Assyrian Church News Official News Site of the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East

His Holiness Pope Francis warmly welcomed the Catholicos Patriarch Mar Gewargis Sliws III on the monrning of Thursday 17th November along with select few prelates in the Vatican City’s Redemptoris Mater Chapel. The Pope pressed great emphasis on the zeal and faith of the Christians in the Middle East during this time of turmoil, and applauded the Church for its support and aide during this time. An excerpt from the Servizio Informazione Religiosa (Vatican City’s news central) reads below: Deep grief “for what is still going on in the Middle East, particularly in Iraq and Syria”, where “the terrible violence of bloody conflicts, which no reason can justify or allow, is poured down on hundreds of thousands of innocent children, women and men”. Pope Francis expressed this this morning as he met with the Catholicos Mar Gewargis III, Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Redemptoris Mater Chapel in the Vatican. “There – Pope Francis said –, our Christian brothers and sisters and several religious and ethnic minorities are, unfortunately, used to suffering great trials on a daily basis”. “Amidst such great suffering, to which I implore for an end – the Pontiff said – we see Christians …

The Holy Synod of the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East, headed by His Holiness Mar Gewargis Sliwa III convened in the city of Erbil, Iraq commencing on Monday the 7th November till Saturday 12th November 2016. The Synod opened the meeting with the offering of the Holy Oblation in St Youkhana Mamdnana Cathedral (St John the Baptist) in Ankawa, Erbil. The Holy Synod elected two priests to be consecrated bishops in the year of 2017, namely; Reverend Father Dr Tyari Jonsen for the Diocese of Erbil and Patriarchal Vicar and Reverend Father Ninos Elya for the Diocese of Melbourne (Australia) and temporarily New Zealand. Biographies 1- Reverend Father Dr Tyari Jonsen Reverend Tyari was born in Erbil, Iraq in the year of 1978. He was ordained a deacon by Metropolitan His Beatitude Mar Gewaris (currently His Holiness) in Baghdad on the 23rd November 2002. He was ordained a priest once again by the Metropolitan at the time in Kirkuk’s St George’s Church on the 14th January 2007. Rev’d Tyari received his Bachelor Degree in Political Science from the University of Baghdad in 2007. Rev’d Tyari also received his Masters Degree in Theology 2011 from Alphonsian Academy in …

The Holy Synod of the Assyrian Church of the East gathered today in Ankawa, Erbil to commence its deliberations under the leadership of His Holiness Mar Gewargis III, Catholicos-Patriarch. On November 7, 2016 the Prelates participated in the Holy Qurbana celebrating the Commemoration of St George the Martyr. The first meeting of the Holy Synod convened shortly after the Holy Synod at 11am and will conclude on November 14, 2016. Prelates from Iraq, Iran, Syria, India, the United States, Australia, Sweden and Canada are in attendance.

The Assyrian Church of the East Relief Organization (ACERO) is the international aid agency of the Assyrian Church of the East. ACERO Australia is the Australian arm of the international aid agency, and is established to provide benevolent aid and relief to refugees, the displaced and other victims of persecution, war or natural disaster. On Sunday 9th October 2016, ACERO Australia’s NSW Chapter held a luncheon as a gesture of the Charity’s appreciation for the overwhelming generosity extended by its various business and association sponsors during times of intense need. The blessed occasion was presided over by His Eminence Mar Meelis Zaia AM, Metropolitan of Australia, New Zealand and Lebanon of the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East, and Founding Chairman of ACERO and ACERO Australia. Attending as guest of honours was the NSW Ecumenical Council, represented by the Council’s General Secretary, the Very Reverend Fr Shenouda Mansour. The occasion was a resounding success and saw in excess of 40 businesses and associations gather to offer their collective support to the Charity and its aid and relief works. Guests were treated to various informative presentations delivered by the following esteemed individuals: • Keynote address from His Eminence Mar …

Two clergy of the Diocese of California have recently completed their graduate theological studies and have been awarded Master’s degrees from the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology, at Berkeley, California. These clergy are the following: Rev. Fr. Ephraim Alkhas Fr. Ephraim Alkhas completed a Masters of Arts in Philosophy as well as a Master of Arts in Theology from the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology in Berkeley, CA. He is a priest in the Diocese of California serving as the sole dedicated servant in the Commission on Inter-Church Relations and Educational Development (CIRED). Fr Ephraim’s thesis, which was applied towards both degrees, is titled: Philosophical Terms and Anthropology in the Christology of Mar Babai the Great and Saint Maximus the Confessor. This thesis studied how philosophical language was used in Greek (by Maximus the Confessor) and in Syriac (by Mar Babai the Great) to describe the person of Jesus Christ as both fully God and fully man. Today, Fr Ephraim continues serving CIRED and in the Diocese of California. He is also in his second year of graduate studies at the University of California Berkeley’s Department of History. Primarily concerned with how canon law functioned in the creation of …

At the invitation of the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs, and with the express blessing of His Holiness Mar Gewargis III, Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, a delegation of the Assyrian Church attended the Conference: “Threats to Religious and Ethnic Minorities under the Islamic State,” on July 28, 2016. The conference was co-sponsored by the US Department of State’s Office of International Religious Freedom and the Georgetown University in Washington. The following day, a closed-session meeting took place at the State Department, with many diplomats and parliament representatives present from numerous countries. The Assyrian delegation, consisting of His Grace Mar Awa Royel, Bishop of California and Secretary of the Holy Synod, along with the Very Rev. Archdeacon William Toma of the Diocese of Eastern USA, took part in the public session of the conference held under the auspices of the Berkley Center’s ‘Religious Freedom Project.’ The conference was attended by representatives of the various religious and ethnic minority entities in Iraq and Syria. The US Ambassador-at-Large for Religious Freedom, David Saperstein, addressed all those in attendance. Also addressing the body was Knox Thames, the Special Advisor for Religious Minorities in the Near East and …