Uniting Youth from Diverse Middle Eastern Churches in the historical city of Jbeil

On the evening of September 16, 2023, the Cathedral of Saint John-Mark in Historical city of Jbeil (Byblos), Lebanon, witnessed a remarkable gathering of youth from various Middle Eastern churches, coming together to celebrate unity, faith, and the spirit of togetherness. Organized by OPM – Missio Libani in collaboration with the Taizé community, the event, suitably named "Together," brought 500 participants, along with numerous others who joined later in the evening, for a night of prayer, reflection, and communal bonding.

The evening commenced with a warm welcome as youth from different Christian Middle Easten denominations entered, registered, and chanted their holy churches hymns together, setting the tone for the atmosphere of unity and harmony that would prevail throughout the event.

On Thursday, September 21st, 2023, His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Church of Cilicia, presided over Thanksgiving Prayers for the Republic of Armenia, marking the 32nd anniversary of the Republic of Armenia's re-independence, along with Prayers of solidarity with Artsakh at St. Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral in Antelias. His Holiness Catholicos Aram I blessed the Armenian and Artsakh flags at the end of the ceremony, followed by his Pontifical address.

His Holiness Catholicos Aram I expressed deep sorrow at celebrating Armenia's Independence Day amid the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Artsakh..

His Holiness Pope Francis invites Leaders of Churches from different denominations to join him in Prayer on September 30 entrusting the work of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod, together, to the Holy Spirit.

By Deborah Castellano Lubov

His Holiness Pope Francis will preside over the Ecumenical Payer vigil ahead of the upcoming Synod's General Assembly in St Peter’s Square on Saturday, 30 September.

This vigil of Prayer will welcome the participation and presence of His Beatitude the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I; the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, and many other Church Leaders, as well as thousands of Christians from different denominations.

Two different voices and two different experiences, those of His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem - who will be created a Cardinal by Pope Francis in Rome on September 30th - and Staffan de Mistura, a UN Ambassador and UN Envoy to conflict zones, both united by a single commitment: the difficult but fundamental one of mediation, balance, and diplomacy for the benefit of people, living in situations of conflict, and who are the main victims. An integral vision of peace, interreligious dialogue and the future of the United Nations are the center topics discussed at the meeting that took place on Saturday, September 23, 2023 in Bergamo, entitled 'Peace: between prophecy and diplomacy', moderated by the director of the local newspaper 'L'Eco di Bergamo' Alberto Ceresoli. The event was organized by Fondazione Papa Giovanni XXIII of Bergamo, Istituto Paolo VI and Opera per l'Educazione Cristiana of Brescia – the entities in Italy responsible for preserving the documents left by the two pontiffs, as well as study and enhance their teaching.

Wadi Al-Nasara, Syria, September 22, 2023

For a second day, the Christian Youth Forum continued its activities at the Patriarchal Monastery Saint George Al-Humaira in Wadi Al-Nasara, under the auspices and with blessing of His Beatitude the Most Blessed and Most Reverend Patriarch John X, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, and MECC President for the Orthodox Family.

Since the morning hours, young men and women have been active in individual Biblical readings and spiritual conversations. These were a continuation of the lectures on the first day, when each young man and woman presented a summary of the studied topics: "The basics of the relationship with God."

On September 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, attended the graduation ceremony of the second class at Antioch Syrian University.

His Excellency Dr. Bassam Ibrahim, Minister of Higher Education, attended the ceremony and congratulated the graduating class on its achievements.

During the ceremony, His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II delivered a speech in which he expressed the great accomplishment that Antioch Syrian University has done by offering high quality education to its students at these difficult times. He addressed the graduating class by encouraging them to be successful in their careers, keeping alive the spirit of learning that they acquired at the university.

On Thursday, September 8/21, 2023, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem celebrated the Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos.

On this Feast, the Church commemorates that God released the bonds of the bareness of Joachim and Anna and gave them Mary as the fruit of Anna’s womb, from whom came forth Christ the Saviour of the world through the Holy Spirit.

