Middle East

Palm Sunday: Is there a ray of hope for Christians in the Middle East?

April 28, 2013 Leave a Comment

Source: Albawaba Sunday is the Orthodox Palm Sunday, celebrating when Jesus returned to the city of Jerusalem. The day is known as Shaa'nineh in Arabic and is one of most important dates in the Orthodox religious calendar. The event enables families to come together celebrate mass, and the day is traditionally a familiar affair and an excuse to cook up a good feast and is well celebrated across the Levant nations of Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and beyond. Palm Sunday … [Read more...]

OCA Chaplains deployed to Middle East

April 4, 2013 Leave a Comment

Source: Orthodox Church in America SYOSSET, NY [OCA] - Two priests of the Orthodox Church in America recently were deployed to Afghanistan to provide ministry to members of the US Armed Forces. Priest Paul Rivers, US Army, Chaplain (CPT), in the active duty component in Germany, and Priest George Hill, US Army, Chaplain (MAJ), in the active duty component in Fort Bragg, NC, have been deployed to Afghanistan with their units. In addition, Priest David Alexander, LT, CHC, of the … [Read more...]

Wolf Issues Report Following Trip to Middle East

March 13, 2013 Leave a Comment

Source: Congressman Frank Wolf WOLF ISSUES REPORT FOLLOWING VISIT TO MIDDLE EAST DURING TUMULTUOUS TIME OF CHANGE IN THE REGION Renews Call for Special Envoy to Advocate for Beleaguered Minority Faith Communities, Which are Increasingly Under Assault Washington, D.C. (March 7, 2013) – Rep. Frank Wolf today made a series of policy recommendations – including his continued push for the creation of a Special Envoy for Religious Minorities in the Middle East and South Central Asia – … [Read more...]

Sign a White House Petition to protect Christians in the Middle East

December 15, 2012 1 Comment

THIS IS AN IMPORTANT EFFORT. PLEASE TAKE THE TIME AND REGISTER YOUR SUPPORT. Friends, Are there 25,000 Orthodox Christians in America who are ready to stand up for Orthodox Christians in the Middle East this holiday season? Hellenic American Leadership Council (HALC) is launching a petition asking President Obama to respond to the fact that religious minorities need protection across the globe, and we need your help. In Turkey alone -- which boasts a population of over 75 million -- … [Read more...]

Christians ‘emptied from Middle East’

October 6, 2012 Leave a Comment

Source: The Australian BY: ROWAN CALLICK THE mother superior of a 1500-year-old monastery in Syria warned yesterday during a visit to Australia that the uprising against Bashar al-Assad has been hijacked by foreign Islamist mercenaries, with strong support from Western countries. Mother Agnes-Mariam de la Croix was forced to flee to neighbouring Lebanon in June when she was warned of a plot to abduct her, after she revealed that about 80,000 Christians had been "cleared" by rebel forces … [Read more...]

Egypt’s Coptic Christian Pope Shenouda III Dies

March 17, 2012 Leave a Comment

Source: BBC News Egypt's Coptic Christian Pope Shenouda III has died at the age of 88, state television has announced. The leader of the Middle East's largest Christian minority was reported to suffer from cancer that had spread to several organs. Coptic Christians make up 10% of Egypt's population of 80 million. After attacks on Coptic Christians in recent years, Pope Shenouda urged officials to do more to address the community's concerns. Pope Shenouda led the church, one of the … [Read more...]

Patriarch Kirill Prays for Peaceful Outcome of Arab Revolutions

November 15, 2011 Leave a Comment

Source: Interfax Beirut, November 15, Interfax - Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and Lebanese President Michel Suleyman discussed at a meeting in Beirut the current complicated situation in the Middle East and they agreed that peaceful changes must be carried out and new manifestations of Christianophobia prevented. "We are extremely concerned about the position of Christian communities in Egypt, Iraq and Libya. We have been witnessing radical growth in Christianophobia in other … [Read more...]