The Church facing Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Message of the Feast of Resurrection 2020 from HB Patriarch Ignatius Youssef III Younan

To our brothers Archbishops and Bishops,

Fathers of our Holy Synod of Antioch,

To the Priests, Deacons, religious consecrated men and women,

To all the faithful people in Lebanon,

In the Middle East and the Church of Extension

    Peace and love in our Lord Jesus Christ:

« Peace be with you, my peace I give you »

    These are the first words of the risen Jesus to his disciples, who were confined inside with fear and anguish, because of what happened to their beloved Master, last Thursday night and Friday.

    In our Syriac tradition, we celebrate on the Sunday of the Resurrection, the rite of peace. This explains that our church was enduring oppression, persecution, and the consequences of the wars.

    It is this peace granted by our Redeemer that we especially need, in these tragic times of what is called the "corona virus". Like the disciples, we are all confined to live inside of our homes, awaiting the Divine Master to console us, encourage us with His authentic Peace.

    Let us persevere in trusting prayer and beg our risen Lord from the bottom of our hearts, to grant the whole world, the healing of mind and body, to witness to His Loving salvation and to live in His true peace.

    On this solemnity of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are pleased to extend as usual our warm congratulations and prayerful wishes, to all of you, beloved clergy and faithful of our Syriac Church of Antioch, in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Holy Land, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Europe, the Americas, and Australia.

    We implore our Risen Redeemer to grant you all his abundant graces, a season full of joy, love, and peace.

    As a sign of our paternal affection, we grant you all our apostolic blessing: May the Almighty One God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.

CHRIST IS RISEN, REALLY RISEN

Ignatius Youssef III Younan

Patriarch of Antioch for Syriac Catholic Church

Source: Syriac Catholic Patriarchate

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