That is why the Church joyfully chants: “Joachim and Anna were freed from the reproach of childlessness, and Adam and Eve from the corruption of death, O immaculate one, by thy holy nativity, which thy people, redeemed from the guilt of offences, celebrate by crying unto thee: the barren woman giveth birth to the Theotokos, the nourisher of our life” (Kontakion).

At a press conference on Thursday 21 September 2023, confirming details about participation in the Synod and the schedule for the General Assembly, synod organizers revealed plans for a pilgrimage for participants and for a special evening of prayer for migrants and refugees.

By Christopher Wells

Synod organizers on Thursday released the calendar of events for the General Assembly of the Synod, which will be held at the Vatican from 4-29 October.

Among the notable features on the schedule will be a pilgrimage for participants, set for the afternoon of 12 October; details of the pilgrimage have yet to be determined.

On Thursday morning, September 21st, 2023, a press conference was held at the Latin Patriarchate, in Jerusalem, on the elevation of His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, to the College of Cardinals of the Catholic Church, which was attended by several local and national journalists, who took turns in asking His Beatitude various questions.

His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa shared about his current preparations prior to the Public Ordinary Consistory, which is taking place on September 30th in the Vatican. He declared that he would remain in Jerusalem to continue serving the Christians of the diocese. He also talked about the situation of Christians in the Holy Land and the Middle East as a whole. He talked briefly about the role of the church in preserving the Christian presence in the Holy Land, and his perspective of the incidents that occurred recently.

His Holiness Pope Francis appeals for countries to silence their weapons and seek peaceful solutions in Nagorno Karabakh, as tensions flare in the South Caucasus region.

By Deborah Castellano Lubov

His Holiness Pope Francis has appealed for arms to fall silent and for nations to seek peaceful solutions in Nagorno Karabakh.

In his remarks to Italian-speaking pilgrims at his Wednesday General Audience, the Pope expressed his concern for the humanitarian crisis in the Southern Caucasus region.

Mt 20:1-16

The parable in today's Gospel passage (Mt 20:1-16) is one of the strangest of the parables told by Jesus. It is divided in two parts.

In the first (v 1-7) we see the owner of a vineyard going out several times during the day to look for workers to send to work in his vineyard.

This is quite an original master: four times this man is reported to go out of his house looking for workers, so that at the end of the day, none of those he met was left without a call, without a job, without something to do.

He seems to be interested not so much or not only in his vineyard itself, but rather in the workers, so that everyone would have employment and thus also a living wage.

In the second part of the parable we witness the wage scene, which is inaugurated by a very significant verse: the master orders his intendant to give wages to the workers, "starting with the last arrivals and ending with the first." (v. 8).

Seventy years ago, on 21 September 1953, the young Jorge Mario Bergoglio - now His Holiness Pope Francis - went to confession before a party and had an experience of mercy that became a decisive moment in his life and would lead to his vocation as a priest.

By Vatican News

His Holiness Pope Francis' priestly vocation was born seventy years ago, on 21 September 1953. Jorge Mario Bergoglio was almost 17.

On 11 March 1958, he entered the novitiate of the Society of Jesus. On 13 December 1969, just a few days before his thirty-third birthday, Jorge Mario Bergoglio would be ordained to the priesthood.

His Beatitude Patriarch John X, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and MECC President for the Orthodox Family, declared during the Holy Mass he presided over on the occasion of the Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos at Saydnaya Monastery, Syria, that the sessions of the Holy Synod will be officially initiated during which many topics will be raised. One of the most important topics is that the Holy Synod is heading towards canonizing two the Priest and Martyr Father Nicholas Khacha, and his son, the Priest and Martyr Father Habib Khasha.

