Seminary Students of the Armenian Church of Cilicia celebrate the Feast of Martyr St. Stephan

The Seminary of the Catholicosate of Cilicia marked the memory of Proto-Deacon and Proto-Martyr St. Stephan, the first saint to have become a martyr for the Christian faith, during a special event on December 23.

Given that the feast of St. Stephan is a feast of the deacons, the ceremony was organized by the deacons and sub-deacons. The Seminary deacons presented a lecture on the life and work of the Saint.

Kevork Saghdedjian delivered the opening remarks, highlighting the uniqueness of the feast of deacons and the meaning of the service they provide particularly in current times. Serge Tinkdjian read out a section of the letter written by the Apostle Paul to the Romans.

Mourad Tchorbadjian delivered a lecture on the theme “The deacon in the Church”, touching on the challenges and the difficulties today’s youth face and the importance of providing Armenian and Christian education to the new generation. In this respect, he cast a critical look at the well studied and well prepared formation process through which the Seminary students pass. Following the lecture, Mike Tashdjian performed a section from the hymn dedicated to the Saint.

The second lecture around the theme “what is the deacon’s calling in the face of the 21st century’s challenges?” was presented by Apraham Manuelian, who spoke about the various ways of serving especially in present-day conditions.

V. Rev. Fr. Krikor Chiftjian concluded the event. Addressing the attendants he first congratulated the deacons for their efforts in organizing the event. Through the lectures delivered by the deacons, Fr. Chiftjian reflected upon the spirit of the event and explained the meaning of the word service. “Service is not something that is done in return for compensation. Otherwise, it would be emptied of its meaning. The word service acquires its full meaning when it is realized through self-dedication.” Fr. Chiftjian concluded by calling upon the seminary students to follow the path of all those who have loyally served our church, assuring that their compensation would be in heaven, not on earth.

Armenian Orthodox Church news

Christmas Message of Jerusalem's Church Leaders

"We Must Think Even More Carefully and Deeply About Jesus"

JERUSALEM, DEC. 19, 2008 (Zenit.org) - Here is the Christmas message signed by 13 patriarchs and heads of Christian Churches in Jerusalem.

* * *
Dear Sisters & Brothers

Greetings.

As we prepare to celebrate Christmas there seems to be even more, darkness, conflict and despair in the world around us. That means for us, as Christians, we must think even more carefully and deeply about Jesus -- the baby born in Bethlehem's stable.

Many people are afraid of the dark whether it be the absence of light around them or fear of the unknown in their personal lives or the world at large.

Despite all this we need to think and mediate about Jesus:

"A light that shines in the dark, a light that darkness could not overpower." (John 1:5)

St. John's Gospel goes on to remind us of the facts of Jesus' birth:

"That he was born into a world which did not recognize him and a people that did not receive him." (John 1:10-11)

So, as we approach another Christmas we must show the world around us that Jesus is a light in the dark which never goes out, a burning light which takes the terror from the night and moreover, a light on which we should fix our eyes not least when the clouds appear to be gathering around us.

Just as the baby in the stable is the focal point of our Christmas celebrations, so we must affirm and witness to the fact that Jesus is the light which shines out from our personal and corporate lives at all times.

Again and again we need to ask ourselves "What would Jesus do, what would Jesus say". Then, our thoughts and ideas of His actions and words must be translated into the daily life of our community -- particularly in this Holy Land.

Similarly, we have to convince the world's political leaders that the true peace will only come on earth when we seek God's will for his people … not least through the words and actions of Jesus. Nor must we belittle the fact, affirmed in St. John's Gospel, that to all who accept Jesus, He gives power to become the Children of God.

This means we must stand alongside all who suffer around us -- the hungry, the homeless, the unemployed and the bereaved since Jesus tells us that when we help others we are doing it to Him as thought He were suffering for them.

To stand alongside also involves us in action. We need the light of Christ to shine on this Land to enable us to work more realistically for a two state solution which would end the burden of restrictions arising out of Occupation.

(So we pray for the president-elect of the United States that he and other world leaders may see the urgent need for peace in the Middle East and not least in this Land).

We need also to see the situation in which many are suffering in Gaza in the light of Christ and make a determined effort to bring them urgent relief.

Moreover, we must never forget our duty to point our children and young people to the light of Christ assuring them that, through Jesus we all have hope for a better world.

