With the blessing of His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Church of Cilicia, the “Shornali” choir of the Catholicosate of Cilicia performed on the occasion of its 50th anniversary with a repertoire of Armenian patriotic songs, under the direction of V. Rev. Fr. Zaven Najarian, on Sunday evening, July 2nd, 2023, in Lebanon.

The choir was accompanied by pianist Hampig Mardirossian and the “Cilicia” band. Shnorhali members: Ghazar Keoshgerian; Hovig Tafranian; and Arman Der Bedrossian performed solo songs.

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, arrived – by the grace of God – at the Papal Residence in St. Mark’s Cathedral in Abbaseya, Egypt, on the evening of Sunday 2 July 2023, coming from his residence in King Mariout in Alexandria, after recovering from the seventh nerve inflammation that H.H. was exposed to about a month ago.

Their Eminences Metropolitans and Bishops received His Holiness Pope Tawadros II very warmly, as they were waiting for His Holiness in the outer courtyard of the Residence, and they headed together to the main reception hall at the Residence.

The 28th anniversary of His Holiness Catholicos Aram I’s election and consecration as Catholicos of the Armenian Church, Holy See of Cilicia, was marked at Antelias, as well as in all local Churches under the jurisdiction of the Holy See of Cilicia, on Sunday, July 2nd, 2023.

His Holiness Catholicos Aram I presided over the Divine Liturgy celebrated At St. Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral in Antelias, during which H.E. Arch. Nareg Alemezian delivered a Sermon. Arch. Nareg recited Psalms 5:1-12 “Give ear to my words, O LORD, Consider my meditation” and on behalf of the brotherhood and the faithful asked God’s blessings on His Holiness Aram I so that he can continue serving the Church and its people, he also briefly underlined the key aspects of His Holiness’ Service, life and legacy thus far.

Following the Divine Liturgy, the Pontifical Procession proceeded to the main atrium of the Catholicosate, where a small celebration was prepared by the seminarians. Here, V. Rev. Fr. Shnorhk Ashekian delivered a speech.

His Beatitude Patriarch John X, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, and President of the Middle East Council of Churches for the Orthodox Family, presided over the Vespers of Saints Peter and Paul, founders of the See of Antioch, at the Vision of Saint Paul the Apostle Patriarchal Monastery in Tal Kawkab, Rural Damascus, Syria, on Wednesday 28 June 2023. During the Prayer, His Beatitude Patriarch John X delivered a speech, that you can watch and listen to in Arabic in the video, which was already published on the Facebook Page of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East.

By: Miral Atik/ lpj.org

JORDAN – Since the beginning of the year 2023, JEC Jordan (Christian Youth of Jordan) held their monthly meetings, youth camps, two worship evenings, and met with several Knights and Dames of the Order of the Holy Sepulcher.

“We should not stay away from our assembly…, but encourage one another, and this all the more as you see the day drawing near” (Heb 10:25).

As the later verse portrays, it is crucial for the body of Christ to meet; Gather in unity; And pray. It is spiritually vital for the youth to gather, meditate on the Word, be surrounded with the assembly of believers and priests, who provide them with guidance and encouragement to walk in the faith. As well as, receiving life skills from professionals about certain topics they might be facing challenges in.

By: The Historical Archives Office at the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem

Since October 2022, the Historical Archives Office at the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem has been working in partnership with the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BNF) to publish all the archived periodicals of the Latin Patriarchate on Gallica, which is an online library, free of charge. It is an important tool for researchers, as it hosts many books and documents that have been digitized and referenced in a database.

From His Beatitude Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa

His Beatitude Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, issued a letter in which he presented Pastoral advices to those approaching the Sacrament of Marriage. You can find the full text of the letter.

With the blessing and presence of His Beatitude Patriarch John X, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, and President of the Middle East Council of Churches for the Orthodox family, the conference of the Saint Irenaeus Joint Orthodox - Catholic Working Group was held at the Saint John of Damascus Institute of Theology at the University of Balamand, Lebanon, between Wednesday 22 and Sunday 25 June 2023. As the media of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East mentioned, the opening session was attended by His Beatitude, the President of the University of Balamand Dr. Elias Warrak, the Dean of the Saint John of Damascus Institute of Theology Archimandrite Jack Khalil, the Director of Our Lady of Balamand Patriarchal Monastery - Archimandrite George Yacoub, and a group of the Institute’s Professors. It is noteworthy that the main title of these sessions was "In Search of Unity: Re-reading the Balamand Document After 30 Years."

