Source: Orthodox History by SAMUEL NOBLE The following is a translation from Asad Rustum’s History, vol. 3 pp. 357-362. It is not only interesting in terms of the description of the ceremony, but also because the conversion seems to have occurred through the Syriac bishop’s contact with Russian pilgrims. Recalling this moment of hope for Christian unity in Syria– just 112 years […] Read the complete article here
Source: Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America Report from the Patriarchate of Antioch (بيان باللغة العربية) On Tuesday, October 10, 2023, at 11:00 a.m., His Beatitude John X, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, arrived at the Beirut Archbishopric. His Eminence Elias Audi, the Metropolitan of Beirut and its Dependencies, received him with the priests of the Archdiocese. After the prayer, a closed meeting took place between His Beatitude the Patriarch and His Eminence Metropolitan Elias, followed by lunch. His Beatitude answered journalists’ questions as follows: “I address you, my beloved ones, from this honorable residence in Beirut,…
Source: International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) IOCC is in touch with partners in Syria (shown here during initial emergency action) and Turkey as we assess needs and identify an appropriate response to the devastating earthquake. (Photo: GOPA-DERD) Upon hearing news of the early-morning earthquake on February 6, 2023, the hearts of IOCC’s staff went out to all those affected. We then got in touch with partners in and around the affected regions. Our local partners in Syria have indicated that basic needs (like food, bedding, and clothing) are most pressing right now. As we assess needs of those displaced by…
Source: Orthodox Christianity Andrei German Introduction by Matfey Shaheen: Would it surprise you to know that Syria, Ukraine, and all Rus’ belong to Western Civilization? If we define Western Civilization as it was classically understood to be: 1.) Greek Philosophy, 2.) Roman Law, and 3.) Christianity, we would see that Russia by that model, is more Western than the contemporary “West”, which from the French revolution onward ideologically rejected Christendom. But where did Rus’ inherit this belonging to Christendom? Kievan Rus’ received Orthodoxy “from the Greeks”, but Syria, at that time was no less Hellenic than Athens. Antioch was a capital of Christian, Greco-Roman Civilization—the homeland…
Source: Orthodox Church in America Dream Centers offer Children, Families Safe Spaces, Support Overcoming Trauma BALTIMORE, MD [IOCC] – International Orthodox Christian Charities [IOCC] is launching a new fundraising campaign, aiming to raise $250,000 for programming that supports children and families who have survived trauma and tragedy in Syria. Children are among the millions affected by the conflict in Syria, including many displaced in their own country. Whether through exposure to violence or the loss of a home, family member, and stable daily life, children are especially susceptible to mental distress and uncertainty about the future. Working with Church partner the Greek…
via VIDEO | Syrian Christian town where Jesus’ language remains in use celebrates Christmas One of the places where Christmas was celebrated on Tuesday is Maaloula, a small town near Damascus, where residents still speak Aramaic, the language used by Jesus Christ. Maaloula is located in a mountainous area near the Syrian capital, where two ancient Christian monasteries also stand. Some of the damage can still be seen at Christian sites, like defaced crosses and icons or damaged frescos, informs Russia Today. But with peace returning to the cradle of Christianity in Syria, people there gathered together with their…
Source: Ahval News The Orthodox Christian community of Turkey has moved to show its support to the country’s armed forces, which launched a military campaign, “Operation Olive Branch”, against armed Kurdish groups in northwestern Syria on Jan. 20. Although the vast majority of Turkey’s population is Muslim, the country’s geography and history hold an important place for Christianity. Some of the most important locations for Eastern Orthodox Christians lie in Turkey, including the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarch, Bartholomew I, in Istanbul. Bartholomew I expressed his support for Turkey’s military operation in a letter to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan,…
Source: Center for Religious Freedom – Hudson Institute Over the last two thousand years, the Church of Antioch has played a major role in the formation and development of Christian theology and philosophy. Today the Church is facing tremendous challenges in its native homeland, Syria. Six years after the beginning of the Syrian civil war, the country is in ruins and millions of its citizens have become refugees or are internally displaced within Syria. The ongoing war has flamed sectarian tensions that threaten the existence of Christianity in one of its earliest locations. Though suffering at home, the Church of…
Source: News Chief Christians who fled their homeland to find safety back President Donald Trump’s travel ban. By Lane DeGregory Tampa Bay Times TARPON SPRINGS – The special service wouldn’t start for an hour. But by 5 p.m. Thursday, people were pouring into the church. Men in dark suits, hoisting toddlers on their hips. Women in high heels, pulling lace veils over their dark hair. They came from Miami, Orlando and Jacksonville, to Florida’s largest Syrian Orthodox church. They came to see the church patriarch, to take communion with him, to get his blessing and hear his news. The worshipers…
Source: Pravmir.com According to preliminary data, Syrian bishops abducted in the vicinity of the country’s northern city of Aleppo in 2013 are alive and currently in the city of Raqqa occupied by the Daesh militant group, a mother superior at the Monastery and Convent of Saint James the Mutilated, located in the western Syrian town of Qarah, said Wednesday. MOSCOW (Sputnik) – In 2013, militants captured Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Aleppo Paul Yazidzhi and Syriac Orthodox Metropolitan of Aleppo John Ibrahim. In December 2015, reports emerged about their execution. We have received information from our sources that they are in Raqqa, and…
Source: Pravoslavie.ru Buenos Aires, June 24, 2016 An open letter from METROPOLITAN PAUL of ALEPPO addressed to all the Hierarchs of the Orthodox Church on the Feast of the Holy Spirit My chains, the bond of our unity Short time or long—I pray to God that not only you… may become what I am, except for these chains (Acts 26:29) Your Holinesses, Your Beatitudes, Your Eminences and Your Graces, Hierarchs of the Orthodox Church, My Fathers and brothers in the grace of the episcopate, “Apostles of Christ” and “Servants” of the people of God in all the oikoumene, This year,…
Source: Manoramaonline Qamishli, Syria: Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II, head of the Syrian Orthodox church, had a close shave on Sunday when a suicide bomber detonated himself at a commemoration attended by him. Three people were killed in northeast Syria when the bomber attacked an event commemorating the massacre of Christians more than a century ago, state media and a security source said. Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II was leading the commemoration and security sources said he was the target of the bomber. He escaped without any injuries. Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II is the supreme leader of Syrian churches including the Jacobite church…