Then we would greet our Sisters and Brothers across the world -- not least the thousands who have visited this Holy Land recently. It is important to recall that you are walking in the footsteps of Jesus and when you pause to see the plight of many of your fellow Christians that you respond as you believe He would.

We are conscious of all who suffer across the world but for all we believe the only way forward is to see people and situations in "The light of Christ".

Be assured of our good wishes and prayers for all of you as Christmas approaches and may God's blessing be on your homes and families.

"Walk in the light and the light will illumine your path,
Walk in the truth and the truth will set you free,
Walk in the way of peace and you will have, through Christ,
The peace which passes understanding."

(Prayers of the Way: by John Johansen-berg).

Jerusalem December 2008

Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem

H.B. Patriarch Theophilos III, Greek Orthodox Church
H.B. Patriarch Fouad Twal, Roman Catholic Church
H.B. Patriarch Torkom Manooghian, Armenian Orthodox Church

Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa, of Custos of the Holy Land

Archbishop Anba Abraham, Coptic Orthodox Church
Archbishop Swerios Malki Murad, Syrian Orthodox Church

Archbishop Abouna Mathias, Ethiopian Orthodox Church
Archbishop Paul Sayyah, The Maronite Church
Archbishop Youssef Jules Zreyi, The Greek Melkite Church

The Rt. Revd. Suhiel Dawani, The Anglican Church
The Rt. Revd. Mounib Younan, The Lutheran Church
The Rt. Revd. Pierre Malki, The Syrian Catholic Church
Father Rafael Minassian, The Armenian Catholic Church

Egypt’s first Christian woman mayor takes role in her stride

KOMBOHA, Egypt - Eva Habil has just become Egypt’s first female mayor but already she seems relaxed in her pioneering role as she strolls around her community clad in jeans and a pink sweater. “She will be a good leader, just like her ancestors,” says Jamil Guirguis, an elderly man wearing the traditional white galabiyah robe, who made a point of climbing off his donkey to greet the new mayor. “And besides, a woman is in power in Germany,” he adds.

Habil, a 53 year-old Christian lawyer, beat five male candidates, including her younger brother, to become mayor of the predominantly Coptic Christian town of Komboha in southern Egypt.

The appointment of a woman to the top civic role in the community of stockbreeders was confirmed by the interior ministry in November. “I don’t believe it. I am the first woman mayor of Egypt,” she says as a band of children swarm around her, smiling in admiration. “My father was mayor (of Komboha). I was born here. I was not parachuted out of nowhere,” said Habil. She admits, however, that the older generation supported her more than the young of the town of 10,000 people.

Egypt was the first Arab country to give women the franchise in 1956. But today there are only nine female MPs in Egypt’s 454-seat parliament. Four were elected while the five others were appointed under presidential decree. Habil’s nomination as mayor echoes a long tradition in rural Egypt that administrative positions are handed down from father to son, even if this time the daughter got the top job.

My mother wanted a boy

“My mother was unhappy when I was born because she had wanted a boy,” the new mayor recalled. As a woman, Habil knew she would have to face up to huge challenges as she battled her way into the male-oriented politics of Egypt. “When I was a student at Ain Shams University in Cairo in the 1970s, mini-skirts were in fashion and the emancipation of women was on the horizon,” she said. But the majority of society became more conservative later.

While a growing number of Muslim women from all walks of life opted for wearing scarfs to express their faith, Christians wore crosses. “Copts began wearing chains with huge crosses in reaction,” said Habil who insists that citizenship should prevail over religious differences. “We must, first and foremost, proclaim ourselves Egyptians.”

Egypt’s Copts — the largest Christian community in the Middle East — account for an estimated six percent of the country’s 80 million mainly Muslim inhabitants.

Fearing that Egypt’s small secular opposition parties were being flouted by the influential Muslim Brotherhood opposition group, Habil joined the ruling National Democratic Party of President Hosni Mubarak. “I am the first woman mayor, but believe me there will be others,” she said, pointing to a group of young girls around her.

Source: US COPTS Association

Church shooting puts spotlight on Knanaya religion

By SAMANTHA HENRY
The Associated Press

NEWARK, N.J. - When a gunman attacked parishioners at a Clifton church two weekends ago, word of the shootings spread quickly among two culturally divergent communities that share a strong but little known bond: South Indians and Middle Easterners, who both are members of the Syriac Orthodox tradition.

