“Together to rebuild the Cathedral of the Apostles Peter and Paul in Antioch”

Balamand - Lebanon, March 1, 2024.

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 a delegation from Antioch, including Archimandrite Paulus Orduloglu, his Vicar in Antioch, Mr. Fadi Hurigil, the president of the association, and architect Buse Ceren Gul, at the Patriarchal Headquarters in Balamand. His Beatitude Patriarch John X was briefed by the delegation on the general situation and on the reconstruction and relief efforts in Antioch and the surrounding areas following the earthquake on February 6, 2023. His Beatitude the Patriarch closely examined the progress regarding the removal of debris and the reconstruction of the Cathedral of the Apostles Peter and Paul in Antioch, including plans and permits. His Beatitude Patriarch John X emphasized that the Cathedral of the Apostles has been and will remain the historical heart of the Church of Antioch and All the East, and that its reconstruction is entrusted for the Christian presence deeply rooted in the East.

Residents in and around Aleppo live life on the brink of disaster

by Emily Enders Odom, Mission Communications | Special to Presbyterian News Service

LOUISVILLE — Bernadette thought that she had seen the worst of it.

For well over a decade, she and her family had unflinchingly withstood Syria’s ever-worsening humanitarian and economic crisis, the country’s ongoing localized hostilities and its collapsing infrastructure.

But then — following the devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Syria and Turkey in February 2023 — the longtime school supervisor’s own home began crumbling beneath her very feet.

“How many conflicts and massacres have we witnessed, always tragic and always pointless?” the Pope asks. “Let us all take up the cry for peace."

By Joseph Tulloch

The dire geopolitical situation in Armenia, the importance of collaboration with the country’s Orthodox Church, and the need for bishops to be close to their flocks.

These were the themes at the centre of Pope Francis’ address to the Bishops of the Armenian Catholic Church on Wednesday morning.

As the Pope is recovering from a cold, his speech was read aloud by Msgr. Filippo Ciampanelli, an official at the Vatican’s Secretariat of State.

A 'tragic and pointless' war

Last year, more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians were forced to flee the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave after a military offensive carried out by neighbouring Azerbaijan. There are fears that another attack may follow.

JUBEIHA - From Friday, February 23rd, until Sunday, February 25th, 2024, His Beatitude Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, spent three days with the parishioners of Jubeiha, during which he learned more about the life of the parish and the area in general.

The visit began with the welcoming of H.B. Card. Pierbattista Pizzaballa and the delegation accompanying him by Fr. Samer Madanat, parish priest of Jubeiha, Fr. Giacomo Dainotti, assistant priest, Deacon Basel Brancy, the sisters of the parish, as well as the Pastoral Council, heads of the Pastoral Activities, and the Scouts, at the entrance of the church. He blessed the faithful with the Holy Water, before presiding over a Mass at the church of Saint Paul the Apostle.

“I come to you with a great desire and passion to learn more about the reality of the parish of Jubeiha,” said H.B. Card. Pizzaballa, in his homily. “My main goal is to listen to your needs and to learn about the various pastoral activities that I always hear about so that I can bear witness to God’s work among you.” Commenting on the Gospel, he urged the parish to maintain the bonds of love between the family, saying: “God consecrated the family unit to reflect the image of His eternal love for humanity. Hence this love must always be present and apparent in your families. Despite the challenges, that may face the family unit, in our day and age, you must not forget the presence of God among you. That’s how you can overcome all challenges. Let us pray by asking God to protect the families of this parish so that you can be a source of light in your communities”.

Pan-Armenian fundraising for the Center for the Preservation of Artsakh’s cultural heritage was initiated on February 20th, 2024 and will continue until March 23rd, 2024. The center was established in response to Azerbaijan’s occupation of Artsakh and the destruction of its centuries-old cultural and spiritual heritage.

In an address on this occasion conveyed by HE Arch. Shahan Sarkissian, the director of the Cilicia Library, His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Church, Holy See of Cilicia, expresses the support of the Armenian Church, Holy See of Cilicia for this initiative, emphasizing the Holy See's advocacy for Artsakh and its people. His Holiness also underscores the cultural foundation's significance in preserving identity and urges material support to contribute practically to the revival of Artsakh's culture.

His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, together with His Highness Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad, Chief Advisor to His Majesty the King of Jordan for Religious and Cultural Affairs, opened on Sunday, February 18, 2024 the Three Hierarchs Greek Orthodox Church, within the Orthodox Center project in Dibeen in Jerash Governorate, Jordan.

The opening of the new church was attended by Her Highness Princess Maryam Ghazi and the Patriarchal Representative of Amman His Eminence Archbishop Christophoros of Kyriakopolis, who said that the opening of the church coincides with the Kingdom’s celebrations of the silver jubilee of His Majesty the King of Jordan, King Abdullah II, stressing that Jordan is a living example of religious coexistence, and a haven for safety, security and stability.

