Luke 15:1-3,11-32

At the center of the parable told in today’s liturgy (Luke 15:1-3,11-32), the well-known parable of the Merciful Father, is a house in which a father lives with his two sons. 

A key to entering this passage, we find with a phrase found towards the end of the story, where we discover that the eldest son “became angry, and refused to enter the house” (Luke 15:28). 

So, there is a house into which a son does not want to go and prefers to stay outside. 

We also discover that not only the eldest son but also the youngest son has problems with this house: he too is away from home. He has asked his father for his share of the inheritance and has left (“collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country” - Lk 15:13). Nothing is known about where he went, except that this place is far from home. 

On Monday, 25th March / 7th April 2025, the Patriarchate celebrated the Theotokos’ Feast of the Annunciation. On this feast, the Church commemorates the event when the Archangel Gabriel, who had previously appeared in the Old Testament as the angel of the Mighty God, visited the maiden Mary in Nazareth and announced to her that, by the Holy Spirit, she would conceive and bear the Son of God, the awaited Messiah. In response, despite her confusion and fear, Mary answered: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word” (Luke 1:38, KJV), revealing the holy pattern of humility and obedience by which the mind and sin of the former Eve were overcome, and the way was opened for the incarnation of the Son of God, in accordance with the divine plan for the regeneration and salvation of humankind. Thus, Mary revealed to the world that she is indeed the highly favoured Virgin, of whom the Prophet Isaiah had prophesied: “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14, KJV).

There was a lot of hope in recent months first with the ceasefire agreement with Lebanon, followed by a ceasefire agreement in Gaza.

The guns stopped, [Israeli] hostages were released and the humanitarian supplies flowed in large quantities to Gaza bringing temporary relief that was thought to be the beginning of the end of this very long, bloody, and destructive war. Moving to the second phase of the agreement never materialized and [Israel] restarted its military attack on Gaza at a level not seen before.

The Antelias Pilgrimage Day and the feast commemorating St. Gregory the Illuminator’s descent into the pit (Khor Virab) were celebrated at the Catholicosate of Cilicia on Sunday, April 6, 2025. The occasion included a grand pontifical procession featuring seminarians, clergy from the Cilician Brotherhood, the Armenian Prelacy of Lebanon, Lebanese Armenian scouts, and the faithful. During the procession, His Holiness and the clergy carried the sacred relic of St. Gregory along with other saints, touring the Catholicosate and blessing the faithful.

On the evening of Saturday, April 5, 2025, a vigil service was held at St. Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral in Antelias to commemorate the Antelias Pilgrimage Day. His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Church, Holy See of Cilicia, and Honorary President of the Middle East Council of Churches, presided over the service and delivered a sermon focused on the theme of the Christ-Light.

On the Pilgrimage Day of the Catholicosate of Cilicia, celebrated on the eve of the feast of St. Gregory the Illuminator’s Descent into the Pit (Khor Virab), His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Church, Holy See of Cilicia, and Honorary President of the Middle East Council of Churches, along with the Cilician Brotherhood, retrieves the relic of St. Gregory and other sacred relics from the Cilicia Museum.

On the evening of 22nd March / 4th April 2025, the service of the Akathist Hymn took place at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. According to the typical order, within the framework of the Small Compline service, the hymns of the Akathist were chanted, specifically the “I will open my mouth” and the four Stases of the Akathist Hymn were read melodiously.

From the Secretariat-General of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem - From the Holy Archdiocese of Qatar

Between Wednesday, 13th/26th March 2025 and Saturday, 16th/29th March 2025, His Beatitude Patriarch John I of Antioch and All the East officially visited the Emirate of Qatar and the Archdiocese of Qatar. His Beatitude Patriarch John I arrived at Hamad International Airport in Doha at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, 13th/26th March 2025, where he was welcomed by His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Qatar.

On Friday, April 4, 2025, His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, presided over the redidcated the Church of Our Lady of Sorrows in the town of Aboud, following the completion of its restoration and renovation works.

The Department of Christian Education at the National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon held 11 training sessions to prepare female leaders from churches in both countries. The program began in 2022 with the participation of 42 women and concluded on Wednesday, April 2, 2025, with a graduation ceremony for 32 women.

On (Thursday) the 3rd of March 2025, H.H. Pope Tawadros II inaugurated the services building of the Giza Diocese, which was constructed within the premises of the diocese headquarters.