The tragic shooting cast light on a lesser-known sect of the Syriac Orthodox called the Knanaya, whose members largely hail from the South Indian state of Kerala.

On Nov. 23, a gunman entered The St. Thomas Syrian Orthodox Knanaya Church in Clifton , a suburb about 15 miles west of Manhattan , and shot three people, killing two of them.

Joseph Pallipurath was arraigned Friday on charges of fatally shooting his estranged wife, 24-year-old Reshma James, who prosecutors say had previously taken out a restraining order against him. Also killed was Dennis John Mallosseril, who witnesses said was trying to intervene on James' behalf.
James' 47-year-old cousin, Silvy Perincheril, was shot in the head and remains hospitalized and in a coma.

The tragedy has reverberated throughout the Knanayan community worldwide , a close-knit Christian minority estimated by church officials to have about 50,000 to 100,000 members. Their strict inter-marriage customs , meant to preserve ancient bloodlines , mean many families know one another, regardless of where they live.

The Rev. Thomas Abraham, the head of the Knanayan church in Clifton, said his members trace their roots back to 72 families that traveled from the Middle East around A.D. 340 to India to do missionary work.

"They brought the Bible to India, and the Syriac-Aramaic language, as was spoken by Jesus," Abraham said. "The liturgy and the mass was celebrated in Syriac, and even now, we use it."

Preserving the bloodlines and the traditions of his people in New Jersey is a challenge with a new American-born generation, Abraham said.
"We are losing some to inter-marrying," he said. "We practice endogamy , marrying within the same community , and to be born of the Knanayan church you have to be of Knanayan parents, and once you marry outside the church, you automatically lose the bloodlines."

Abraham said he was sorry that people came to learn of the Knanayan's rich cultural and religious heritage only through the tragedy of the Clifton shootings.

"If you say you are from India, people think Indians are all Hindu," he said. "We want people to know there were Christians in India long before Columbus discovered America."

Kathleen McVey, professor of church history at the Princeton Theological Seminary, said the Knanayan claim Syriac-Jewish descent, and are among the earliest Christians, linking themselves to an apostle of Jesus.

"The Knanayan group is its own very ancient tradition, and they see themselves as a distinct group originating in 345, and I think there is good reason to think that their distinctive tradition does go back to a very early date," McVey said.

McVey said they emerge in historical documents in 345, when their leader came with a group from Mesopotamia to the Malabar Coast of what is today India.

"They claim other connections through the apostle Thomas, and a connection to Judaism through the earliest converts who converted to Christianity," McVey said.

Upon hearing of the shooting, the Knanayan archbishop traveled immediately from India to New Jersey to mourn with the congregation.
Syrian Orthodox church leaders also rushed to the church within an hour of the shooting to comfort the families.

Archbishop Cyril Aphrem Karim of the Syriac Orthodox Church of the Eastern United States , which is based in Teaneck , was one of those who reached out to the Knanayan. Karim said his congregation , largely made up Christians from Syria, Lebanon, Turkey and elsewhere , feel a kinship with the Knanayan, who also answer to the patriarch in Damascus.

"Our relationship with India goes back a long time ago, since St. Thomas was an apostle in India," Karim said.

He said the relationship extends to the congregations in America.

"It's very enriching," Karim said of the Syriac Orthodox Diaspora. "The dogma, the beliefs are all the same. There's no difference to talk about in terms of church; there is in terms of culture, but Christianity always expresses itself in local culture."

Karim said the Knanayan church in New Jersey , established in 1987 after moving from Yonkers, N.Y. , used to fall under his diocese until the early 1990s, when the group founded its own diocese in India.

Abraham said they incorporate Aramaic language , mixed with Malayalam, an Indian dialect spoke in Kerala , when saying mass, and follow many of the same Orthodox traditions as the Syrian church.

Source: http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/104-12072008-1633846.html

His Holiness Aram I met with the Maronite Patriarch

12 December 2008: His Holiness Aram I met with the Maronite Patriarch, His Beatitude Cardinal Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir in Bekerke on December 12. The Primate of the Diocese of Lebanon, Bishop Kegham Khatcherian and the Catholicosate of Cilicia’s Ecumenical Officer Bishop Nareg Alemezian accompanied the Pontiff.

