Editor in Chief
Youssef Sidhom
Watani
عربى English French
  • News
    • Accidents
    • Crime
    • Diplomatic briefcase
    • NewsLine
    • Outside Cairo
    • Special Occasions
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • International media
    • Reader`s Corner
    • Opinion
  • Politics
    • Elections
    • International Politics
    • Islamisation Politics
    • National Affairs
    • Parliament
    • Politics
    • Protests
    • Rights
    • Terrorism
  • Culture
    • Antiquity
    • Art
    • Books
    • Culture
    • Drama
    • Egyptology
    • Festivals
    • Films
    • Heritage
    • Islamisation Culture
    • Media
    • Museums
    • Music
    • TV
  • Coptic
    • Church Affairs
    • Coptic Affairs
    • Coptic Culture
    • Copts in the Media
    • Coptology
    • Copts Abroad
    • Religious
      • P. Shenouda: Bible Study
    • Sectarian
    • Inter-religious
    • Holy Family
  • Features
    • Counselling Corner
    • features
    • Economy
      • Business
    • Education
    • Social Issues
      • Behaviour
      • Mothers Day
    • Health
    • Environment
    • Humour
    • In memorial
    • Interviews
    • Nile
    • Profile
    • Special needs
    • Sports
    • Technology
    • Tourism
    • Wars
    • Women
    • Youth
  • Watani Special Features
    • Egypt – Arab Spring
      • 25 January Revolution
      • 25 Jan revolution, one year on
      • Egypt post-30 June
    • Watani Milestones
      • 20 years Watani International
      • 10 years Watani International
      • Watani Jubilee
    • Pope Shenouda
    • Pope Tawadros
    • Watani Forum
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Accidents
    • Crime
    • Diplomatic briefcase
    • NewsLine
    • Outside Cairo
    • Special Occasions
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • International media
    • Reader`s Corner
    • Opinion
  • Politics
    • Elections
    • International Politics
    • Islamisation Politics
    • National Affairs
    • Parliament
    • Politics
    • Protests
    • Rights
    • Terrorism
  • Culture
    • Antiquity
    • Art
    • Books
    • Culture
    • Drama
    • Egyptology
    • Festivals
    • Films
    • Heritage
    • Islamisation Culture
    • Media
    • Museums
    • Music
    • TV
  • Coptic
    • Church Affairs
    • Coptic Affairs
    • Coptic Culture
    • Copts in the Media
    • Coptology
    • Copts Abroad
    • Religious
      • P. Shenouda: Bible Study
    • Sectarian
    • Inter-religious
    • Holy Family
  • Features
    • Counselling Corner
    • features
    • Economy
      • Business
    • Education
    • Social Issues
      • Behaviour
      • Mothers Day
    • Health
    • Environment
    • Humour
    • In memorial
    • Interviews
    • Nile
    • Profile
    • Special needs
    • Sports
    • Technology
    • Tourism
    • Wars
    • Women
    • Youth
  • Watani Special Features
    • Egypt – Arab Spring
      • 25 January Revolution
      • 25 Jan revolution, one year on
      • Egypt post-30 June
    • Watani Milestones
      • 20 years Watani International
      • 10 years Watani International
      • Watani Jubilee
    • Pope Shenouda
    • Pope Tawadros
    • Watani Forum
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result
Watani
ع Fr

Pope Tawadros joins Pope Francis, Middle East patriarchs, in Bari to pray for Middle East Christians

8 July, 2018 - (5:28 PM)
0 0

Michael Victor

Pope Tawadros joins Pope Francis, Middle East patriarchs, in Bari to pray for Middle East Christians
257
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria, Patriarch of the See of St Mark, has on Saturday 7 July joined Pope Francis and some 18 Orthodox and Catholic Middle East Church patriarchs in the Italian coastal city of Bari to pray for Christians of the Middle East.

 

The heads of Orthodox Churches, Oriental Orthodox Churches, the Assyrian Orthodox Church, Catholic Oriental Churches, as well as a representative of the Lutheran Church, and a delegate from the Middle East Council of Churches had answered the call sent out by Pope Francis to unite under the motto, “Peace be upon you! Christians together for the Middle East”.
Five other leaders sent a representative each, including Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, and the Catholic Melkite Patriarchate of Antioch.

Call to consciences

The choice of location for the one-day event, the city of Bari in the south Adriatic, carries a deep symbolic meaning in terms of Catholic-Orthodox relations. Orthodox Christians are devoted to Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of Bari whose relics are kept in the city’s basilica, and the city has often been called a “window to the Middle East”. It has historically been at the vanguard of ecumenical and interreligious dialogue, a city projected toward the Mediterranean Sea where, for centuries, religions have both met and collided.
Cardinal Kurt Koch, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, had said a few days before the event was held: “The Pope wants to provide the conditions for Christians to remain in the Middle East. The patriarchs from the region tell us: we are glad that you take in our refugees, but don’t tell them to come. Help them so that they can remain in their land.”
Cardinal Koch said he feared that Christians would continue to flee the Middle East, unless peace is re-established. He recalled that Christians in a century have plunged from being 20 per cent of the population to being a mere 4 per cent today.
For his part, Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for the Eastern Churches, had said there would be no final ‘joint declaration’. “But the words of Pope Francis can be of guidance, an appeal for the situation of persecuted Christians and the lack of peace. No concrete decision will be made, but we hope that those responsible for the situation in the world can listen. This is for them a call to consciences to seek not the abuse and force of violence but a political solution.”

