiness’ visit, the Kuwaiti Armenian school students welcomed the Catholicos with a special ceremony including songs, poetry reciting, and a presentation of their school.

 Jn 14:15-21 

“If you love me” (Jn 14:15)

The Gospel passage of this Sixth Sunday of Easter opens with this affirmation (14:15-21).

The rest of the passage seems to depend on this initial hypothetical proposition, it all comes down to this, whether we love the Lord Jesus or not.

Loving Him is the fundamental premise, the door that opens to all the consequences that the successive verses describe. 

The first is that if we love Him, we keep His commandments.

This means that obedience to the Law, which was impossible for the person marked by sin, is now possible for redeemed humanity, for the one who lives in love. Man, alone, by his power, is incapable of obeying: the entire history of Israel is there to prove it, because sin corrodes trust, and therefore relationships…

On Tuesday evening, May 9th, 2023, an Ecumenical thanksgiving service was conducted in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Kuwait (Church), presided by His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Church, Holy See of Cilicia, and organized by Heads of Churches in Kuwait.

Present were Heads and faithful from Greek Orthodox, Greek Catholic, Coptic Orthodox, Coptic Catholic, Evangelical, Latin, Maronite, and Armenian Churches.

On behalf of the His Beatitude Patriarch John X, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, His Eminence Metropolitan Ghattas Hazim delivered the opening remarks. Subsequently, His Holiness Catholicos Aram I conveyed his speech, where he expressed gratitude for the freedom of religion in Kuwait…

On May 14, 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 at St. Mary Church in Manchester.

The National Evangelical Church of Beirut, the first Arabic-speaking Evangelical Church in the Middle East, celebrated its 175th anniversary with a special ceremony on Sunday, 14 May, 2023, in the presence of local and international Ecumenical Church Leaders.

On this occasion, representing the Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East UAECNE, Reverend Dr. Paul Haidostian, President of Haigazian University in Lebanon, and President of the Middle East Council of Churches for the Evangelical Family, brought a message of encouragement from the Union to this historic church, known to many Armenian Evangelicals as the “Anglo-American Church”.

“For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building.” (I Corinthians 3.9)

On May 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, consecrated St. Mary Church in Manchester.

Sunday, May 1/14, 2023, was celebrated by the Patriarchate as the Sunday of the Samaritan Woman at the Samaria Well of Jacob in Nablus.

On this Sunday, the Church celebrates the fact that the Evangelist John (John 4, 5-29) reports, that a woman from the county of Sychar in Samaria came to Jacob’s Well to draw water and there she had a conversation with the Lord, in which the Lord revealed to her the things of her life and that “God is a Spirit and those who worship Him should worship Him in spirit” and that “He who speaks to her is the Messiah”.

The Samaritan woman named Foteini believed in Christ and martyred for Him with her entire family of daughters, sons, and brothers.

On May 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, celebrated the Holy Qurobo at the Bolton Stadium in Manchester. The Holy Qurobo was attended by over 1500 faithful.

On May 12, 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 an official reception held in his honor Manchester.

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, began his Pastoral visit to the diocese of Turin and Rome this evening with a Prayer on the eve of the fourth Sunday of Holy Pentecost in the Basilica of Saint John in the Lateran in Rome.

The evening Prayer witnessed a large popular presence from the people of the diocese, and the sides of the cathedral were filled with them. After the evening Prayer, His Grace Bishop Bernaba, Bishop of Turin and Rome, delivered a speech of thanks in which he thanked His Holiness the Pope, expressing his welcome for His Holiness’ visit, and described: There are people who are made by history, and there are people who make history, and His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, since his enthronement on the See of St. Mark, makes history and wanders doing good, love and peace, until he was named “the Pope of Love.”

On May 11, 2023, His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and Supreme Head of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church, arrived to Manchester for an Apostolic visit to consecrate St. Mary Church.

His Holiness Pope Francis releases his message for the 109th World Day of Migrants and Refugees, which focuses on the theme, "Free to choose whether to migrate or to stay."

By Deborah Castellano Lubov

"Free to choose whether to migrate or to stay," is the title of His Holiness Pope Francis’ Message for the 109th World Day of Migrants and Refugees, which the Church observes on the last Sunday of September, which this year falls on September 24.

In his message, the Holy Father recognizes the migratory flows of our times are produced by a complex and varied phenomenon that, to be properly understood, "require a careful analysis of every aspect of its different stages, from departure to arrival, including the possibility of return."  