The meeting between the two spiritual heads coincided with the return of His Holiness Aram I recently from an official trip to the Vatican, where he had also extensively discussed issues related to Lebanon and the Christian presence in the Middle East during his meetings with Vatican officials.

In addition to this Vatican visit, the talks between the two spiritual heads included various issues related to the Middle East and Lebanon. His Holiness Aram I told Patriarch Sfeir that during his talks with the Pope and with the Secretary of State, he had highlighted the political situation in Lebanon and the Middle East.

Referring to the current situation in Lebanon, the two spiritual leaders emphasized the importance of giving more concrete manifestation to the national unity.

Armenian Orthodox Church News

Thousands of Muslims Attempt Again to Attack Copts during Prayers

12 December, 2008: Thousands of Muslims who were angered by Copts celebrating mass in the Zagazig Dioceses Hospitality Hall on 10th December, gathered in the village of Kafr Farag Guirgis, in an attempt to attack the building. The Muslim mob, which also included those from nearby villages, was armed with fire balls and gasoline bottles. The security forces had to intervene to contain the situation, closed the building and are still surrounded it.

More than 1300 Copts living in the village and who make up for more than 50% of the total inhabitants have no church to pray in, while the Muslims have four mosques. For over 12 years the Copts were celebrating mass in a place of around 100 square metres with no water or amenities. As the roof of that place became unsafe, they went to celebrate mass in the Hall of the nearby newly built building for social services and hospitality belonging to the Diocese of Zagazig. This angered the Muslims.

A church deacon who was present during the incident told Coptic News that the people in the building did not want to leave the place and he added:
"Our Churh is built with the blood of martyrs, and we were ready to stay inside the building and be killed, however, we received orders from higher Church authorities to evacuate the place".

It is worth noting that a similar incident happened end November when over 20,000 armed Muslims besieged 1000 Copts praying in the Church of the Virgin Mary in West Ain Shams,Cairo

Source: Voice of the Copts

PATRIARCH ZAKKA ON THE CONFISCATION OF ST GABRIEL

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

Your Excellency,

Greetings! We are writing this letter to bring to your kind attention the recent developments that is taking place in connection with our Mor Gabriel Monastery, also called Deyrulumur, in Midyat, Turkey. As Your Excellency might be aware of, the Mor Gabriel Monastery, established in 397.AD, is a very important historic monument and a holy place for the entire Christendom and particularly for the Syriac Christians all over the world. This has been a religious place of lofty regards and a centre of high reverence for the Syriac people all through out its history. It was owned and cherished by the Syriac church fathers, and the monastery enjoyed full freedom of ownership of its land and properties from the time of its inception. Even the people
of other religions upheld in high esteem and respected this institution as a holy place for all. For most of the non-Turkish origin Syriac Christians, the first thing, that, the very name: Turkey, immediately bringing to their mind, with reverence to the esteemed land of Turkey, is about their holy monasteries in Turkey, like the Mor Gabriel Monastery of Midyat, Deir-ul-Zaafran of Mardin, the Holy place: Antioch etc

But some of the disputes and false claims that have recently arisen regarding the territorial ownership of the monastery deserve serious attention of all. This very sensitive and touching issue is imparting much sorrow and anxiety to us and to the entire Syriac communities all over the world. As has been detailed in the attached report of the bishop of the Monastery, Metropolitan Mor Timotheos Samuel Aktas, the Cadastral Survey Department and some misguided people of the surrounding villages, is coming up with unjustifiable claims about the property rights of the monastery.

It is a very sad as well as very serious matter, that, even after producing enough concrete proofs and solid supporting governmental documental evidences to prove the historic rights of ownership of the land and properties of the monastery, the present Cadstral Survey Department and other government departments are going ahead blindly with their false claims and proceedings regarding the boundaries of the land of the monastery. The claims of the department are absolutely against the prevailing rights of the minority communities, now prevalent in the esteemed country of Turkey and these are against the International treaties and agreements reached with Turkey.

Also the ill motivated and illogical allegations and complaints of some of the nearby villagers, as detailed in the attached report are also to be considered very serious infringements, and as an attempt to breach the religious freedom, and putting at risk, the peace and harmony enjoyed by the minority communities in Turkey. Now, at a time, when many of the Syriac Christians of Turkish origin in diaspora, who had to flee their homeland for fear of their life in the difficult tides of times, want to return to Turkey -(the settlement at the village "Kaphra" in southern Turkey is a good example for that), this sort of incursions and attacking mentality brings serious concern, fear and disappointment in the minds of them. Moreover this will fade and disfigure the good image that the nation Turkey is achieving.

