His Holiness Pope Francis releases his Prayer intention for the month of September, and invites everyone to pray and assist people who live on the margins of society.

By Devin Watkins

“Let us pray for those people on the margins of society in subhuman living conditions, that they may not be neglected by institutions and never be cast out.”

His Holiness Pope Francis launched that invitation on Tuesday as he released his Prayer intention for September 2023, which is for “people living on the margins”.

The Armenian Apostolic Catholicosate, Holy See of Cilicia is glad to announce the publication of the second edition of “St. Nerses the Gracious and Church Unity,” authored by His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Church, Holy See of Cilicia, on the occasion of the 850th commemoration of the Saint.

The first part of the book provides a historical analysis of the 12th-century Cilicia Kingdom in both political and Ecclesial contexts; the Ecumenical relations of the Armenian Church, having St. Nerses the Gracious as a major player, with the Greek Church and the Byzantine Emperor; and his Theological, confessional and Ecumenical positions.

On Monday, August 15/28, 2023, the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos was celebrated by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem in the Holy Shrine of the Dormition of the Theotokos in Gethsemane, where her Tomb is also located.

During this Feast, the Church remembers that the Theotokos, the mother of Life, died and was buried by the Holy Apostles “in the village of Gethsemane” where the “tomb did not endure death”. Her body, which embodied the Lord of glory, was transferred to the heavens by the Lord, who inhabited her immaculate womb and she remained the “unchangeable hope and protection for all ages”.

By: Miral Atik, Nicolawos Hazboun (photos) / lpj.org

Born on January 5th, 1846, in a village near Nazareth called Ibillin. An answered prayer to her parents, after they went on a pilgrimage to Bethlehem, to ask for Our Lady’s intercession for a daughter. Sadly, before she turned three, both of her parents died from an infectious disease. Mariam went to live with a wealthy paternal uncle. Although she was well treated, her intense devotion to Our Lady, and her refusal for marriage, led her to work as a servant. After she was miraculously healed by Our Lady from the wounds inflicted upon her by a man who attempted to kill her for her faith, in June 1867, Mariam finally joined the Carmelites in Pau (France) and chose Sr. Mary of Jesus Crucified, as her religious name.

Mt 16:13-20

“Listening” has been the central lesson highlighted throughout our journey in Matthew’s Gospel, from a Sunday to a Sunday: Listening to the Word on the mountain (Mt 17:1-9), the Word in the storm (Mt 14:22-33) and last Sunday we saw that there is also a Word for the foreign woman, who is also called to finally hear the Word (Mt 15:21-28).

Listening to the Word is also central to today's passage (Mt 16:13-20): We are still in a pagan land, where divinity has many faces, many names, many voices, making it hard to listen.

In this context, Jesus asks his disciples a question to see what they heeded and what they understood about what they heard, how the Word they heard led to knowledge, and specifically to a relationship.

On Sunday, 14/27 August 2023, the service of the Lamentations of the Theotokos was held at the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

The service began with the departure of the Holy Sepulchre Brotherhood under their Hegoumen, His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem, in procession from the Patriarchate Gate through Via Dolorosa and concluded at the rectory of Gethsemane. The procession was attended by the Consul General of Greece in Jerusalem Mr Evangelos Vlioras and many pilgrims who were chanting the hymns of the Dormition.

After a reception at the rectory, the service of the Lamentations began before the Theotokos Tomb and around the sacred icon of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos.

After his appointment as Cardinal of the Universal (Catholic) Church by His Holiness Pope Francis on the afternoon of Sunday 9 July 2023, His Beatitude Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, answers many questions in an interview via video made with him on the website of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, and was published on the website on 24 August 2023.

In the interview, His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa talks about the meaning of being a Cardinal, and expresses his desire to continue carrying his responsibility as Shepherd of Christ' Parish in the Holy Land, raising the voice of Christians from Jerusalem to the whole world.

The Director of the Holy See Press Office says the second part of the Laudato si' encyclical letter which His Holiness Pope Francis mentioned on Monday will focus on the recent climate crises.

By Vatican News

Speaking off-the-cuff to a delegation of lawyers from member countries of the Council of Europe on Monday 21 August 2023, His Holiness Pope Francis said he was writing a second part of his Laudato si' encyclical to update it to “current issues".

The Pope was expressing his appreciation for the attorneys' commitment to developing a legal framework aimed at protecting the environment.

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, left Budapest Franz Liszt International Airport, on the evening of Tuesday 22 August 2023, to return to Egypt, after the end of his visit to the Republic of Hungary, which lasted for four days.

The Hungarian government had sent an official invitation to His Holiness to visit it to participate in the Hungarian National Day.

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II was seen off at the airport by Mr. Shamyin Gullit, Deputy Prime Minister of Hungary, the Egyptian Ambassador there, Mr Mohamed El Shennawy, and members of the Egyptian Embassy.

