On May 12, 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 St. Mary Church in Cairo – Egypt.

His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II was assisted by Their Eminences Archbishops: Mor Timotheos Matta Al-Khoury, Archbishop of Homs, Hama, Tartous and Environs and Interim Patriarchal Vicar in Egypt, and Mor Clemis Daniel Kourieh, Archbishop of Beirut, in the presence of His Eminence Mor Augeen Al-Khoury Nemat, Patriarchal Secretary and the representatives of the sister Churches in Cairo.

His Holiness Pope Francis marks World Day of Social Communications inviting humanity to foster a genuinely humane communication.

By Linda Bordoni

His Holiness Pope Francis on Sunday marked the 58th World Day of Social Communications reminding us, in a world increasingly permeated by artificial intelligence, to never lose sight of the “wisdom of the heart.”

Speaking during the Regina Caeli on Ascension Sunday, he said: “Only by recuperating a wisdom of the heart can we interpret the demands of our time and rediscover the path to fully human communication.”

“The Church of Antioch has always abode by the mindset of encounter and dialogue”

Damascus, May 11, 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 His Beatitude Joseph Al-Absi, Greek-Melkite Catholic Patriarch of Antioch and all the East, Alexandria, and Jerusalem, and Honorary President of the Middle East Council of Churches for the Catholic Family, at the Patriarchate in Damascus. His Beatitude Al-Absi visited the Patriarch to present greetings for the holidays. The meeting touched on recent issues and the most important challenges facing the Christian presence in the East. For his part, His Beatitude Patriarch John X expressed the importance of the encounter with the different neighbor that the Church of Antioch, entrusted with this great Christian heritage, has been experiencing. In turn, His Beatitude Patriarch Joseph Al-Absi expressed the necessity of strengthening the bridges of communication that bring the two churches together in the Middle East, which is witnessing various challenges.

The Fourteenth Meeting of the Heads of the Oriental Orthodox Churches in the Middle East; His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, 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, and His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Church, Holy See of Cilicia, and Honorary President of the Middle East Council of Churches, and the delegation accompanying each of them. was concluded on Friday the 10th of May’s evening at the Papal Residence in Cairo.

During the meeting, several files of common interest were discussed, most notably the topic of Christian presence in the Middle East, relations between Church families, and the Ecumenical Councils.

At the end of the meeting, a joint statement was issued containing what was agreed upon between the three Orthodox Churches.

Jn 17:11b-19 

We have arrived at the last days of this Easter season, and the feast of Pentecost is approaching, in which the Father's plan of salvation is brought to completion, which was fulfilled in the Passover of the Lord Jesus.

The whole history of salvation is aimed at this moment, to this event: everything tends toward this day, prepared from time immemorial, and carried out with infinite patience by the Father's Providence.

Within this history, there is a term that returns often, which speaks of an experience that has a deep connection, a great attunement, with salvation.

For God’s people, salvation is always linked to a going out, and a coming forth.

Israel is enslaved in Egypt, and God intervenes with a powerful hand to bring his people out of a land of enslavement.

Israel is deported to Babylon, and God again intervenes to bring the captives out of the land to which they have been deported, to lead them back to the land of freedom. For God's people can't be a people of slaves…

The Feast of the Holy Great Martyr George the Trophy Bearer was celebrated in the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem:

A) In the Monastic Church of Saints Constantine and Helen, in the context of the Liturgy of the Monday of Bright Week, officiated by His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, after the Divine Liturgy, the congregation went to the Patriarchate Hall chanting “Christ is risen”.

B) In the Holy Monastery of Saint George of the Hospital in the Old City of Jerusalem opposite the Patriarchate and by transferring the commemoration to Tuesday, April 24th / May 7th.

This Feast was celebrated in the evening with Vespers and the Divine Liturgy in the morning, officiated by the Archimandrite Christodoulos, under the chanting of Hierodeacons Dositheos and Simeon with the attendance of monks, nuns, and faithful from Jerusalem.

The Gospel passages we have heard during this Easter season have repeatedly told us that Jesus came to bring life in abundance, give true peace, and leave us with his joy.

But where can this be found? How is this promise fulfilled?

Today's Gospel passage (Mk 16:15-20) makes us witness a great paradox.

On one hand, the passage recounts Jesus' return to the Father: indeed, in v.19 we read that “the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God”.

Jesus fulfilled his mission, which the Father sent him into the world for: he gave his life for his friends, so that everyone can hope again to enter a relationship of love and trust with the God of life.

On Thursday 9 May 2024’s evening, Thursday, His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, received at the Papal Residence in Cairo, 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, and His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Church, Holy See of Cilicia, and Honorary President of the Middle East Council of Churches, and the delegation accompanying each of them.

This meeting preceded the meetings of the Heads of the Oriental Orthodox Churches in the Middle East, which will be held in Cairo, hosted by the Coptic Orthodox Church.

On May 9, 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, arrived to Cairo to participate in the fourteenth meeting of the Heads of the Oriental Orthodox Churches in the Middle East.

