Diocese

On 20 February 2014, His Beatitude Mar Gewargis Sliwa, Metropolitan of Iraq, Russia and Jordan met with His Excellency Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Russian Orthodox Church’s (Moscow Patriarchate) Department for External Church Relations. The meeting took place at the DECR premises. The hierarchs discussed the situation in Iraq after the events occurred in 2003, as well as the situation of Christians in the country and prospects for overcoming the crisis. Among the issues raised at the meeting was the social and political situation in Syria. Metropolitan Hilarion discussed the initiatives of the Russian Orthodox Church, aimed at defending Christian minorities in the Middle East. Also taking part in the meeting were Hieromonk Stefan (Igumnov), DECR secretary for inter-Christian relations; Rev’d Alexander Vasiutin, a DECR staff member; and Rev’d Fr Samano Odisho, parish priest of St Mary’s Church, Assyrian Church of the East in Moscow.

On Thursday the 13th February 2014, St Hurmizd Assyrian Primary School (SHAPS) along with St Narsai Assyrian Christian College (SNACC) warmly welcomed The Honourable Barry O’Farrell MP, Premier of the State of New South Wales to a special reception held at the Assyrian Church of the East’s Edessa Hall in Greenfield Park, New South Wales, Australia. Premier O’Farrell was received by His Beatitude Mar Meelis Zaia AM, Metropolitan of the Archdiocese of Australia, New Zealand and Lebanon accompanied by reverend priests, SHAPS Principal Mr Sargis Makko, SNACC Principal Mr John Haskal, church trustees, members of the Assyrian Schools Board and a large congregation of students, staff and parents. The program commenced with the performance of the Australian National Anthem, Assyrian Church Anthem and the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer in the Aramaic language by the school choir, followed with a welcoming speech given by Mr Makko. In his remarks Mr Makko noted that the growing size of both schools and growing population of the Assyrian community in Australia was cause for both joy and happiness. Mr Makko went on to thank the Australian government for the significant contribution it has made in making the existence of the Assyrian Schools possible …

“For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” Matthew 18:20 The Assyrian Church of the East in Lebanon has hosted an ecumenical celebration marking the end of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The event, on 26 January 2014, was held at St George Cathedral of the Assyrian Church of the East in the Beirut suburb of Sed el-Bouchriyeh. The ecumenical gathering, the largest of its kind ever held in Lebanon, saw representatives of 10 churches come together to celebrate the important event. These churches were: – Antiochian Orthodox Church – Armenian Orthodox Church – Assyrian Church of the East – Chaldean Catholic Church – Coptic Orthodox Church – Maronite Catholic Church – Melkite Catholic Church – National Evangelical Church of Lebanon – Syriac Catholic Church – Syrian Orthodox Church Senior prelates and clergy from the noted churches were represented at the event. The ecumenical prayer event commenced with the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer in Arabic, followed by an address from The Rev’d Fr Michel Jalakh, Secretary-General of the Middle East Council of Churches. The Secretary-General welcomed all prelates and distinguished guests present stressing that the spirit of ecumenism should be the …

His Beatitude Mar Meelis Zaia AM, Metropolitan of the Archdiocese of Australia, New Zealand and Lebanon has called upon His Excellency Mar Jibrail Kassab, Archbishop of the Eparchy of St Thomas the Apostle for Chaldeans and Assyrians of the Chaldean Catholic Church for Australia and New Zealand. The Metropolitan called upon the Archbishop on 30 December 2013 offering the fraternal greetings of the Assyrian Church of the East on the occasion of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ and the New Year. The Assyrian Church of the East delegation was received by a number of clergy of the Chaldean Catholic Eparchy and church administrative committee members. During the meeting His Beatitude offered his congratulations to the sister Chaldean Catholic Church and His Beatitude Mar Louis I Raphael Sako, Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church on the occasion of the holy season. A colloquium was held on the circumstances facing the Christian communities in both Iraq and Syria, with both prelates praying that the faithful of all churches living in these countries may be protected from various dangers facing them at the present time. The delegation of the Assyrian Church of the East included the Rev’d Cor-bishop Ashoor Lazar, the …

The 2nd Youth Conference of the Archdiocese of Australia, New Zealand and Lebanon convened in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia between 12 – 15 December 2013. The four-day conference brought together 120 young faithful of the Assyrian Church of the East from Melbourne, Sydney, Toronto (Canada), Auckland (New Zealand) and Beirut (Lebanon) under the theme ‘The Martyred Church’. The conference theme, based upon the text of the same name by Dr David Wilmshurt (of the Chinese University of Hong Kong) inspired the proceedings of the Conference. His Beatitude Mar Meelis Zaia AM, Metropolitan of Australia, New Zealand and Lebanon was guest of honour for the entire duration of the Conference and was accompanied by 6 parish priests from Victoria and New South Wales; being Rev’d Fr Narsai Youkhanis, Rev’d Fr John Kushaba and Rev’d Fr Ninos Elya of New South Wales and Rev’d Fr Korkis Toma, Rev’d Fr Hurmizd Jarjeis and Rev’d Fr Antawan Mikhail of Victoria. Also in attendance were Professor Rifaat Ebied of the University of Sydney and Mr Konstantinos (Dean) Kalymnios as guest academic lecturers at the Conference. The youth attendees arrived in Melbourne on Thursday 12 December from their respective cities. On the evening of the same day …

