NEWS
“Ways of offering Love as we see it in the Weeks of Holy Lent” is a New Series of Sermons by His Holiness Pope Tawadros II at the Wednesday Sermon
His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, delivered his weekly sermon at the Wednesday meeting on March 20th 2024, from the Church of St. Anba Anthony at the Papal Residence in Cairo, without a public presence. The sermon was broadcast on Christian satellite channels, the Official Website of the Coptic Orthodox Church and the COC channel of the Church’s Media Center on the Internet.
His Holiness Pope Tawadros II began a new series of sermons under the title “Ways of Providing Love and Support” by linking them to the Sundays of Holy Lent. H.H. pointed out the characteristics of love as follows:1- It is the essence of God’s nature and being.
2- It is the highest human emotion.
3- It is the path of holiness and continues with man on earth and continues with him even when he is in heaven.“And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”(I Corinthians 13:13)
4- Acquiring it constitutes a person’s credit in heaven.“My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.”(I John 3:18)
His Beatitude Patriarch John X Presides Over the Annunciation Divine Liturgy in Barzeh
Damascus, March 24, 2024
With the blessing and presence of His Beatitude Patriarch John X, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, and President of the Middle East Counci of Churches for the Orthodox Family, His Eminence Bishop Moussa (Al-Khoury) officiated the Annunciation Divine Liturgy in Barzeh, attended by several Priests and with the presence of His Grace Bishop Romanos (Al-Hannat).
During the Sermon, His Beatitude Patriarch John X greeted everyone on the occasion of the Annunciation, which marks the beginning of the plan of salvation. His Beatitude also emphasized that the family is the nucleus of God's work and the cornerstone of society.
His Beatitude Patriarch John X Celebrates the Sunday of Orthodoxy Liturgy at the Mariamiyah Cathedral and Ordains Deacon Kyrillos Qubbajeh as a Priest and Brother Fadi Abu Sbeiha as a Deacon
Damascus, March 24, 2024
His Beatitude Patriarch John X, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, and President of the Middle East Counci of Churches for the Orthodox Family, celebrated the Sunday of Orthodoxy Liturgy at the Mariamiyah Patriarchal Cathedral, with the participation of Bishops: Their Grace Bishop Romanos (Al-Hannat), Moussa (Al-Khoury), and Ioannis (Batach), along with many Priests and Deacons. During the Divine Liturgy, His Beatitude Patriarch John X ordained Deacon Kyrillos Qubbajeh as a Priest of the Lord, and Brother Fadi Abu Sbeiha as a Deacon, bearing the name Nektarios. At the end of the Liturgy, His Beatitude Patriarch John X congratulated the newly ordained, invoking holiness upon them and their families.
His Beatitude Patriarch John X receives His Beatitude Patriarch Youssef Al-Absi
Damascus, March 23, 2024
His Beatitude Patriarch John X, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, and President of the Middle East Counci of Churches for the Orthodox Family, received His Beatitude Patriarch Youssef Al-Absi, Patriarch of the Melkite Greek Catholics, and Honorary President of the Middle East Council of Churches, accompanied by His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolas Antiba. Also present at the meeting was His Eminence Bishop Moussa Al-Khoury, which was held at the Patriarchal Headquarters in Damascus.
His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II receives his brother in Christ His Holiness Catholicos Aram I
On March 23, 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, received his brother in Christ His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Church, Holy See of Cilicia, and Honorary President of the Middle East Council of Churches, at the Patriarchal Residence in Atchaneh, Lebanon.
His Holiness Catholicos Aram I was accompanied by His Eminence Nareg Alemezian, Ecumenical Officer at the Armenian Orthodox Catholicosate, and Rev. Fr. Sarkis Aprahamian.
The Sunday of Orthodoxy at The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem
From the Secretariat-General of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem
The Sunday of the 11th / 24th of March 2024 was celebrated by the Patriarchate as the first Sunday of Lent and as the Sunday of Orthodoxy, that is, as a memory of the restoration of the holy icons after more than a hundred years of unholy and impious persecution against them.
This feast was celebrated as a triumph of the icons due to their return to the Holy Churches by the Patriarch of Constantinople Methodios and the Empress Theodora and her son Michael. Empress Theodora asked God for forgiveness for her husband, Emperor Theophilos the fighter of the icons, through a litany. Since then, the Church unwaveringly and undisturbedly honours the holy icons as a certification and confirmation of the mystery of the incarnation of our Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ.
His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III Celebrates the first Stasis of the Salutations to the Mother of God
From the Secretariat-General of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem
The Sunday of the 11th / 24th of March 2024 was celebrated by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem as the first Sunday of Lent and as the Sunday of Orthodoxy, that is, as a memory of the restoration of the holy icons after more than a hundred years of unholy and impious persecution against them.
