Regarding the recent meeting between the Patriarch of Moscow and the Pope of Rome
Recently the Melkite Greek-Catholic Archbishop of Aleppo in Syria, addressed a group of Western reporters concerning the dramatic situation facing Christians living in the Middle East. The archbishop said, “The European media have not ceased to suppress the daily news of those who are suffering in Syria and they have even justified what is happening in our country by using information without taking the trouble to verify it. You must understand that between the Islamic State and the Syrian government, our choice is obvious. You can condemn the regime for certain things, but you have never tried to be objective.”
Archbishop JEAN-CLEMENT [Jeanbart] said the West has not ceased to cover up the misdeeds of the opposition army, all the while condemning the Syrian government and its president. “Bashar al-Assad has many defects, but you have to realize he has many good points as well,” he explained. “Schools are free, hospitals too, mosques and churches pay no taxes, what government in the region does things like that, be honest? Remember too that if we prefer today to support the government, it’s because we fear the installation of a sunni theocracy that would deprive us of the right to live on our own lands.”
It was with this backdrop that His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, and His Holiness Pope Francis, met in Cuba recently, signing a joint declaration that covered persecution, religious freedom, poverty, the family, and much more. Decrying the genocide of Christians throughout the Middle East, the two religious leaders called upon the Western powers to collectively respond to the plight of Christians, who are being persecuted and driven out of a land that has been the home to Christians for two thousand years. Together they recognized, by their embrace, the need for Christians to stand united against the tide of religious persecution and wholesale genocide, and awaken the leaders of the Western world to act before it is too late.
With love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon
Thursday February 18, 2016 / February 5, 2016
38th Week after Pentecost. Tone four.
Holy Martyr Agatha of Palermo in Sicily (251).
St. Theodosius, archbishop of Chernigov (1696).
New Martyrs Matushka Agatha (1938), and with her Schemamonk Eugene (1939) and Righteous Paramon (1941), of Belorussia.
Virgin-martyr Alexandra, martyr Michael (1942).
Martyr Theodoula of Anazarbus in Cilicia, and with her Martyrs Helladius, Macarius, Boethos, and Evagrius (304).
“Eletsk-Chernigov” (1060), “Sicilian” or “Divnogorsk” (1092) and “In Search of the Perishing” (17th c.) Icons of the Mother of God.
St. Polyeuctus, patriarch of Constantinople (970) (Greek).
New Martyr Anthony of Athens (1774) (Greek).
St. Theodosius of Skopelos in Cilicia (ca. 421).
St. Avitus, bishop of Vienne (525).
Scripture Readings
1 Peter 4:12-5:5
Suffering for God’s Glory
12 Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; 13 but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. 14 If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters. 16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.
17 For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 Now
“If the righteous one is scarcely saved,
Where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?”
19 Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.
Shepherd the Flock
5 The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: 2 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; 3 nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; 4 and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.
Submit to God, Resist the Devil
5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for
“God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”
Mark 12:38-44
Beware of the Scribes
38 Then He said to them in His teaching, “Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, 39 the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, 40 who devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.”
The Widow’s Two Mites
41 Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. 42 Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. 43 So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; 44 for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.”
It is unfortunate that the US government has seen ousting Assad as a major foreign policy goal. Rather than assist Russia in defeating ISIS, the US has reluctantly opposed ISIS, settling for the appearance of attacking ISIS but in herding ISIS toward Damascus as a weapon to take out Assad. Furthermore, our own CIA has supplied arms to the Syrian opposition, the “moderate terrorists” that invariably include the Al Nusra Front, a branch of Al Qaeda. Many of these weapons have ended up in the hands of ISIS as these various groups morph into radicalism and turn over their weapons. Of course this has resulted in the destruction of Christian communities that have continued in the Middle East since the dawn of Christianity.
This meeting between the Patriarch and the Pope to draw attention to the suffering of ME Christians is welcomed and hopeful, but who will listen? Our own country has shown little regard for the situation, has thwarted Russian attempts to ameliorate the problem, and has pursued policies that have scorched the earth in the cradle of Christianity, resulting in persecution, death and exile of countless thousands, and not only of Christians. Lord have mercy.
Hear, hear!
The meeting of Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill was disappointing in that they didn’t pray together. I’m not talking about sharing the Eucharist but simply praying together to the Blessed Mother that she may re-unite the Churches. The media reports that this was because Patriarch Kirill did not want to pray with Pope Francis, rather than the other way around. To me this was very sad, and as a Catholic, it reinforces to me the perception among many Catholics of a certain standoffishness and dare I say even religious snobbery of the Orthodox Church.
Friend, the Roman Catholic church broke away from The Church of Christianity (Orthodox) in 1054 AD and cemented their position after 1202 AD with the disgraceful 4th Crusade. The Roman Catholics should feel extremely lucky to have any recognition at all from Orthodox Patriarchs. Praying together is just going too far for now. Much more work needs to be done by the ‘Catholics’ and it will take a lot of soul searching.
My Dear Abbot Thank you for your comments regarding the recent meeting between Patriarch Kirill and Pope Francis. It is necessary that the World knows the plight of the Christians in Syria and throughout the region. The Western World has lost its Way when it comes to showing a united front against Satan. Our Lord is indeed suffering during this time of Lenten trial and renewal. I pray that those of us who are so well fed and satisfied will not continue in the vain of “selling the needy for a pair of shoes” as Amos told us so long ago. May we continue to pray for those who suffer and light our candles of light before the Holy Icons. “may they all be one….so that the world may believe”!
I concur with you Abbot, it is far better to stick with someone you know rather than someone you don’t. At least you know what the expectations are. The regime with all its faults kept the Christians safe. We know from past history what ISIS this barbaric group have been doing to those who do not share their twisted ideology. As a reminder, nearly two years ago they kidnapped two Orthodox archbishops of Aleppo who were in Syria near the Turkish border that to date no one knows their fate for sure. Although no one expects them to be alive.
The war has claimed the lives of more than 250,000 people. There are 4 million Syrian refugees in nearby countries, most of them in Turkey and Lebanon, and an additional 10 million Syrian people are believed to have been internally displaced by the war.
And we here in our country still don’t have solid intelligence on the ground to tell us what REALLY is going on. We allocated and spent millions of dollars to find out later that all this money was spent on a hand full of trainers. Russia supposedly bombing ISIS but in reality, they are bombing the opposition forces to the regime. ISIS controls by far the biggest portion of Syria and it is not hard to destroy their widely known headquarter in Al-Raqqa if there was a real intention of destroying them.
God help us all
signing declarations is all wonderful, but the Christian leaders and all Christians need to seriously over-whelm our elected officials, starting with the President, to pay attention to the slow extermination of Christianity in the war-torn zones.
otherwise, as always, it’s just talk, talk, talk
I have come to believe that there is a more sinister reason that our U.S. President has opted to depose only those Middle Eastern leaders that have shown a protective approach to their ancient Christian citizens. President Assad has to be credited for maintaining a good degree of moderation in dealing with the multi-cultural diversity of his Nation. Nate Kelley, Roman Catholic
Amen. Lord have mercy on those who suffer terrible persecution in Syria and on those who are blind in the West.