CIRED

His Grace Mar Awa Royel, Bishop of California and Secretary of the Holy Synod of the Assyrian Church of the East, has delivered the keynote address at the annual Christianity in Iraq Seminar Day held in London.

On Monday, May 2, 2011 His Grace Mar Awa Royel, Bishop of California and Secretary of the Holy Synod was received in audience by His All Holiness Bartholomew I, Archbishop of Constantinople and Ecumenical Patriarch.

Various members attended the Eucharistic service after which Reverend Chan of the Lutheran Church stated, “For the first time in my life I truly felt I was partaking in the Holy Eucharist”

In response to an invitation from the Westminster Group of Washington D.C. and Barnabas Aid USA, a delegation of the Assyrian Church of the East visited the U.S. capitol from July 10-15, 2010. The Westminster Group had hosted a delegation of the ‘Council of Iraqi Christian Leaders’ to meet with various senators, congressmen and the State Department in Washington. The Iraqi delegation was headed by Archbishop Avak Asadourian, the Primate of the Armenian Orthodox Church in Iraq and the General Secretary of the Council; His Beatitude Mar Gewargis Sliwa, Metropolitan of Iraq & Russia for the Assyrian Church of the East; Rev. Joseph Al Sakka of the Presbyterian Church in Iraq. Accompanying the Iraqi delegation were other prelates from the U.S., namely: H.G. Mar Awa Royel, Bishop of California and Secretary of the Holy Synod (appointed by His Holiness Mar Dinkha IV to attend the meetings); Metropolitan Mor Cyril Aphram Karim, Syrian Orthodox Bishop of the Diocese of USA; Bishop Yousif Habash of the Syrian Catholic Church, Diocese of USA & Canada; and Mons. Emmanuel Shalita of the Chaldean Catholic Church (Detroit). Other Assyrian social and political activists from Chicago, Illinois and London (UK) were also present. Some of the …

His Grace Mar Awa Royel, Bishop of the Assyrian Church of the East for the Diocese of California (USA), attended the ‘Second Symposium Syriacum’ in Vienna, held under the patronage of the Pro Oriente Foundation, from November 4 to 6, 2009. Accompanying His Grace, was Cor-bishop Auchana Kanoun, priest of Mar Gewargis Parish, Ceres, California. With its studies in the Syriac tradition, the PRO-ORIENTE FOUNDATION of Vienna, Austria, intended to facilitate mutual understanding and exchange as well as to promote the common heritage of the various churches belonging to the historical Syriac Tradition. In continuation of its former “Syriac Dialogue” (1994-2005), the PRO-ORIENTE, fourth Forum Syriacum was held in Vienna from November 2-7, 2009. Under the auspices of the Forum Syriacum, the “Second Symposium Syriacum” was held at the Palottihaus, Vienna. The theme this year dealt with the contributions of Syriac Christianity in the Middle East and India, and the challenges it faces in the same areas. The following were the invited experts and Church representatives: A.  Expert Scholars from the Churches of Syriac Tradition:- 1. Mar Boulos Matar, Archbishop, Beirut, Lebanon (Maronite Catholic Church) 2. Mar Joseph Powathil, Metropolitan, Changanassery, India (Syro-Malabar Catholic Church) 3. Mor Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim, …