The International Theological Commission publishes “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour: 1700th Anniversary of the Ecumenical Council of Nicea (325-2025)”, dedicated to the Council that produced the first universal creed and proclaimed the faith of salvation in Jesus Christ, and in the One God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

By Vatican News

On May 20, the Christian world will commemorate the 1700th anniversary of the opening of the first ecumenical council, held in Nicea in 325, which has gone down in history primarily on account of the Creed, which brings together, defines, and proclaims the faith in salvation in Jesus Christ and in the One God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Later completed by the Council of Constantinople in 381, the Nicene Creed became in practice the identity card of the professed faith of the Church. For this reason, the International Theological Commission (ITC) decided to dedicate a document of almost seventy pages to the Council, which was convened by the emperor Constantine in Asia Minor, with the twofold objective of recalling its fundamental meaning and highlighting the extraordinary resources of the Creed, relaunching them in the perspective of the new stage of evangelisation that the Church is called to undertake in the current change of epoch. The new document acquires special relevance as the anniversary of Nicea occurs during the Jubilee of Hope in a year when Easter is celebrated by all Christians on the same date.

of his Beatitude the Patriarch of Serbia Porfirij by His Beatitude Patriarch Kyrios Kyrios Theophilos III

From the Secretariat-General of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem

On Wednesday, the 20th of March/2nd of April 2025, His Beatitude the Patriarch of Serbia Prorfirije, co-celebrated the Pre-Sanctified Liturgy with His Beatitude Patriarch Kyrios Kyrios Theophilos III, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, at the Horrendous Golgotha. The following Eminent High Priests also co-served: Metropolitan Kyriakos of Nazareth, Metropolitan Hesychios of Capitolia, the Assistant Bishop of Toplica, His Grace Petar, the visiting Metropolitan of Tamasos, His Eminence Isaias, and Hieromonks from the Holy Sepulchre Brotherhood, among whom the first was Archimandrite  Kamarasis Elder Nektarios, as well as other Hieromonks and priests accompanying the Patriarch of Serbia, including Archimandrite Vassianos, Head of the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem (MISSIA), Archdeacon Mark, and other deacons, with His Eminence Elder Archbishop Aristarchos of Constantina, also participating, alongside local faithful and devout pilgrims.

Jn 8:1-11

Today, too, we try to understand the passage from this Sunday’s Gospel (Jn 8:1-11) by starting with a small detail.

We are in the temple, where Jesus has come from the Mount of Olives. He has sat down and is teaching the people who have gathered around him (Jn 8:1-2). While he is teaching, scribes and Pharisees bring an adulterous woman to him and ask him to pronounce judgment on her. But Jesus remains silent and writes with his finger on the ground (Jn 8:6). And because they insist, Jesus says the famous words: “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her” (Jn 8:7), then he bends down again and continues to write on the ground (Jn 8:8).

Under the Presidency of Reverend Dr. Paul Haidostian, President of the Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East (UAECNE), President of Haigazian University in Lebanon, and President of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) for the Evangelical Family, Lebanon's Armenian Evangelical pastors enjoyed a gathering of fellowship, discussion and prayer with Rev. Calvin Sagherian (from U.S.) on 2 April 2025 at the Union's Headquarters. Sharing a warm and open atmosphere, the group discussed current challenges and divine blessings, whether in the Middle East, Armenia or North America. Rev. Sagherian reminded those present of the Lord Jesus' attention to his disciples, especially in times of storm and stress.

His Holiness Pope Francis continues to recuperate from bilateral pneumonia at his residence in the Vatican's Casa Santa Marta, according to an update provided by the Holy See Press Office.

By Christopher Wells

Pope Francis continues to be in good spirits, and his overall condition remains stable, according to the latest information made available by the Holy See Press Office.

The latest update on the Pope’s health, presented by the Director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, indicates that his blood work is normal, while a recent chest x-ray indicates an improvement in his lungs.

From the Secretariat-General of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem

Between Monday, 18th /31st March 2025 and Thursday, 12th March /3rd April 2025, His Beatitude the Patriarch of Serbia Porfirije made a pilgrimage visit to the Greek Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

His Beatitude the Patriarch of Serbia Porfirije arrived at Ben Gurion Airport at 2:30 am on Monday, 18th /31st March 2025, where he was received by His Eminence Metropolitan Hesychios of Capitolias, along with Archimandrite Christodoulos, Hegumen of the Holy Monastery of the Holy Cross.

Under the auspices of His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Church, Holy See of Cilicia, and Honorary President of the Middle East Council of Churches, the “Shonorhali” choir of the Catholicosate of Cilicia presented a celebration of Sayat Nova’s legacy on Wednesday evening, March 26, 2025, at the Hagop Der Melkonian Theater in the Armenian neighborhood of Bourj Hammoud.

From the Secretariat-General of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem

On Sunday, 17th/30th March, the Fourth Sunday of Lent, commemorating our venerable Father John of the Ladder, and one week after the Sunday of the Veneration of the Cross, the feast of the veneration of the Holy Cross took place at the ancient Holy Monastery of the Holy Cross, located in Western Jerusalem, near the [Jewish] Knesset.

The feast was celebrated traditionally on this Sunday at the aforementioned Holy Monastery, as it was in this area that Lot, upon leaving Sodom, planted the threefold wood—a combination of cedar, cypress, and pine—during his time of repentance, from which the cross was made, the one upon which our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified.

From the Secretariat-General of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem

Following a letter sent by His Beatitude Patriarch Porfirije of Serbia to His Beatitude Patriarch Kyrios Kyrios Theophilos III, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, and the Honorary President of the Middle East Council of Churches, the Patriarch of Serbia expressed his desire to visit the Holy Land, the Holy City of Jerusalem, pay tribute to the Most Holy Sepulchre, and to have a meeting with his Jerusalem counterpart.