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

2012 Christmas Epistle

The Assyrian Church of the East Youth Association – Sydney has held its Annual Retreat for 2012 at Youthworks Watersleigh Campsite in Shoalhaven from Friday 30 November until Sunday 2 December.

Following up on to the previous visit in October of 2010, His Grace Mar Awa Royel, Bishop of the Assyrian Church of the East, Diocese of California, and Secretary of the Holy Synod, accompanied by his secretary Rev. Fr. Genard Lazar and Deacon Allen Youssefi returned to Hong Kong, in response to an invitation from the Jingjiao Fellowship and its director Mr. David Tam.

History was joyously made after 125 years, on Friday November 30th at 9:00am, when His Grace Mar Awa Royel, Bishop of the Assyrian Church of the East, Diocese of California conducted the Liturgy of the Blessing of Houses, in the new established Holy Monastery of St. Isaac of Nineveh, in Salida, California. The monastery came about after much prayer and the seeking of the Lord’s will, in addition to the petition of some of the faithful, particularly those who wish to consecrate their lives to God by continue prayer, fasting and good works.

His Beatitude Mar Meelis Zaia AM, Metropolitan of Australia, New Zealand and Lebanon has met in Sydney with Dr William Eshaya, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Republic of Iraq to the United Nations.

On the night the fire destroyed their church, some members of the local Assyrian community said they felt as if a loved one had died.

The Assyrian Church of the East, Archdiocese of Australia, New Zealand and Lebanon has welcomed the noted Syriac Studies scholar, Dr J.J. van Ginkel, Fellow of the Faculty of Humanities, Leiden Institute for Area Studies at Leiden University (The Netherlands) to Sydney to present a lecture on the history of the Church of the East.