His Grace Mar Narsai Benjamin, Bishop of Iran, has ordained 4 young faithful of the Assyrian Church of the East to the rank of Sub-Deacon. The ordination, on 29 November 2013, was conducted in the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the city of Urmia, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. In his sermon on the occasion the Bishop of Iran expressed his joy at the ordination and committed to nurturing and guiding the young Sub-Deacons in their religious education and the strengthening of their spirituality. His Grace was assisted in the service by the Rev’d Fr Daryawish Azizyan, parish priest, and a large number of deacons. Also in attendance was Mr Yonathan Bet-Kolia, representative of the Assyrian community in the Majlis (the national legislative body) of the Islamic Republic of Iran along with a large number of faithful from both Urmia and Tehran. Another ordination of Sub-Deacons is to be held in the Iranian capital Tehran on 15 December 2013. Following this ordination the total number of ordained Sub-Deacons of the Assyrian Church of the East in Iran will be brought to 10 in the hope that many will be elevated to the rank of full Deacon in the future. …

The ‘Fourth Colloquium Syriacum’ of the Pro Oriente Foundation was held in Vienna, Austria, from September 19-22, 2013, at the guest-house of the Pallotine Fathers (‘Pallottihaus’). The various Syriac-speaking Churches of the Middle East and India were represented at the Colloquium, along with many expert scholars and invited guests who also attended. The Assyrian Church of the East was represented by His Grace Dr Mar Awa Royel, the Bishop of California, Secretary of the Holy Synod and President of CIRED (Commission on Inter-Church Relations and Educational Development) and the Very Reverend Father Dr William Toma, Parish Priest of Mar Sargis Parish (Chicago) and Archdeacon of the Holy Synod. In addition to the Assyrian Church of the East, other Churches represented were the: Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch, Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church, Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (Indian Orthodox Church), Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, Maronite Catholic Church of Antioch, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syrian Catholic Church of Antioch and the Ancient Church of the East. The experts included scholars from Jerusalem, Oxford, Washington D.C., Salzburg and representatives from the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (Vatican City). This year’s biennial gathering was centered on the theme: ‘Towards a Culture of Co-Existence …

The Diocese of Eastern USA has hosted a public lecture entitled ‘The Christian Texts of Turfan’ in Illinois, USA on 15 November 2013. The lecture, held at and co-sponsored by the Assyrian National Council of Illinois in Skokie, was given by Dr Erica C.D. Hunter of the Department for the Study of Religions, School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London. The Christian Library from Turfan Project aims to catalogue some 1092 manuscript fragments in the Syriac, Christian Soghdian and Uigher (Christian Old Turkic) scripts, as well as Pahlavi Persian, that were found in the opening decade of the twentieth century at a monastery site near Bulayiq, Turfan. The texts, dating from the early medieval period (9th – 12th centuries), encompass liturgical texts, lectionaries, hymns and psalters, as well as ascetical texts. The manuscripts are currently held at the Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften, the Staatsbibliothek, Potsdamer Strasse, Berlin and the Museum für Asiatische Kunst at Dahlem, Berlin. The project addresses various issues, including the transmission of texts between different languages (Syriac, Soghdian and Old Turkic), the usage of liturgical and vernacular languages at Turfan and the links that were maintained with the Mesopotamian homeland of the Church …

Commissioned by His Holiness Mar Dinkha IV, Catholicos-Patriarch, Rev’d Cor-bishop George Toma, parish priest of St Andrew’s Church in Glenview, Illinois has represented the Assyrian Church of the East at the 10th Assembly of the World Council of Churches. Under the theme ‘God of life, lead us to justice and peace’, more than 2000 delegates of world churches convened in Busan, Republic of Korea between 30 October – 8 November 2013. The Assembly of the World Council of Churches is a unique moment when the fellowship of member churches unites in prayer, celebration and sets the future agenda for the council. The Assembly is held once every 7 or 8 years. The WCC brings together churches, denominations and church fellowships in more than 110 countries and territories throughout the world, representing over 500 million Christians and including most of the world’s Orthodox churches, scores of Anglican, Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist and Reformed churches, as well as many United and Independent churches. At the end of 2012, there were 345 member churches. While the bulk of the WCC’s founding churches were European and North American, today most member churches are in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, the Middle East and the …