His Beatitude Patriarch John X delivered a welcoming speech to the members of the group, in which he reviewed the challenges facing the Church of Antioch and emphasized the mission and role of the Church of Antioch and the importance of dialogue in building bridges.

You can find below the text of the speech, as it was published on the Facebook Page of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East.

Today's Gospel passage (Mt 10:26-33) is taken from chapter ten of Matthew's Gospel, which brings together Jesus' words on the missionary mandate of his disciples.

We saw last Sunday where these words come from: Jesus sees the crowds and feels compassion, because he sees them tired and exhausted, lost, like sheeps without a shepherd. This is why he sends out his disciples, to proclaim to all the poor the presence of the Kingdom that is drawing near, and to bring God's compassion to everyone.

Jesus doesn't give precise instructions; he doesn't tell his disciples what to say or do. Quite simply, the disciples must bring peace, take on the evil and pain they will encounter, accept to pay the price of such a precious proclamation with their lives: much of the missionary discourse is devoted to this, to putting the disciples in the perspective that their message will be rejected, that their presence will be uncomfortable, that they will be rejected; they should not be surprised by this, for nothing more will happen to them than what happened to Jesus himself.

A joint commission of Orthodox and Catholic theologians met at the seat of the Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa in Alexandria, Egypt, for a week from June 1 to 7, 2023, resulting in the adoption of the document, “Synodality and Primacy in the Second Millennium and Today.”

Representing the Orthodox Church were Their Eminences Job, Metropolitan of Pisidia, Co-President of the Joint Theological Commission, Maximos Metropolitan of Silivria and Fr. Alexis Torrance (Ecumenical Patriarchate), Gennadios, Metropolitan of Botswana, Petros Metropolitan of Accra and Professor Gregory Liantas (Patriarchate of Alexandria), Archbishop Nektarios Anthidonos and Professor Theodoros Giagkou (Patriarchate of Jerusalem), Metropolitan Joseph of Western and Southern Europe and Fr. Patriciu Vlaicu (Patriarchate of Romania), Metropolitan Theodoros of Akhaltsikhe and Fr. Georgios Zviadadze (Patriarchate of Georgia), Metropolitan Vasileios of Konstantia and Ammochostos and Fr. Gregory Ioannidis (Church of Cyprus), Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Messinia and Fr. Amphilochius Miltos (Church of Greece), Professors Messrs. Jerzy Ostapczuk and Jerzy Betlejko (Church of Poland), Metropolitan Iοannis of Korçë and Professor Nathan Hoppe (Church of Albania), Metropolitan Juraj of Mikhalovsky and Fr. Kyrillos Sarkisian (Church of the Czech Republic and Slovakia).

Mt 9, 36 – 10, 8

The Gospel passage we hear today is taken from what in Matthew, is Jesus' second major address to his disciples, namely the missionary address.

A discourse addressed not so much to hypothetical missionaries but to his disciples and, we might say, to the whole Church: the Church is called to share the gift received. If the gift is not shared, if it is jealously guarded, the gift is lost and the fruit of salvation does not ripen.

And the gift that the Church is called to share is made clear in the first verse: Jesus sees the crowds and has compassion on them (Mt 9:36), where compassion does not mean the emotion of a moment that we feel in the face of another's suffering, but the deep bond - which the Easter Gospels reminded us of - that makes our brother's life my own life, his pain becomes my pain, his wound becomes my own wound. Dwelling in one another, being one body: this is the fruit of Easter, the new humanity inaugurated by Jesus' resurrection.

On June 15, 2023, His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and Supreme Head of the Syriac Orthodox Church, presided over the evening prayer at St. Georges Patriarchal Cathedral in Bab Touma – Damascus.

‏Their Eminences Archbishops: Mor Cyril Babi, Patriarchal Vicar for the Patriarchal Archdiocese of Damascus, Mor Yacoub Babawi, Patriarchal Vicar for Monks Affairs and the Administration of Mor Aphrem Theological Seminary in Maarat Saydnaya, Mor Joseph Bali, Patriarchal Assistant, and Mor Augeen Al Khoury Nemat, Patriarchal Secretary, were present at the evening prayer.

With a call to honour and never abandon grandparents, His Holiness Pope Francis issues Message for 3rd World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly on 23 July. The 86-year-old Pope instituted the Day in 2021, to be held the fourth Sunday in July, close to the feast of Jesus' grandparents, Saints Joachim and Anne.