 

Warm embrace

This was not Pope Francis’s first prayer initiative for peace in the Middle East.
On 7 September 2013, he had called for a day of prayer and fasting for peace in Syria. But the Bari meeting was the first of its kind, the only time so many Orthodox patriarchs from the Middle East have met with the Pope.
The Saturday 7 July event began as Pope Francis arrived at Bari by helicopter, and headed to the Basilica of St Nicholas, which is run by a Dominican community. He warmly embraced the religious leaders gathered there and, together, the group prayed before the relics of St Nicholas and lit a single candle representing their unified commitment to ending war in the Middle East.
The first part of the event involved an ecumenical prayer for peace that took place on the shoreline in Bari looking out toward the Middle East, a region which the pope described as a keeper of the Christian traditions “to be preserved to the utmost of our ability, for in the Middle East our very souls are rooted,” he said.
To get there from the basilica, the popes and patriarchs rode an open bus, waving to the cheering crowd.
Pope Francis described Christians as “the light of the world,” even in dark moments of history, when “they refuse to be resigned to the encircling gloom but instead feed the wick of hope with the oil of prayer and love.”

 

“Indifference kills”

“This region [the Middle East] so full of light, has in recent years been covered by dark clouds of war, violence and destruction, instances of occupation and varieties of fundamentalism, forced migration and neglect. All this has taken place amid the complicit silence of many,” Pope Francis said during the ecumenical prayer.
The pope expressed fear that the Christian community in the Middle East might disappear, “disfiguring the face of the region,” which is the cradle of Christianity. “We have already lit, before St Nicholas, the ‘one-flame lamp’, a symbol of the one Church,” Pope Francis said.
“Today, as one, we want to kindle a flame of hope,” he added.
“Like lights in the darkness, Christians facing persecution in the Middle East are resilient against the most staggering odds,” Pope Francis said, condemning the “complicit silence” of many to anti-Christian persecution.
“The Middle East has become a land of people who leave their own lands behind,” the Pontiff said.
“Indifference kills, and we desire to lift up our voices in opposition to this murderous indifference,” the Pope said as he stood flanked by 19 other religious leaders.
“We want to give a voice to those who have none, to those who can only wipe away their tears. For the Middle East today is weeping, suffering and silent as others trample upon those lands in search of power or riches,” he added.
“For all our suffering brothers and sisters, and for our friends of every people and creed, let us say again and again: Peace be upon you!” the Pope said. “With the Psalmist, let us offer this prayer in a special way for Jerusalem, the holy city beloved of God and wounded by men, for which the Lord continues to weep: Peace be upon you!”

 

“Who shall I fear?”

A prayer was said by each of the attending patriarchs with the faithful on the seafront of Bari.
Pope Tawadros started with the Prayer of Thanksgiving, thanking the Lord for the Bari meeting, and asking for: “Your peace to reign in our hearts.” He went on to pray for all those who were martyred in the name of Christ, also for the sick and injured everywhere. He invoked the intercession of the Holy Virgin, the Mother of God, to plead with the Lord to grant peace and calm to all regions of conflict; and to drive away Satan, the origin of all evil, from the lives of the faithful. “We ask You, O Lord, to fill our hearts with joy, while we are confident that Your eye watches over us from the beginning of the year to its end. We sing with David the Psalmist: The Lord is my light and my salvation, who shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?”
The second part of the Bari event included a private dialogue between the religious leaders, held behind closed doors in the Basilica of St Nicholas, during which each outlined his proposal for peace in the Middle East. At the end of the meeting, when the Basilica doors were reopened, Pope Francis made another address, reflecting on the Middle Eastern origins of the Christian tradition; “Jesus came from the Middle East,” he said. He talked of the commitment undertaken by the religious leaders to walk, pray, and work together “in the hope that the art of encounter will prevail over strategies of conflict”.

 

“Beloved Middle East, peace be upon you”

Pope Francis concluded his word by evoking the sign of the doves released by the prelates, handed to them by children. “For the sake of the children who have spent most of their lives looking at rubble instead of schools, hearing the deafening explosion of bombs rather than the happy din of playgrounds…may the longing for peace rise higher than any dark cloud. May the Middle East be an ark of peace, not an ark of war,” he prayed.

 

“Beloved Middle East, may you see dispelled the darkness of war, power, violence, fanaticism, unfair gains, exploitation, poverty, inequality and lack of respect for rights. May peace be upon you (Ps 122:8), may justice dwell within your borders, and may God’s blessing come to rest upon you”.

Watani International

8 July 2018

 

Comments

comments

Tags: Bari ItalyMiddle East ChristiansMiddle East PatriarchsPope FrancisPope Tawadros

Related Posts

MoU between Coptic Church and Namibian Prison Service
Coptic Affairs

MoU between Coptic Church and Namibian Prison Service

August 8, 2022
Mountain of the Birds: New site opened on Trail of Holy Family in Egypt
Coptic Affairs

Mountain of the Birds: New site opened on Trail of Holy Family in Egypt

August 8, 2022
Misraga and mishkah: lighting the dark
Culture

Misraga and mishkah: lighting the dark

August 4, 2022
Coptic shop owner selling alcohol stabbed in neck
Coptic Affairs

Coptic shop owner selling alcohol stabbed in neck

August 2, 2022
National Population Day: Egypt’s birth rate drops to 2.12 per cent
Health

National Population Day: Egypt’s birth rate drops to 2.12 per cent

August 2, 2022
Coptic Church in Indonesia receives Bishop Daniel, gets first Indonesian deacon
Coptic Affairs

Coptic Church in Indonesia receives Bishop Daniel, gets first Indonesian deacon

July 25, 2022

Editorial

Church up to societal challenges

More

MOST READ

Misraga and mishkah: lighting the dark
Culture

Misraga and mishkah: lighting the dark

August 4, 2022
0

“And God said let there be light, and there was light”; so says the Bible in the Book of Genesis....

Read more
Baron’s palace…Story of Heliopolis

Baron’s palace…Story of Heliopolis

July 8, 2020
For 28 years in Port Said: Holy Virgin icon still drips miraculous oil

For 28 years in Port Said: Holy Virgin icon still drips miraculous oil

February 26, 2018
Coptic shop owner selling alcohol stabbed in neck

Coptic shop owner selling alcohol stabbed in neck

August 2, 2022
Tamav Irene (1936 – 2006): Life of Prayer

Tamav Irene (1936 – 2006): Life of Prayer

October 30, 2020

Features

ID cards for underprivileged women
E Choise

ID cards for underprivileged women

August 8, 2022
0

An initiative has been launched in the northern Delta town of Kafr al-Sheikh, some 143km north of Cairo, to facilitate...

Read more
Watani started as an Egyptian weekly Sunday newspaper published in Cairo. The word Watani is Arabic for “My Homeland”. The paper was founded in 1958 by the prominent Copt Antoun Sidhom (1915 – 1995), who strove for the establishment of a civil, democratic society in Egypt, where all Egyptians would enjoy full citizenship rights regardless of their religious denomination. To this day when Watani is published as a weekly paper and an online news site, the objective remains the same. Those in charge of Watani view this role as a patriotic all-Egyptian vocation. Special attention is given to shedding light on Coptic culture and tradition as authentically Egyptian, this being a topic largely disregarded or little-understood by Egypt’s media. Watani is deeply dedicated to offer its readers high quality, extensive, objective, credible and well-researched media coverage, with special focus on Coptic issues, culture, heritage, and contribution to Egyptian society.
-----------------------------------------------------------

27 Abdel Khalek Tharwat st, Downtown, Abdeen,Cairo

00202-23927201

00202-23935946

 [email protected]

      

categories

  • News
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Culture
  • Egypt – Arab Spring
  • Coptic Affairs
  • Features
  • Watani Special Features

Recent Posts

  • MoU between Coptic Church and Namibian Prison Service
  • ID cards for underprivileged women
  • Mountain of the Birds: New site opened on Trail of Holy Family in Egypt
  • 7th anniversary of opening New Suez Canal: New record achieved
  • Church up to societal challenges
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Culture
  • Egypt – Arab Spring
  • Coptic Affairs
  • Features
  • Watani Special Features

Powered BY 3A Digital.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Accidents
    • Crime
    • Diplomatic briefcase
    • NewsLine
    • Outside Cairo
    • Special Occasions
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • International media
    • Reader`s Corner
    • Opinion
  • Politics
    • Elections
    • International Politics
    • Islamisation Politics
    • National Affairs
    • Parliament
    • Politics
    • Protests
    • Rights
    • Terrorism
  • Culture
    • Antiquity
    • Art
    • Books
    • Culture
    • Drama
    • Egyptology
    • Festivals
    • Films
    • Heritage
    • Islamisation Culture
    • Media
    • Museums
    • Music
    • TV
  • Coptic
    • Church Affairs
    • Coptic Affairs
    • Coptic Culture
    • Copts in the Media
    • Coptology
    • Copts Abroad
    • Religious
      • P. Shenouda: Bible Study
    • Sectarian
    • Inter-religious
    • Holy Family
  • Features
    • Counselling Corner
    • features
    • Economy
      • Business
    • Education
    • Social Issues
      • Behaviour
      • Mothers Day
    • Health
    • Environment
    • Humour
    • In memorial
    • Interviews
    • Nile
    • Profile
    • Special needs
    • Sports
    • Technology
    • Tourism
    • Wars
    • Women
    • Youth
  • Watani Special Features
    • Egypt – Arab Spring
      • 25 January Revolution
      • 25 Jan revolution, one year on
      • Egypt post-30 June
    • Watani Milestones
      • 20 years Watani International
      • 10 years Watani International
      • Watani Jubilee
    • Pope Shenouda
    • Pope Tawadros
    • Watani Forum

Powered BY 3A Digital.

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
Posting....