This feast was celebrated as a triumph of the icons due to their return to the Holy Churches by the Patriarch of Constantinople Methodios and the Empress Theodora and her son Michael. Empress Theodora asked God for forgiveness for her husband, Emperor Theophilos the fighter of the icons, through a litany. Since then, the Church unwaveringly and undisturbedly honours the holy icons as a certification and confirmation of the mystery of the incarnation of our Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ.
His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa Celebrated Palm Sunday: "Christ Is Our Point Of Reference"
JERUSALEM - On Sunday, March 24th, 2024, His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, presided over the Palm Sunday celebrations, with the participation of Mgr. William Shomali, Patriarchal General Vicar, Fr. Francesco Patton, the Custos of the Holy Land, and many bishops, priests and faithful.
The celebrations began at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, where His Beatitude blessed the palm and olive branches and led a procession around the tomb, remembering Christ's royal entry into Jerusalem before the beginning of Holy Week, while the Gospel of the Passion according to the Evangelist Mark was read.
At noon, the faithful gathered at Betphage Monastery to start the traditional procession to the Monastery of St. Anne. Indeed, small in numbers compared to previous years, but with faith and unity, many people from Jerusalem and Galilee, different monastic orders and a few pilgrims who came to show solidarity and pray with the people of the Holy City, prayers were raised in the streets for peace and the cessation of war, while raising the voice of praise to Jesus Christ the true King and victor over the darkness.
Funeral Prayers of the Three Monks in the Archdiocese of South Africa
At eleven o’clock this morning, in the Church of Virgin Mary and Saint Mark the Apostle in the Parkview area of Johannesburg, Funeral Prayers were held for the three monks who were martyred following a criminal incident on Tuesday inside their Monastery, the Monastery of Saint Mark the Apostle and Saint Samuel the Confessor in South Africa. They are:
– The Monk Hegumen Takla El-Samuely
– The Monk Mina Ava Markos
– The Monk Yostos Ava Markos
The Funeral Prayers were prayed by His Eminence Metropolitan Antonious Markos, Metropolitan of South Africa and the delegation appointed by His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, to attend the prayer: His Grace Bishop Boules, (General Bishop of Evangelism in Africa), His Grace Bishop Joseph (Bishop of Namibia and its affiliated regions), and Father Elisha Rezk, (priest of St. Mark’s Church in Washington).
Statement by the Coptic Orthodox Church regarding the Martyrdom of the Three Monks in the Monastery of Saint Mark the Apostle and Saint Samuel the Confessor, Johannesburg, South Africa
“But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses” (2 Cor. 6:4)
Today, three monks were subjected to a criminal attack in our Coptic monastery of Saint Mark the Apostle and Saint Samuel the Confessor in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The attack resulted in the martyrdom of the three monks:-The Monk Hegumen Takla El-Samuely (deputy of the diocese of South Africa)-The Monk Yostos Ava Markos-The Monk Mina Ava Markos…
His Holiness Pope Tawadros II and 106 Pontiffs of the Church Pray the Liturgy for the Sanctification of the Holy Myron and the Galileon at St. Bishoy’s Monastery in Wadi El-Natroun, Egypt
On Tuesday the 12th of March 2024, the prayers of the Liturgy for the Sanctification of the Holy Myron Oil were held, followed by the Liturgy of the Galileon Oil, and the prayers concluded with the Eucharist for the Day of the Sanctification of the Holy Myron and the Galileon, and the chapters of whose readings are for this event.His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, arrived at nine in the morning of March 12 at the Cathedral of the Monastery of Saint Bishoy in Wadi Natroun, accompanied by the Metropolitans and Bishops. His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, began the first step of the Holy Myron Ritual, which is the “Liturgy for the Sanctification of the Holy Myron Oil,” where the eight vessels containing the Holy Myron Oil were placed inside the altar, before beginning prayers in preparation for sanctification.
The Chrismation Liturgy, as well as the Galileon Sanctification Liturgy, is distinguished by the fact that they have a ritual arrangement that follows the same pattern as the usual Divine Liturgy, with some differences represented in the texts of the prayers and requests, which focus on requests for the sanctification of the oil. In the Chrismation Liturgy, the Book of Song of Solomon is read along with the readings of the Pauline Epistle, the Catholic Epistle, the Praxis, the Psalm, and the Gospel.Among the prayers, there is a unique ritual that is performed only during the consecration of the Chrism. It is the ritual of the session that took place inside the altar, during which His Holiness carried the book of Masagogy, meaning (the teaching of faith), and walked around with it three times, along with a number of the church’s bishops.