By Deborah Castellano Lubov

"Let us honour them, neither depriving ourselves of their company nor depriving them of ours. May we never allow the elderly to be cast aside!"

This is His Holiness Pope Francis' heartfelt invitation in his Message for the Third World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, which the Church will celebrate on Sunday, 23 July. The text was published by the Vatican on Thursday 15 June 2023.

His Holiness Pope Francis returns to the Vatican on Friday morning after he is discharged from the Gemelli Policlinic hospital following his hernia-related surgery on 7 June, making his usual detour to pray before the Blessed Mother at Santa Maria Maggiore, and a private visit to greet some nuns.

By Vatican News staff reporter

His Holiness Pope Francis was released from Gemelli Hospital on Friday morning following his abdominal surgery on 7 June, and has returned to the Vatican.

As he left the hospital, Pope Francis stopped his car briefly to greet those present, pausing for a moment for some salutations.

In a brief statement Thursday, the Director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, informed the press that Pope Francis would be released from the hospital this morning.

we recall, remember and pray-God hear our prayers

Article by Dr Theodora ܬܐܘܕܘܪܐ Issa ܥܝܣܐ SFHEA, FAIM

Doctor of Philosophy in Management (Ethical Mindsets), Author, Academic, Senior Fellow Higher Education Academy at Advance HE, Fellow of Australian Institute of Management, Alumna of UWA, Murdoch, and Curtin Universities

Source: https://shorturl.at/buwKZ

Usually, huge commemorations and remembrance for anniversaries would be always saved for the anniversaries with rounded numbers such as 25, 50, 60, 75, and 100. However, for this specific sad event in the history of our beloved Church needs to be commemorated in an honorable manner always and more specifically on each anniversary as these events need to be glued not only to our minds and hearts, but to the minds and hearts of our new and future generations.

Held in the Headquarters of the Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East (UAECNE)

A reception was held in the Headquarters of the Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East (UAECNE) on Monday, 12 June 2023, in honor of Mr. Zaven Khanjian, Executive Director of the Armenian Missionary Association of America (AMAA), and his wife, Mrs. Sona Khanjian. Hosted by the Reverend Dr. Paul Haidostian, MECC President for the Evangelical Family, President of the Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East, and President of Haigazian University in Lebanon, numerous official guests and representatives from various Churches, organizations and committees, Armenian as well as non-Armenian, visited the Khanjians.

On Saturday, June 10th, 2023, His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Church of Cilicia, held a meeting with representatives from the Armenian organizations in Ontario, at St. Mary Church, within the framework of revitalization and reorganization of the diaspora following the 2023 declaration of the Catholicos as the Year of the Armenian Diaspora II.

On Friday evening, June 9th, 2023, an official banquet was organized in honor of His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Church of Cilicia.

HE Arch. Papken Tcharian—Prelate of Canada—HG Bp. Torkom Donoyan—Prelate of the Western Prelacy of the USA—Mr. Krikor Mahseredjian—co-Chair of the Central Council of the Catholicosate—Mr. Mher Karakashian—Chair of the ARF Central Committee in Canada—Ms. Dzovig Terzian—Chair of the Executive Council of the Prelacy—members from the Prelacy Executive Council and St. Nishan Church Board of Trustees and representatives of community organizations attended the banquet.

His Holiness Pope Francis pens a message for the annual World Day of the Poor, stressing that “whenever we encounter a poor person, we cannot look away, for that would prevent us from encountering the face of the Lord Jesus.”

By Joseph Tulloch

His Holiness Pope Francis has released his message for the annual World Day of the Poor, stressing that a “great river of poverty is traversing our cities”, and that every Christian is called to become “personally involved” in the struggle against it.

His message for the World Day, which will be celebrated this year on Sunday 19th November, takes the form of an extended reflection on the Book of Tobit.

On Wednesday evening, June 7th, 2023, the Pontifical Procession consisting of clergy, the Homenetmen Toronto band, scouts, and the ARF Canada youth chapter, arrived at St. Mary Church.

His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Church of Cilicia, entered the Church with the Hrashapar hymn, accompanied by the Prelate of Canada H.E. Arch. Papken Tcharian and the Prelate of the Western Prelacy of the USA H.G. Bp. Torkom Donoyan and Canonical Prayers were conducted.