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, delegated their Eminences: Anba Thomas, Archbishop of Kawsiyya and Mir, Anba Clemandos, General Bishop, Anba Angelos General Bishop of the Churches of Shabra, and Dr. Gergis Saleh, Honorary President of the Middle East Council of Churches, to receive His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, and 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 Cairo International Airport.

On Tuesday evening, May 7th, 2024, His Holiness Catholicos Aram I of the Holy See of Cilicia, and Honorary President of the Middle East Council of Churches, established contact with His Holiness Catholicos Karekin II of the Holy See of St. Etchmiadzin, expressing full solidarity with the statement published on the same day by the Supreme Spiritual Council of the Holy See of St. Etchmiadzin, regarding Armenia’s current situation.

Last Sunday we began meditating on chapter XV of John's Gospel, in which Jesus speaks of the bond that unites him to his own, which is likened to the vine and its branches: not two different things, not two different lives, but the same life which circulates and bears fruit (Jn 15:1-8).

Today our meditation continues (Jn 15:9-17), leading us to ask a fundamental question: what is the fruit that Jesus is talking about. We said that the branch must bear fruit. Such a good vinedresser, such a beautiful vine, a branch so united to the vine, what kind of good fruit will it produce?

From Secretariat-General of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem

The feast of the Holy Pascha, the feast of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, was celebrated on Sunday, April 22 / May 5, 2024, at night in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

In the beginning, the Resurrection Canon was chanted in the Catholicon of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, until His Beatitude, the High Priests and the Priests were clothed.

Then the litany began around the Holy Sepulchre three times, then the Second Matins Gospel from the Evangelist Mark was read “on the Sabbath, Mary Magdalene…” and “Christ is Risen” was sung from the interior of the Holy Edicule by His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, and the Byzantine choir, ten times.

On May 5, 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 on the occasion of Easter Sunday, at St. Georges Patriarchal Cathedral in Bab Touma, Damascus, Syria.

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, celebrated the Trampling of Hell Service and the Divine Liturgy for Holy Pascha, with the concelebration of Their Eminences Reverend Bishops: John (Batash), Moussa (Al Khasi), and many Priests and Deacons in the Mariamite Cathedral in Damascus, Syria, on May 4, 2024.

The service was attended by the Minister of Local Administration and Environment, Ms. Lamia Chacour, the Hungarian Ambassador, Mr. Csaba Czibere, and the Head of the Austrian Mission Mr. Peter Krois.

From the Secretariat-General of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem

On Holy Saturday, April 21/May 4, 2024, the Ceremony of the Holy Light took place at the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

In accordance with the Status Quo and the Standard of His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, arrived on the 12th noon winter time at 13.00 p.m. summer time from the Patriarchate through the stairs of the Cathedral of Saint James the Brother of God to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Then, having venerated at the Holy Deposition, He went to the Holy Altar of the Catholicon and the three communities of Armenians, Copts and Syrians came and received the blessing to receive the Holy Light.

In a historic meeting, Anglican Communion Primates from around the world have attended an audience with His Holiness Pope Francis at the Vatican, during the morning of May 2.

In the hour-long meeting the Pope shared words of encouragement and affirmation, in conversation with the primates, responding to questions from those gathered.

In his address, His Holiness Pope Francis spoke about themes of synodality, church unity and the prioritization of relationships, Christian love and service.

The Pope said: "Only a love that becomes gratuitous service, only the love that Jesus taught and embodies, will bring separated Christians closer to one another. Only that love, which does not appeal to the past in order to remain aloof or to point a finger, only that love which in God's name puts our brothers and sisters before the ironclad defence of our own religious structures, only that love will unite us. First our brothers and sisters, the structures later."

Coordinated by the Anglican Centre in Rome, the Anglican Communion Primates will visit important sites that relate to the first Apostles who made missionary journeys to Rome.

On April 29, 2024, their pilgrimage was to Tre Fontane (the location of St Paul’s martyrdom) and the Basilica of St Paul’s Outside the Walls (the resting place of St Paul).

At Tre Fontane, the primates spent time in Prayer and contemplation, visiting the three shrines on the location. Tradition holds that between AD 64-67 the apostle Paul was beheaded at Tre Fontane by the Emperor Nero, the bounce of his head on the ground causing three fountains to spring forth.

On April 30th, 2024, both His Holiness Catholicos Karekin II of the Holy See of St. Echmiadzin and His Holiness Catholicos Aram I of the Holy See of Cilicia underscored the paramount importance of safeguarding the territorial integrity of the Republic of Armenia.

During a recent phone conversation, the Catholicoi addressed pressing concerns facing Armenia and reiterated the unwavering commitment of the Armenian Church towards preserving the nation’s sovereignty and unity.

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, is scheduled to pray the Holy Pascha prayers and the Holy Thursday Liturgy in a number of churches and monasteries, while His Holiness the Pope will pray the Good Friday prayers and the Glorious Resurrection Liturgy in St. Mark’s Cathedral in Abbasiya.