The Feast of Saint Porphyrios Bishop of Gaza at the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem
From the Secretariat-General of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem
On Sunday, February 26/March 10, 2024, the commemoration of the Holy Martyr Porphyrios, Bishop of Gaza, was celebrated by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem in the Holy Monastery named after him in the currently afflicted city of Gaza.
On this Feast, the whole Church, especially that of Jerusalem, remembers that Saint Porphyrios, originally from Thessalonica, came to the Holy Land and was ordained a Priest and then Bishop of Gaza. At the imperial command, he destroyed the last stronghold of the national idolatry in Gaza and consecrated a Holy Church along with the Christian presence in Gaza through the centuries.
Meditation of His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa: IV Sunday Of Lent, B
Today's Gospel passage (Jn. 3:14-21) is a wonderful summary and gives us a deeper interpretation of the Lenten journey we have been on.
Two keys of analysis have accompanied us in the past Sundays.
The first is the one of revelation: During Easter, God fully reveals himself. It is right there, in his death and resurrection, that we find the ultimate revelation of his face. And we can finally fulfill our longing to have a relationship with Him.
The second, which we encountered last Sunday, is the one of reversal: the revelation of how God operates in a contradicting the human way and reason. We saw how God overturned the tables.
The Saturday of the Souls at the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem
From the Secretariat-General of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem
Following the order of the Triodion, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem dedicated Saturday, February 25/March 9, 2024, as a day of prayer for the repose of souls.
To this end, on Friday afternoon, in the Monastic and Patriarchal Church of Saints Constantine and Helen, the Canon for the departed was chanted and a memorial prayer was recited, led by His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, with the Prayer for the repose of the Holy Sepulchre Patriarchs of Jerusalem, High Priests, Priests, monks and nuns who have been sleeping in the Lord for centuries.
His Holiness Catholicos Aram I Presides Over the Reinstated Mid-Lent Sunrise Service at St. Nichan Cathedral
The Armenian Prelacy of Lebanon joyfully reinstated the cherished tradition of inviting His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Church, Holy See of Cilicia, and MECC Honorary President, to preside over the Mid-Lent sunrise service (Arevakal) at St. Nichan Cathedral on March 6th, 2024.
Members of the Cilician Brotherhood and the seminarians accompanied His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, while Armenian high school students and members of the Diocesan executive council joined the faithful.
Meditation of His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa: III Sunday Of Lent, B
John 2:13-25
Last Sunday, we went up to Mount Tabor, where Jesus revealed His face as the beloved Son (Mark 9:2-10). We saw that the disciples Peter, James, and John were with him, as well as Moses, and Elijah, who appeared before them. Those two prophets who, during their lives, also participated in an epiphany, a transfiguration: they went up a mountain, where God made himself present, but without ever seeing him face to face, but rather only from behind, after the Lord had passed over.
However, on Mount Tabor, God reveals his face, and he does so in Jesus. In His story, and especially in His Passover, God makes himself known.
Today this process of the unveiling of this revelation takes a further step.
We are at the beginning of John's Gospel (John 2:13-25), where we find an episode that the Synoptics put immediately after Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem instead of at the end of their narrative.
The episode is the so-called cleansing of the temple.
His Beatitude Cardinal Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa: Gaza ceasefire more urgent than ever
In a new interview with Vatican News, His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem repeats his appeal for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, calling on both sides to make compromises.
By Federico Piana and Joseph Tulloch
“A ceasefire in Gaza is more urgent than ever.”That's the latest appeal for peace launched by His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.
Speaking to Vatican News' Federico Piana, His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa stressed that a ceasefire is possible: “All that’s missing is the will to make it happen.”
In the course of the interview, the Patriarch also touched on the “fragile” situation of Gaza’s Christians, and the role the Church might play in peace negotiations.
His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II celebrated the Holy Qurobo at Saint Mary Church in Guatemala
On March 3rd, 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, celebrated the Holy Qurobo at Saint Mary Church in Guatemala. The Holy Qurobo was attended by the faithful from the Syrian Community in Guatemala.
His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa Appoints A General Secretary For The Youth Of Palestine
TAYBEH - On Friday, March 1st, 2024, His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, presided over a Mass at Christ the Redeemer Church, during which he appointed members of the General Secretariat, and members of the committees for the Christian Youth in Palestine, in the presence of the founder of the Christian Youth in Palestine, His Beatitude Former Patriarch Michel Sabbah, and several priests, religious sisters, youth, as well as the faithful.
In his homily, His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa addressed his words to the youth of Palestine, saying: “Now is the most urgent time to cling to prayer and hope,” adding: “Today you renew your promise before God to continue serving the Church and the youth, and therefore you must pray without ceasing until your hearts become like the heart of Jesus, shining with true light".