So, Your Excellency, please consider this issue with proper importance and through your reputed office, we would like to bring to the attention of the esteemed government of Turkey, to take some urgent, decisive and fruitful actions in order to safeguard the rights of the Syriac Christian communities in Turkey, and to provide enough protection to them from the incursive forces that endanger the life and freedom of the Syriac minorities in Turkey, that they had enjoyed since the inception of Christianity in the first century AD.

With thanks and sincere regards,

Ignatius Zakka I Iwas
Patriarch of Antioch and All the East
Supreme Head of the Universal Syrian Orthodox Church

Turkey Attempting to Confiscate Assyrian Monastery's Land

The St. Gabriel Assyrian monastery, of the Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch, was established in 397 AD, hundreds of years before its neighboring villages of Yayvantepe, Eglence and Candarli were founded. During the reign of the Ottoman Empire the monastery was officially declared as a foundation and is still legally regarded as such. Since its establishment the monastery has developed and continuously improved its environment. Over the last three decades it has developed into a major center that attracts tens of thousands visitors from Turkey and abroad. The entire region has benefited from this development.

Kurdish leaders from the villages of Yayvantepe, Eglence and Candarli, in cooperation with influential members of the ruling Justice and Development party (AKP), are now trying through dubious "lawful means" to confiscate the land of the monastery by claiming that the monastery has "too much" land for prayer and that land is needed as a meadow for these villages.

Two of the villages, Yayvantepe and Eglence, are in a dispute over their borders. But it is apparent that instead of solving their own disputes with regards to the determination of borders in the framework of general cadastral work, the heads of villages Yayvantepe and Eglence joined forces to turn on the monastery. In a press release issued on September 3, 2008, the Chairman of the Foundation of the St. Gabriel Monastery, Kuryakos Ergün, called unfounded the allegations brought forward against the Monastery by the heads of the three villages.

The Monastery has issued a detailed appeal to the Human Rights Office of the Turkish Parliament. A quick response is not expected.

Under the leadership of Archbishop Samuel Aktas, the monastery has been completely renovated over the last 30 years and serves as a religious and social center for the remaining Christian Assyrians. This is apparently a thorn in the eye of the Turkish government and its local subordinates, especially since many Assyrians return to their destroyed villages, reclaim their land that was occupied by Kurds and start rebuilding their homes.

"If the attacks against us in this way should continue and despite all the adversity all legal means are exhausted, we will, where appropriate, appeal to the European Court of Human Rights and the Commissions of the European Union", said Ergün.
Meanwhile, Assyrian Organizations in Western Europe have brought the issue to the relevant political bodies in various countries, including appeals to members of the European Parliament. Turkey continues to receive more than 500 million Euros for preparatory measures for the EU candidacy, while the Christian Assyrian minority is still harassed and distressed.

Despite the prospective negotiations on accession to the European Union (EU) since 2005, Turkey obviously does not hesitate to put pressure on the remaining Christians in the south-east of the country and especially target a monastery that seems essential for the survival of the remaining Assyrian Christian population.
Click here for more pictures of the St. Gabriel Monastery.

By Abdulmesih BarAbrahem
source: http://www.aina.org/releases/20080916151651.htm

Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexy II laid to rest

MOSCOW, December 9 (RIA Novosti) - Patriarch Alexy II was laid to rest on Tuesday in Moscow after a grand funeral ceremony attended by top Orthodox figures, political leaders, and thousands of ordinary people.

Alexy II, who died of heart failure on Friday aged 79, was buried in Moscow's Epiphany Cathedral, where he was enthroned as patriarch in 1990, a year before the demise of the atheist Soviet Union.

The burial ceremony in the cathedral, which included prayers for the dead, was attended by top church clergy from Russia and abroad. Political leaders and other secular figures were not expected at the ceremony in the Epiphany Cathedral, the Moscow Patriarchy said. When the clergy left the cathedral after the burial, mourners were let inside to bid farewell to the late patriarch. The funeral service in the Christ the Savior Cathedral earlier in the day, where the patriarch had lain in state since Saturday, was attended by clergy from across the Orthodox Christian world, as well as representatives of the world's major religions.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, as well as the leaders of Belarus, Armenia and Serbia, Cabinet ministers, top Kremlin officials, and senior lawmakers also attended the funeral service. Speaking during the service, the church's acting leader, Metropolitan Kirill, said: "Today his Holiness, standing before the face of God, can say that he left us with a different Church: no longer powerless and weak." "The Church is with its people... Millions of people have realized that without God and his truth, there can be no human truth," he said.