His Holiness Pope Francis releases the theme of his message for the 57th World Day of Peace, and calls for open dialogue on the topic of artificial intelligence which is “endowed with disruptive possibilities and ambivalent effects.”

By Edoardo Giribaldi

The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development released a statement presenting the next Message of the World Day of Peace’s theme, which will touch on “Artificial Intelligence and Peace.”

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, prayed the Liturgy of the Feast of the Annunciation of the Assumption of the Body of the Virgin Mary, in the Church of the Virgin Mary and the Archangel Michael in the Hungarian capital, Budapest, and the members of the accompanying delegation, a number of Fathers, Bishops, Priests, Monks, and large numbers of people participated in it.

This was on the last days of his visit to Hungary, which lasted four days, and he delivered the Sermon of the Liturgy, at the beginning of which he congratulated the attendees on the feast of the Virgin Mary, then he talked about three situations in which the Virgin Mary spoke, focusing on important lessons that we can learn…

His Holiness Pope Francis encourages participants in the 44th Meeting of Friendship Among Peoples to approach others like Jesus and help them encounter God, especially in the midst of trying times.

By Deborah Castellano Lubov

His Holiness Pope Francis encouraged the Meeting for Friendship Among Peoples, frequently referred to as the "Rimini Meeting", in a message released and signed by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin.

On August 20, 2023, His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and Supreme Head of the Syriac Orthodox Church, received His Excellency the Charge d’Affaires of the Austrian Embassy in Syria Mr. Peter Krois, accompanied by a delegation from the Embassy, at the Patriarchate Headquarters in Bab Touma, Damascus, Syria.

His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II thanked His Excellency for his efforts to support the Syrian people and discussed with his guests the impact of the sanctions imposed on Syria and the effect they have on the daily lives of the Syrian people.

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, received on Monday 21 August 2023, an honorary doctorate degree from the Catholic University of Pazmany Peter, in a grand ceremony at the university's headquarters in Budapest.

Professor Toshka Laszlo, Professor of Arabic Language at the University of Budapest, delivered the university’s speech, during which he spoke about the journey of His Holiness Pope Tawadros II from his birth until now. He referred to the political events that Egypt had gone through since 2011, focusing on the events of the June 30, 2013 revolution and the meeting on July 3, in which His Holiness Pope Tawadros II participated, along with army leaders, Sheikh Al-Azhar and intellectuals.

With the blessing of His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Church of Cilicia, H.E. Arch. Kegham Katcherian, Prelate of the Armenian Prelacy of Greece, celebrated the Divine Liturgy on the occasion of the Feast of Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ, at St. Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral in Antelias, Lebanon.

Below you can find the Speech delivered by His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, at the dinner held by at the Egyptian Embassy in Budapest, on Monday 20 August 2023:

We are happy to meet his Excellency the Ambassador at the residence tonight, and he worked with us before we came. We are happy that the Egyptians gathered as one family”.

Egypt has a special characteristic in all countries of the world, a rich civilization and a long history. I always feel that Egypt is kept in God's heart. Egypt has a strong history and association with Hungary, and exchanges on the political and commercial level.

On Saturday, August 6/19, 2023, the feast of the Transfiguration was celebrated by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem on Mount Tabor where the event of the Transfiguration took place.

During this feast, the whole Church, especially that of Jerusalem, to which Mount Tabor belongs as a place of pilgrimage, remembers singing and glorifying the event of the Transfiguration of our Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ in the Gospel accounts (Matthew 17:2 – 8 and Mark. 9, 2-8), because, a short time before His passion, the Lord took the three distinguished disciples and went up with them to Mount Tabor, and He was transfigured before them.

Under the auspices of His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Church of Cilicia, the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary was solemnly celebrated at St. Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral in Antelias, Lebanon, and St. Mary Monastery in Bikfaya, Lebanon, on Sunday, August 13th, 2023.

HE Archbishop Gomidas Ohanian celebrated the Divine Liturgy in Antelias, conducted the blessing of the grapes ceremony, and delivered the message of the Feast…

By His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Louis Raphaël Sako

The Church in Iraq must preserve its freedom and independence. The Church is entrusted to transmit the truth and defend it. Jesus says: “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8: 32). The path of truth is narrow, “the narrow gate” (Matthew 7: 13) that qualifies us to test the presence of Christ in our lives by living His teaching “the way and the truth and the life” (John 14: 6).

The clergyman must be a leader, not a “follower”, with enlightened mind, lively conscience and exemplary behavior. He should not deviate from the truth. The duties of the clergyman are to impersonate Jesus Christ, in helping others to follow their Lord and provide them a sound Christian spiritual education and good morals that protect them from being drawn towards evil. The clergyman should neither get along with wicked, nor praise the corrupted persons, or cover up for them.