Archbishop Christophoros continued that “the church will meet the needs of young people, and will be a place for holding conferences, meeting intellectually and culturally, and serving the local community.” He also expressed his thanks for the generous donation made by Mr. Issa Nassif Odeh to complete the construction of the church.

Mark 9:2-10

Today's Gospel passage invites us to take an important step in our Lenten journey.

Last Sunday, the story of the temptations brought light into lives, revealing that the Word of the Father desires to come down to knead with our everyday choices.

Today, the same light shines on the face of Jesus, revealing part of the mystery of God for us to know as much as we can.

The account of the Transfiguration (Mark 9:2-10) takes us back to the beginning of our faith journey, to what makes it possible.

And that is, to the fact that we can believe by the simple fact that God reveals himself, that he makes himself known, that he shows us his Face.

In my reflection for this blog on 25 September 2023, I shared with you news about the 1500th Centennial Jubilee of Mor Philoxinous of Mabough. I would like to detail some activities that took place at the Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch during 2023 in honour of this great saint Mor Philoxinous of Mabough.

In response to the call by His Holiness Moran Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and all the East, the Supreme Head of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church, and Honorary President of the Middle East Council of Churches, and despite the major earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria in February 2023, and the other ongoing uncertainties in the Middle East that took an unprecedented development in October 2023, which affected the world, adding to the woes in Europe of the war, the Syriac Orthodox community worldwide answered the call, and learned more about this great saint and savvy theologian throughout the year 2023.

The clergy, as always, were eager to teach and the faithful were very keen to know more about such a great saint.

For example, the St Ephraim Syrian Orthodox Church in Perth, Australia, under the leadership of V. Rev. Fr. Boutros Touma Issa, featured Mor Philoxinous of Mabough’s image on the 2023 calendar, providing a brief glimpse on this saint’s way of thinking. Also, the church published on its website a brochure on the life and writings of this great saint.

On February 22, 2024, His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and Supreme Head of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church, and Honorary President of the Middle East Council of Churches, visited His Beatitude Patriarch John X, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, and President of the Middle East Council of Churches, at the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Damascus.

During the visit, His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II and His Beatitude Patriarch John X discussed Church matters as well as the current situation in Syria and the region.

During a time of war, struggle, and pain, the World Council of Churches (WCC) is accompanying the Churches and the people in Palestine and [Israel] on their journey with Prayer, action, and hope for a better future.

On 18 February, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay preached at the Ascension Church on the Mount of Olives, Jerusalem. The sermon, based on the lectionary reading from Matthew 4:1-11, focused on the devil’s tempting of Jesus in the wilderness. 

Pillay pointed out that we all struggle at times with understanding and doing God’s will, and related this to the struggle in the Palestine context, especially now in the context of the war in Gaza. 

He called on people of faith to surrender like Jesus to the will of the Father and to be assured, even in the context of violence and uncertainty, that they can have security in Christ. 

World Council of Churches (WCC) General Secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay met with their Beatitudes the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem on 17 February, and was received with gratitude “at this difficult and complicated time for all the peoples of this region, and especially for the Christian community of the Holy Land,” said His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, in a welcome address. 

Your visit is of such importance, for you bring with you the attention of the World Council of Churches and its members to the situation here,” said His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III. “War and violence are always the consequence of human failure.”

But the Church proclaims a different truth, the Patriarch said. “In theological terms we affirm that hatred and darkness have no hypostasis; it is only light and life that have a true and enduring existence,” he said. “Death is not our mission.”

As Christians take our first steps on the Lenten path, His Holiness Pope Francis invites us to confront our inner struggles and to allow the voice of God to speak to our hearts.

By Linda Bordoni

On the first Sunday of Lent, His Holiness Pope Francis took his cue from the Gospel of Mark that presents us with Jesus tempted in the desert (Mk 1:12-15).

Speaking during the Angelus address, the Pope reflected on the symbolic significance of the wilderness, urging Christians to "enter the wilderness, that is, silence, the inner world, listening to the heart, in contact with the truth."

Damascus, 17th February 2024

With the blessing and presence of His Beatitude 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, the Orthodox Sunday Schools of the Damascus Center launched a workshop on "Goal Planning Methodology" with the aim of participation and benefit from the goal bank associated with educational and evangelistic work at the center.

Nine years ago, twenty-one Coptic men were executed by ISIS on a beach in Libya. Now, for the first time, their feast day has been observed by the Catholic Church.

By Joseph Tulloch

For the first time, the Catholic Church has celebrated the feast day of the 21 Coptic martyrs killed by ISIS in 2015.

The men – members of Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Church – were murdered on a beach in Libya. Footage of their execution was posted online by the terrorist group, and shared widely.  

All 21 men were immediately proclaimed martyrs by the Coptic Church. Then, last May, His Holiness Pope Francis added them to the Roman Martyrology, the Catholic Church’s official list of saints.