The huge, gold-domed cathedral near the Kremlin was demolished by the Bolsheviks and rebuilt during Alexy II's leadership, along with hundreds of other churches. Thousands of half-ruined churches and monasteries were reconstructed across the country. The patriarch's body was taken to the Epiphany Cathedral after the six-hour service in a procession led by Metropolitan Kirill. The 7 km (over 4 miles) journey across the city center, disrupted traffic until late afternoon. The hearse containing the body was given a police escort.

Moscow police said more than 100,000 people paid their last respects to Alexy II between Saturday evening and Tuesday. Mourners waited for hours around the clock to file past the coffin. Tens of thousands took to the streets to see the funeral procession on Tuesday as unseasonal rain hit the Russian capital. The Patriarchy denied media reports earlier on Tuesday that Kirill, one of the candidates to replace the late leader, had fainted during the liturgy in the Christ the Savior Cathedral.

Kirill, 62, who heads the church's foreign relations department, was helped away during the service, but later returned. "I am glad to give brotherly comfort to those who rushed to make diagnoses and forecasts. The metropolitan is feeling fine," Patriarchy spokesman Vsevold Chaplin said. "He did not faint. And there is no danger to his life."

The church's national council convenes within the next six months to elect a new leader.

Posted by Father Theodosius in http://newandoldmonks.blogspot.com/


Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians attends the funeral of Patriarch of All Russia Alexy II

As reported by the press office of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians attended the funeral service of Alexy II, Patriarch of All Russia.

Accompanying the Catholicos of All Armenians are Archbishop Gregory Buniatian-Primate of the Armenian Diocese in Ukraine, Archbishop Pargev Martirosian-Primate of Artsakh Diocese, Archbishop Yeznik Petrosian-Director of Ecumenical Relations Department of the Mother See, Bishop Yezras Nersisian-Primate of the Armenian Diocese in New Nakhijevan and Russia, Bishop Movses Movsisian-Primate of the Armenian Diocese in the South Russia and Very Reverend Father Hovnan Hakobian.

ORIENTAL ORTHODOX HEADS SEND CONDOLENCES TO THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH

1. Condolence from the Syrian Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch & all the East

2. Condolence from the Armenian Orthodox Catholicos of Cilicia

Patriarch who revived Russian Orthodox Church Passed Away

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Patriarch Alexiy II, a staunch conservative who revived Russia's Orthodox Church after the collapse of communism and clashed with Rome over Catholic missionary activity, died on Friday at the age of 79.

A spokesman for the Moscow Patriarchy said Alexiy, who led the powerful church for 18years and developed close ties with the Kremlin, died at his residence in Peredelkino, a former Soviet writers' colony, outside Moscow.

President Dmitry Medvedev, who was on an official visit to India, hailed the patriarch as "an outstanding religious figure" and canceled a planned trip to Italy to return to Moscow.

"He was a true shepherd, who throughout his life was an example of spiritual fortitude and noble human deeds," Medvedev told state television. "He was always with his flock both in the days of reprisals and in the period of religious revival."

Prime Minister and former President Vladimir Putin, an ex- communist spy who now openly professes his Orthodox faith, said Alexiy was a "great statesman" who had "done a great deal for the establishment of a new Russian statehood."

The Church never commented on Alexiy's health and gave the cause of death as heart failure. But diplomats in Moscow had said the Patriarch had been suffering from cancer for some time.

In a sign of his importance, Russian state television immediately ran a film showing highlights from Alexiy's life, accompanied by the sound of tolling church bells.

Church officials said Metropolitan Juvenali of Krutitsy and Kolomna --a senior bishop -- may lead the Russian Orthodox until the election of a new patriarch.

Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia since 1990, the Estonian-born Alexiy was a powerful and influential figure with close links to the Kremlin but a controversial past and strongly held conservative views on social issues.

He oversaw a major religious revival in Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union, with hundreds of new churches built across the country, monasteries reopened and seminaries filling with new priests.