On the afternoon of Wednesday, November 6, 2013 His Grace Mar Awa Royel, Bishop of the Diocese of California and Secretary of the Holy Synod visited Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (CA – 18th Congressional District) at her Palo Alto, California office. His Grace was accompanied by Rev’d Fr Genard Lazar, his secretary and Mar Zaia Cathedral parish priest in Modesto. In a most cordial and warm colloquium, His Grace and the Congresswoman discussed matters pertaining to the plight of Assyrian Christians in the Middle East, in particular Iraq and Syria. The bishop briefed the Congresswoman in detail concerning the many hardships faced by the Assyrians in Iraq and Syria, amidst volatile and unstable conditions in those countries. Among the most pressing concerns of the Assyrians in these countries, the bishop informed the Congresswoman, is the matter of forced migration outside of the historical homeland and immigration to the west. Many who have left these countries for fear of their lives on account of persecution are stranded in host countries for an untold period of time until they are given visas to come to the West. In particular, The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has registered thousands …

On the occasion of the Commemoration of Mar Awgin the Blessed and the first week of the Hallowing of the Church, His Beatitude Mar Gewargis Sliwa, Metropolitan of Iraq, Jordan and Russia has ordained Shimshon Warda Yaqo to the holy diaconate in the Church of Mar Odisho, Baghdad on 8 November 2013. The service took place prior to the consecration of the Holy Qurbana. The newly-ordained deacon is to serve the Mission congregation of the Assyrian Church of the East in Damascus, Syria. The Metropolitan was assisted in the service by Baghdad parish priests, Rev’d Fr Yosip Gewargis, Rev’d Fr Awgin Hurmizd and Rev’d Fr Shmoel Sh. Athneil. A large number of church deacons also participated in the presence of the church choir and faithful. During his sermon, the Metropolitan discussed the theme of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice and ascension to the cross for the salvation of humankind. He went on to note that Mar Awgin, on whose commemoration day the service was held, is a model emulating the abandonment of early pleasure for the abundance found in Jesus Christ. Following the service, the newly ordained deacon was congratulated by all the clergy and faithful present who prayed that Almighty God …

The students of St Hurmizd Assyrian Primary School of the Assyrian Church of the East in Sydney, Australia have participated in the Barnabas Fund Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. On 1 November 2013 the students gathered at the ‘H.H. Mar Dinkha IV Assembly Hall’ to remember and pray for suffering Christians throughout the world. During the program they also recited the Lord’s Prayer in the Assyrian language. The Rev’d Fr Ninos Elya, school chaplain noted during the program, “It’s good to pray for Christians but it takes greater strength to pray for your enemies.” Addressing the students, school principal Sargis Makko discussed the great importance of praying for fellow Christians and spoke about the tremendous work done by the Barnabas Fund in aid of suffering and persecuted Christians worldwide. The students expressed their gratitude to the Barnabas Fund, a partner of the Assyrian Church of the East Relief Organisation (ACERO), for the work it has done to support all Christians and in particular Assyrians in the Middle East. It is noteworthy that Dr Patrick Sookhdeo, International Director of the Barnabas Fund visited the St Hurmizd Assyrian Primary School in November 2010. During Dr Sookhdeo’s visit, His Beatitude Mar …

In response to an official invitation from the Rector of the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome for the opening of the 2013/2014 academic year, His Grace Mar Awa Royel, Bishop of the Assyrian Church of the East, Diocese of California and Secretary of the Holy Synod was commissioned by His Holiness Mar Dinkha IV, Catholicos-Patriarch to officially represent the Church at the academic function. Arriving in Rome on Tuesday, October 22, 2013, His Grace accompanied by his secretary and Mar Zaia Cathedral parish priest Rev’d Fr Genard Lazar, were received at the Pontifical Russian College in Rome, where accommodations were prepared by the rector of the same college, with the aid of Fr Claudio Ciubotariu SJ. Distinct arrangements for His Grace to participate at the General Papal Audience on Wednesday, October 23, 2013, with designated seating in the ‘Sagrato’ section prepared by the offices of Bishop Brian Farrell, Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. His Grace was personally greeted by His Holiness Pope Francis, and met the President of the Senate of the Dominican Republic along with his consort at the completion of the program. At this moment His Grace conveyed a brief message of fraternal greetings …

On 5 November 2013, the students of St Narsai Assyrian Christian College of the Assyrian Church of the East in Sydney, Australia gathered to commemorate the 3rd anniversary of the October 2010 terrorist attack upon Our Lady of Salvation Syriac Catholic Church in Baghdad, Iraq. During the heinous terrorist incident 58 Christians, many of whom were women and children lost their lives following a lengthy siege of the church. Addressing the assembled students, Jacob Awraham, Assyrian language coordinator at the College discussed the sacrifices and suffering of the Christians of Iraq following the commencement of the Iraq War in 2003. In particular, Mr Awraham noted that the storming of the church and martyrdom of the many faithful came during a time in which they had congregated to celebrate the liturgy and pray for peace and stability in their homeland. School principal John Haskal spoke urging the students to reflect upon the tragic events and immense suffering of Iraq’s Christian community which has led hundreds of thousands to flee the country. He exhorted the students to uphold their Christian values, Assyrian national identity and heritage. Mr Haskal went on stressing the great contribution of the Assyrian people to civilisation and urging …