Beloved brethren in Christ,

Christ has risen... He has truly risen!

We share these holy days in the joys of the resurrection, which is the most important sign of the love that God gave to man through His crucifixion and resurrection. This love is the same force that makes us communicate with each other and unites us in the spirit of Christ. Love makes us able to see others as God sees them and makes us cooperate with them sincerely and honestly. "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another" (John 13:35).

I am delighted to be with you today, along with the Coptic delegation, and to speak to you on behalf of the “Coptic Orthodox Church.” Our church is a renewed church, for in its people, youth, and children, dwells a spirit of originality and modernity.

His Holiness Pope Francis greets His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, and recalls the history of relations between Copts and Catholics as they strive to maintain a friendship that never stops growing.

By Francesca Merlo

His Holiness Pope Francis, on Thursday 11 May 2023, addressed Coptic-Orthodox Pope Tawadros II and his delegation, in Rome to celebrate 50 years of Coptic and Catholic relationships, as well as the tenth anniversary of their first meeting in 2013.

In his speech, His Holiness Pope Francis noted that "in the ecumenical journey, it is important to always look ahead". He advised that we always ask ourselves "how far do we still have to go"? However, he continued, it is also necessary to always remember, especially in times of discouragement, "to rejoice in the path already travelled and to draw on the fervour of the pioneers who have gone before us". 

My brother His Holiness Pope Francis… Your Graces… the honorable audience

Christ is risen … Truly He is risen.

Today, my joy is great in being among you, and I shake hands with you with my heart, not just with my hand. I rejoice with you in Christ who is risen from the dead, and I thank you for allowing us the opportunity to make this visit. I am grateful to be on this land, in which the apostles preached, and which was inhabited by St Mark, the Apostle who brought the faith to Egypt. From it, many went out on a long journey to preach the name of our Lord Jesus to the whole world as a Redeemer and Savior

Let us contemplate on what St Paul the Apostle wrote from here in Rome to the Ephesians “That you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height”(Ephesians 3:17+18). It is love, beloved, the permanent foundation and the main path to perfection. And the only way to God, because God is love, and everyone who knows Him walks the steps of love with Him and to Him.

On the first day of his visit to the Vatican, His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, participated in the weekly General Audience held by His Holiness Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square.

When they met, the two Popes warmly embraced each other and took their seats, flanked by representatives from His Holiness Pope Tawadros' delegation and a number of Vatican leaders.

Many people gathered in the arena despite the usual rainy weather this time of year. There was a prevailing state of joy as they enjoyed several Coptic melodies before His Holiness Pope Tawadros gave his speech. His Holiness started his talk by saying the sign of the cross in the Coptic language. He also congratulated His Holiness Pope Francis on the 10th anniversary of his enthronement and expressed appreciation for the efforts made in several fields since then.

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, on Wednesday 10 May 2023, and the Church delegation accompanying His Holiness visited the Vatican Museum, which is a few meters away from the Santa Marta House, the residence of His Holiness in the Vatican City.

His Holiness and his companions toured the corridors of the museum and listened to a detailed explanation of its contents and the history of the artifacts in it, as the museum contains 70,000 paintings, sculptures, statues and other artifacts, of which 20,000 are on display.

The visit started from the Apollo Belvedere statue, which is a marble statue and is considered one of the most amazing ancient statues ever, as it was the first piece in the Vatican art collection even before the establishment of the Vatican Museums. It was a favorite statue of Napoleon Bonaparte, and he took it with him to the Louvre, but after his defeat, the statue was returned to the Vatican.

His Holiness Pope Francis and His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, release a jointly-written preface for a new book, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the historic “Joint Christological Declaration” that continues to strengthen ties between the Catholic and Coptic Churches.

By Devin Watkins

As the Catholic and Coptic Orthodox Churches mark fifty years since the first modern meeting between their leaders, Pope Francis and Pope Tawadros II have penned a joint preface for a new book.

My beloved brother… His Holiness Pope Francis

Your Graces … Ladies and Gentlemen

Christ is risen … Truly He is risen. 

I would like to extend my congratulations as well as that of all the members of the Holy Synod and all the institutions of the Coptic Orthodox Church for the tenth anniversary of your divine selection as Pope and Bishop of Rome. I value all that you have done during this period in service to the whole world in all fields and I pray that Christ keeps your Holiness in full health and grants you the blessing of a long life.