But despite repeated church denials, he also failed to shake off allegations by researchers that he had links to the Soviet KGB intelligence service.

Russia's Orthodox Church is by far the biggest of the churches in the Eastern Orthodox communion, which split with Western Christianity in the Great Schism of 1054. It is the majority religion in Russia.

DEEPLY CONSERVATIVE

Alexiy was outspoken in his defense of traditional Russian values and criticized the West over issues such as gay rights.

In a rare visit to western Europe in 2007, Alexiy described homosexuals as sinners suffering an illness similar to kleptomaniacs and decried what he said was a rupture between morality and human rights.

Much of Alexiy's reign coincided with the leadership of Polish-born Pope John Paul II at the Vatican.

After the fall of communism in 1989 and the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991, relations between the Vatican and Russia's Orthodox Church were severely strained over accusations that Catholics were using their newfound freedom to poach souls.

The Vatican denied the accusations but the chill in relations was the main cause for the failure to arrange a meeting between Alexiy and the Pope although they came close to arranging a meeting in a "neutral" venue, such as Vienna.

In Rome, Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, praised Alexiy for restoring the vitality of Russia's church after communism.

"He was instrumental in fostering the enormous growth of dioceses, parishes, monasteries and educational institutions which have given new life to a Church sorely tested for so long," Kasper said.

Alexei Mikhailovich Rediger was born on February 23, 1929 in the Estonian capital Tallinn, into the family of a Russian Orthodox priest of German descent.

He later said his family's many pilgrimages to the-then Soviet Union's religious sites were key to moulding his future path.

In 1953 he graduated from the St Petersburg Spiritual Academy as a Priest. He served in Estonia and Russia before becoming a monk in 1961, taking the vow of chastity necessary for any Orthodox clergyman seeking a top position in the church.

In 1961 he was appointed Bishop of Tallinn and Estonia and in 1986 was consecrated Metropolitan of Leningrad and Novgorod.

Source: Yahoo News

Hundreds mourn man killed inside Clifton church

AP Photo
The mother of Dennis John Mallosseril grieves at her son's Thanksgiving Day wake held at the St. Thomas Syrian Orthodox Knanaya Church in Clifton on Thursday.

by Nyier Abdou/The Star-Ledger Saturday
November 29, 2008, 3:47 PM - More than 500 people filled the St. Thomas Syrian Orthodox Knanaya Church in Clifton today to pay their final respects to a Hawthorne man who was slain in the church last Sunday.

Dennis John Malloosseril, 25, was shot when he tried to intervene in an argument between Reshma James, 24, and her estranged husband, Joseph Pallipurath, 27, of Sacramento, Calif. Authorities say Pallipurath shot James, Malloosseril and James' cousin.

Malloosseril was remembered during today's four-hour service as a gregarious but humble young man who was fiercely dedicated to his church community. His parents, Abraham and Aley, and older sister, Lois, sat in the front pew, a few feet from Malloosseril's open casket.

"Dennis had a gift for loving life and loving people," Malloosseril's father said in a statement read by a relative. "He gave himself up helping a total stranger."

When family members were called to perform a traditional celebratory chant that would normally be done at a wedding, Malloosseril's parents could be heard wailing in grief, while other family members cried openly.

After the service, priests crowded around the casket to chant and perform last rites. Malloosseril's mother, surrounded by crowds of family, collapsed, unable to view her son's body before the casket was finally closed.

Authorities say Pallipurath drove across country to confont his wife. When he arrived at the church last Sunday, Pallipurath pulled out a silver revolver and shot his wife in the head. He then turned the gun on James's cousin, Silvy Perincheril, 47, a teacher at the church's religious school, and Malloosseril.

James, who had left her husband and filed restraining orders against him in California and New Jersey, died at the church. Malloosseril died hours later, while Perincheril remains in critical condition at St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center in Paterson.

Pallipurath, who also goes by the nickname Sanish, fled but was apprehended at a motel in Georgia Tuesday and charged with two counts of murder. He is expected to be returned to New Jersey next week.