AFTER NINE MONTHS OF AZERBAIJAN’S

…blockade of food and medicine from reaching Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh)

…psychological warfare against innocent citizens

…repeated military attacks

…killing people going about their daily work

…political game-playing on the world stage

…hostage taking and torturing

…disinformation and “fake news”

The Christian Conference of Asia recently issued an official statement calling for the immediate lifting of the Artsakh blockade by Azerbaijan, noting that the blockade is a great humanitarian crisis that cannot be tolerated on moral and legal grounds.

Christian Conference of Asia expressed its support for Artsakh's right to self-determination in line with the statements made by the World Council of Churches (WCC), the Conference of European Churches (CEC), and the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC).

The statement issued can be found below:

18-08-23 - CCA Statement on Nagorno-Karabakh blockade (PDF)

On Sunday morning the 17th of September 2023, His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, delivered a speech on the ON channel, one of the channels of the United Media Services Company, which owns the channels (ON – DMC – Al Hayat – CBC), as part of the weekly Sunday sermon program.

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II addressed the readings of today’s Mass, which is the first Sunday of the month of Thoout (the first of the Coptic months), and the subject of the Gospel, which is “John the Baptist” in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 7. His Holiness pointed out the wisdom of John the Baptist because he knew his specific path in life…

Jerusalem – The Media Office – The Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem - September 15th, 2023

the Archbishop of the Episcopal Church, Diocese of Jerusalem, His Eminence Hosam Naoum, presided over the Eucharist at St. Paul’s Church in Al Ashrafieh – Amman Jordan, on Sunday morning September 3rd 2023. Rev’d George Kopti, and his wife Mary, Rev’d Jamil Monir Khader, and his wife Sandy, members of the vestry, and members of the parish attended the service. In the service, Bishop Naoum confirmed a group of adolescents from the congregation of St. Paul’s Church, and from St. Luke’s Church – Marka, and the Savior Church - Zarqa. Rev’d Kopti welcomed Archbishop Naoum and all who were present.

In his sermon, Bishop Naoum addressed the confirmands highlighting the importance of love, living by the commandments, and the fruits of the Holy Spirit. He said: “Go into the world accompanied by the prayers of your parents, loved ones, Godparents, parish, rector, and bishop. May you bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit in your lives, so that all may know that you are the disciples of Jesus Christ. Amen.”

Mt 18:21-35

At the heart of the parable recounted in today's Gospel passage (Mt 18:21-35) is a great gesture of gratuitousness: a master has a servant who owes him an enormous sum of money; he realizes that this man will never be able to repay him back everything and, the moment the servant pleads with him, he frees him from the burden of this debt, and makes him live.

He does not beg for long, he does not bargain over the amount of the debt, he does not simply give him a discount, he does not postpone the day of repayment, but he forgives him everything. He does far more than the debtor would have reasonably dared to hope.

To settle such a large debt, there would have been no other way than to sell the servant, with his wife, children, and all that they owned (Matt 18:25): for the servant owed his life and owed his master everything.

The servant, on the other hand, does not ask that his debt be forgiven, but that he be given more time: he clearly does not dare to ask for such a great gift. But perhaps therein lies the problem, for the servant still has the illusion that he can pay back what he owes: " ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full." (Mt 18:26).

“War and Peace: Aspects of Security from the Perspective of Families”

On September 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, participated in the panel entitled: “War and Peace: Aspects of Security from the Perspective of Families”, at the 5th Budapest Summit on Demography, which was held in Budapest.

The panel was moderated by Dr. Gladden Pappin, President of the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs, and included the following speakers: Dr. Christiaan Alting von Geusau, President of the International Catholic Legislators Network (ICLN), Mr. Robert C. Castel, Security Policy Expert, and Mr. Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky, the Hungarian Minister of Defence.

The Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia Thompson, General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ, and the Rev. Terri Hord Owens, General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), joined National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA member communions and faith-based organization heads in appealing to President Joe Biden to end the soft genocide occurring among the people of Artsakh. A copy of the letter was sent to Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken.