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Statement of the Holy Synod of Antioch Balamand, 14 March 2024 The Holy Antiochian Synod, presided by His Beatitude Patriarch JOHN X (Yazigi), held its eighteenth extraordinary session in Balamand from March 13 to March 14, 2024, in the presence of Their Eminences: Elias (Archdiocese of Beirut and dependencies); Elias (Archdiocese of Tyre, Sidon and dependencies); Saba (Archdiocese of New York and All North America); Silouan (Archdiocese of Byblos, Botrys and dependencies); Basilios (Archdiocese of Akkar and dependencies); Ephrem (Archdiocese of Tripoli, Koura and dependencies); Ignatius (Archdiocese of France, Western and Southern Europe); Isaac (Archdiocese of Germany and Central Europe);...

Beloved brother Hierarchs, Reverend Clergy, God -fearing Monastics, and all my Brothers and Sisters in Jesus Christ our True God: Blessed art Thou, O Christ our God, Who hast revealed the fishermen as most wise, having sent upon them the Holy Spirit, and through them Thou hast fished the universe, O Lover of mankind, glory to Thee. Having celebrated the Holy Ascension of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ to his throne in heaven, we turn our attention to the coming of the promised Holy Spirit – the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth. It was through the inspiration and...

SALT LAKE CITY — He wears a long beard and a long, black cassock wherever he goes, which often produces stares from inquisitive onlookers. “People were welcoming … curious about who I was because of what I was wearing, but weren’t afraid to have a conversation,” said Rev. Father John Mahfouz. He wears the traditional, ascetical garb of the Orthodox Christian Church which he says has helped him, his wife and young children fit in in Salt Lake City. “We feel that this is a good place to raise a family,” Father Mahfouz said. “So, we’re very happy.” On Sunday,...

LAST MONTH, FOR THE first time in years, a member denomination withdrew from the National Council of Churches (NCC). The spunky, 400,000-member communion is the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, and its decision to quit the reflexively left-wing NCC was based on a unanimous vote of clergy and lay delegates.According to one church spokesman, a recent NCC fundraising letter helped spark the departure. It asked supporters to fight "right-wing attacks" on the controversial church agency. The letter named President Bush, Rush Limbaugh, James Dobson, and the Heritage Foundation as insidious forces that must be opposed."It got to be...

There are approximately 50,000 Christian Arabs living in areas under the exclusive control of the Palestinian Authority (PA). This Fact Sheet focuses on the living standards of this minority. Background Information Recent statistics show that the Christian Arab population numbers approximately 2.4 percent of the total population. This is a significant decrease from 1948, when the figure was approximately 20%. (New York Times, 31 December 1995). Although collectively referred to as Christian Arabs, they include the Eastern Orthodox, which is the largest group, and the Catholics, who are considered to have the most powerful voice due to recent Vatican-Israel relations....