Mia Song/The Star-Ledger
Dennis Malloosseril's parents, John and Aley Malloosseril, and his sister, Lois Malloosseril, left, grieve during funeral services today in Clifton for Dennis Malloosseril.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/11/hundreds_of_mourners_packed_in.html

20,000 Muslims Attack a Church in Cairo

Nov 26, 2008 - One thousand Christians were today trapped inside the Coptic Orthodox Church of the Virgin Mary in West Ain Shams,Cairo, after more than twenty thousand Muslims attacked them with stones and butane gas cylinders. The Church's priest Father Antonious said that the situation is extremely dangerous.

The Muslim mob that attacked the church blocked both sides of the street and encircled the church building, broke its doors and demolished its entire first floor. The mob were chanting Jihad verses as well as slogans saying "we will demolish the church" and "We sacrifice our blood and souls, we sacrifice ourselves for you, Islam", while the entrapped Christians chanted "Lord have mercy".

The incident started on the occasion of the inauguration of the Church today, when the Muslims hastily established a Mosque in the early hours of this morning, by taking over the first floor of a newly-built building facing the Church and started praying there.

When the security forces tried to disperse the mob, they went to nearby homes and shops owned by Christians, and were armed with sticks, butane, knives and other sharp objects. Witnesses said the mob included children from as young as 8-years old to men of over 50-years old, in addition to women.

The Church building was originally a factory that was adapted into its present state, the matter which took over five years to complete and to get the necessary permissions from the authorities to have a Church established.

Human rights organizations and lawyers were refused entry into the besieged Church.

www.voiceofthecopts.org

HIS HOLINESS ARAM I AND HIS HOLINESS POPE BENEDICT XVI MET AT VATICAN

His Holiness Catholicos Aram I who arrived in Vatican on 23rd November had a busy schedule, meeting His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI and attending various conferances during the 5-day visit.

The official program of the Catholicos began with a visit to St. Peter's Basilica and the tomb of Pope John Paul II on the morning of Monday, November 24. Following his visit to the late Pope’s tomb, Aram I visited the Patio of St. Gregory the Illuminator and paid homage to the saint considered to be the apostle of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Later His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI and His Holiness Catholicos Aram had a private meeting in Vatican.

The Catholicos attended a liturgy on Monday at the basilica of St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls, which was led by Cardinal Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo, archpriest of the basilica. On Tuesday, H.H. Aram I attended Vespers in the basilica of St. Bartholomew on the Isola Tiberina in Rome, where he offered a relic of Armenian martyrs to be put on the altar of St. Bartholomew Church. Later the same day the Catholicos attended in a prayer meeting at the basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere.

On November 26, the Catholicos, his entourage, and a group of around 50 Armenian lay people who have come to Rome for the visit attended the weekly general audience that Pope Benedict XVI holds each Wednesday. During the public meeting held in the presence of thousands of pilgrims coming from different parts of the world, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI officially welcomed His Holiness Catholicos Aram I. The Pope said: “This morning I greet with great joy His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of Cilicia of the Armenians, together with the distinguished delegation accompanying him, and the Armenian pilgrims from various countries. This fraternal visit is a significant occasion for strengthening the bonds of unity already existing between us, as we journey towards that full communion which is both the goal set before all Christ’s followers and a gift to be implored daily from the Lord”. He then recalled the important role of Aram I in the ecumenical movement saying “I wish to express my particular gratitude for your constant personal involvement in the field of ecumenism, especially in the International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches, and in the World Council of Churches”.


Responding to the welcoming address of the Pope Benedict XVI, Catholicos Aram I said that the world of today urges all the churches to work together, in spite of our differences. Then he said: “our two Churches have apostolic origin. Apostolicity is not a mere mark of the Church, a sheer ecclesiological legacy that should be preserved intact. Apostolic origin must be transformed into apostolic vocation”. Emphasizing the crucial importance of re-evangelism, Catholicos Aram I said: “marginalization of Christian values, distortion of Christian identity, and increasing invasion of secularistic and materialistic values into our family and community life, urge the churches to engage in re-evangelism”. His Holiness welcoming the zeal and commitment of Pope Benedict XVI called the churches to unite their efforts in spiritual transformation of societies.

At the end of greetings, the spiritual leaders exchanged kiss of peace in front of the thousand pilgrims, who have came to Vatican from different parts of the world.

H.H. Aram I also participated in an academic ceremony held in his honor at the Pontifical Urban University, and met with Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, and other officials of that dicastery.

Source:
http://www.armenianorthodoxchurch.org/v04/doc/English/visitseng.htm#4
http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=27826