His Holiness Pope Francis celebrates the beginning of Lent with Mass at the Basilica of Santa Sabina, and calls on the faithful to take up Jesus’ invitation to “return to the heart.”

By Christopher Wells

At the beginning of Lent, Jesus invites each one of us to “go into our inner room,” His Holiness Pope Francis said in his homily for Mass on Ash Wednesday.

“Going into your inner room,” explained the Pope, “means returning to the heart... going from without to within, so that our whole life, including our relationship with God,” reflects the reality of our inner being.

The Pope said that Lent offers us the opportunity to “go back” to our authentic selves, removing all the masks and illusions that we too often wear.

This, he said, is why “in a spirit of prayer and humility, we receive ashes on our head"—the ashes remind us we are dust, but dust that is loved and preserved by God: “The ashes placed on our head invite us to rediscover the secret of life” and allow us to feel ourselves to be loved by God “with an eternal love.”

On Thursday, the 2nd/15th of February 2024, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem celebrated the Despotic feast of the Meeting of the Lord in the Temple:

In the Patriarchal and Monastic Church of the Patrons of the Patriarchate Saints Constantine and Helen, presided over by His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, with the attendance of the High Priests and Priests of the Brotherhood.

At the Holy Monastery of Panagia Sayda Naya, near the Patriarchate in the Christian quarter.

On this Feast, the Church remembers that our Lord, the Creator and Giver of the Law on Mount Sinai to the Prophet Moses, observed this Law, being brought as an infant in the arms of His parents to the Temple of Solomon, when Simeon the righteous received Him in his arms, thus becoming “God-receiver” and recognized Him as the Christ, saying: ” Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel” (Luke 2, 29-32) thus confessing the incarnation of Christ…

By Munir Bayouk/ en.abouna.org:

In its capacity as a guest of honor, a Jordanian delegation has participated in the annual meetings of the Christian pilgrimage directors in Lourdes, southern France, which is the home of one of the most important Christian pilgrimage grottos, namely Our Lady of Lourdes. In attendance were more than 850 pilgrimage directors from France and several other countries.

At the opening session, a film was screened on religious tourism in Jordan, while Jordan was welcomed as the guest country for this year. Representing the Jordan Tourism Board, Director of the Catholic Center for Studies and Media (CCSM) in Jordan Fr. Dr. Rif'at Bader said, "I have come from the Holy Land of Jordan where Lord Jesus Christ was baptized in its waters, namely at the River Jordan (the Baptism Site) by John the Baptist."

From Secretariat-General of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem

On Monday, January 30/February 12, 2024, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem celebrated the Feast of the Three Hierarchs, Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and John Chrysostom.

On this Feast, the Church honours the Three Hierarchs as teachers of the faith, defenders of the decision of the First Ecumenical Council on the one essence of the Son with the Father and the teaching of the Divinity of the Holy Spirit, and the Virginity of the Mother of God. The three Saints were authors of a multitude of theological writings explaining the Holy Bible, and great teachers, “the three greatest luminaries of the Three-sun God”, as their apolytikion says, who drew the boundaries between Christian teaching and ancient Greek philosophy, mainly through the writing of Saint Basil to the young, “ὅπως ἄν ἐξ ἑλληνικῶν ὀφελοῖντο λόγων “.

His Holiness Pope Francis releases the theme for his message for the 2024 World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly: “Do not cast me off in my old age”.

By Devin Watkins

On Sunday, July 28, Catholics around the world will be invited to take time to reflect on the great heritage and wisdom passed on by their grandparents and the elderly.

In preparation for the 4th World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life released the theme for the 2024 iteration.

His Holiness Pope Francis has chosen the theme: “Do not cast me off in my old age” (cf. Psalm 71:9).

According to a press release from the Dicastery, it is meant “to call attention to the fact that, sadly, loneliness is the bitter lot in life of many elderly persons, so often the victims of the throw-away culture.”

Mark 1:12-15

The journey of Lent opens with the account of the temptations, told very succinctly in Mark's Gospel. Two verses only, according to which, immediately after his baptism by John, “the Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert, and he remained in the desert for forty days tempted by Satan. He was among wild beasts, and angels ministered to him" (Mark 1:12-13). Mark does not recount the content of the temptations, nor Jesus' dialogue with the tempter. The emphasis, as we shall see, is on something else.

However, the liturgy of the Word for this liturgical year adds to these few verses the following ones, which in themselves do not relate to the story of temptations, but may provide a further key to its interpretation. It is a Word already heard in the Third Sunday of Ordinary Time, the one that offers us Jesus' first words in his public life: "This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15).

Why this juxtaposition?

The beginning of Jesus' public life does not take place immediately after his Baptism; Jesus could have started from there, from that Word heard from the Father proclaiming his beloved Son. He could have started from there to bring this good news to everyone, to make the Father's voice resound in every place…