Pope Prays for 12 Nuns Abducted in Syria by Rebels

VATICAN CITY December 4, 2013 (AP)

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press

Pope Francis called Wednesday for prayers for 12 Orthodox nuns who were taken by force from their convent in Syria by opposition fighters. Religious officials in the region have said the women were being held against their will, but a Syrian opposition activist said they were merely taken away for their own safety.

Francis didn't call for their release but appealed for prayers from the crowd at the end of his general audience in St. Peter's Square.

"I invite everyone to pray for the sisters of the Greek Orthodox monastery of Santa Takla in Maaloula, Syria, who were taken by force by armed men two days ago," he said. "Let us continue to pray and to work together for peace."

The abduction has added to fears that hardline Muslim rebels trying to overthrow President Bashar Assad were increasingly targeting Christians.

Rebels previously kidnapped two bishops and a priest. Syria's minorities, including Christians, have mostly sided with Assad or remained neutral in Syria's civil war, fearing for their fate if the rebels, increasingly dominated by Islamic extremists, come to power. Christians have accused radicals among the rebels of abusing residents and vandalizing churches after taking Christian towns.

A Syrian opposition activist claimed the nuns were taken for their own safety from the convent because of heavy clashes nearby. However, rebels were refusing to provide evidence of the nuns' safety, said the activist, who goes by the name Amer and often reports on rebel activity in the area.

Rebels of the al-Qaida linked Nusra Front took the sisters to the nearby town of Yabroud, where they were placed with a Christian family, he said.

"They are being taken care of," Amer said, adding that his information came from friends close to the rebels holding the nuns.

However, a nun in a nearby convent insisted the women were being held against their will. Stephanie Haddad, deputy of the Greek Orthodox Saidnaya Convent, told The Associated Press that she spoke to the nuns on Tuesday night, from the house in Yabroud.

She said rebels guarding them kept promising they would be released soon, "but nothing in certain."

Syria's Greek Orthodox Patriarch, John Yazigi, pleaded for the release of the women on Tuesday.

Maaloula is a Christian village that rebels recently overran. The town was a major tourist attraction before the conflict began. Some of its residents still speak a version of Aramaic, a language spoken by Jesus.

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Albert Aji in Damascus, Diaa Hadid in Beirut and Daniela Petroff at the Vatican contributed to this report.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/pope-prays-12-nuns-abducted-syria-rebels-21091548

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The triple tragedy of Christian persecution in Middle East

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The Associated Press

Pakistani Christian worshippers prayed Sept. 23 in a special mass for the victims of a suicide bombing in Peshawar. The brutal assault killed many worshippers the previous day.

Published: 10 November 2013 05:42 PM

Updated: 10 November 2013 05:56 PM

Coptic Christians joyfully waited outside the Virgin Church in Cairo for the bride to arrive. … Instead, bearded men on a motorcycle pulled up and fired. … “We heard gunfire and ran outside to find people and children lying on the ground swimming in their blood,” said Father Sawiris Boshra.

Reuters, Oct. 21

Christians in the broader Middle East, it seems, are in the crosshairs. In September, two Taliban suicide bombers rushed All Saints Church in Peshawar, Pakistan, as worshippers exited. One exploded his bomb outside, one inside. Eighty-two people were slaughtered. In March, two churches and about 100 Christian homes were ransacked in Lahore.

Today, millions of Christians and other religious minorities are facing vile persecution. Many Christians are struggling to escape from the countries where their ancestors have lived for two millennia. The human tragedy unfolding in these countries is profoundly disturbing. But the tragedy extends beyond the suffering of individuals and families.

Next month in Rome, Georgetown University, in partnership with Baylor University, will showcase the findings of a two-year study on Christianity and freedom. Three dozen scholars will assemble to discuss what Christians have contributed to freedom and prosperity in their own countries, and, implicitly, what will be lost if those countries are emptied of their Christian populations.

The countries include Egypt, where the holy family fled when Jesus was a baby. Many Christians now are exiting Egypt in the wake of the badly misnamed “Arab Spring.” In August alone, scores of churches were torched, some of them dating to the fifth century.

They include Syria, Paul’s destination when he was called by Jesus. Today, many Syrian Christians have fled, fearing the prospects of an Islamist regime. One village, Maaloula, is one of the last places on Earth where Aramaic, the language of Jesus, is still spoken. In September, it was overrun by Islamist terrorists.

In Iraq, Christians once enjoyed a fragile stability under Saddam Hussein, but since his fall they have been targets of fierce persecution. The Christian presence in Iraq, as elsewhere, is rapidly diminishing.

Christian communities have helped shape the history and culture of the Middle East. Indeed, Christian minorities the world over have contributed significantly to the societies in which they live. In China, Vietnam, India, Iraq, Egypt, Pakistan and throughout Africa, Christian schools have dramatically increased literacy. Christian development agencies and NGOs reduce poverty, provide clean water, build hospitals and clinics, and teach young mothers how to care for their children.

Perhaps most importantly, and most ironically, Christians have brought to the Middle East and elsewhere the ideas and institutions of freedom. While Christianity has its own mixed history, it has in the modern era championed equality under the law, economic opportunity and religious freedom for all people. If Middle Eastern countries continue to repress and expel their Christian populations, the fading prospect of stable, free societies will virtually disappear.

A final tragedy is this. The United States does not appear to see the national security implications of a Christian-free zone in the Middle East. The current administration fears that it will alienate Muslim populations if it is seen to protect Christians. In fact, to be consistent with our values, the United States must support religious freedom for everyone, not just Christians.

But Christians are part of “everyone.” And the reality is that they, as well as the institutions and habits they bolster, are important elements of stability in the Middle East. American diplomacy, notoriously religion-averse, must wake up: Religion in general — and sometimes Christianity in particular — is a vital part of the world diplomats engage in defense of American interests.

Among the distinguished speakers at our Rome conference will be Archbishop Louis Raphael Sako, the Chaldean patriarch of Iraq. The title of his speech: “Christianity Matters: What the Middle East Will Lose if Christians Flee.”

It is a profoundly important question, one we fail to address at our collective peril.

Baylor University President Ken Starr may be contacted through Office_of_President@baylor.edu.

http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/latest-columns/20131110-the-triple-tragedy-of-christian-persecution-in-middle-east.ece

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Christian Child Martyred in India

7 year-old Indian boy tortured and killed for being a Christian

Published 28 November 2013  |  Carey Lodge

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Anmol was subjected to horrific torture before being murdered(Photo:Gospel for Asia)

A 7-year old boy has been tortured and murdered because of his Christian faith in northern India, Gospel for Asia reports.

The body of the boy, named only as Anmol, was found in a pond last week with shocking injuries that reveal he was subjected to torture before being brutally murdered.

He went missing on November 17 after attending Sunday school at a Believers Church near his home. His parents identified a body pulled out of a pond as that of their young son the next day.

Anmol's family has been a target for persecution since 2003, when his father, Harish, became a Christian after witnessing the miraculous healing of his older brother.

Many other family members came to faith, and Harish was known to be "one of the strong believers" of the local church. His family has received multiple threats of violence and even death as a result of their beliefs.

The 7-year-old, whose mouth was found tied shut, had his neck cut, his toes broken and his hands and face slashed and burned. Hot fragments of coal or firewood were also placed on his stomach, burning his abdomen. Autopsy reports indicate that his final cause of death, however, was drowning.

An official stated: "It is very clear he was brutally murdered...[he was] tortured in such an inhuman way."

K.P. Yohannan, founder and international director of Gospel for Asia (GFA), said: "It is unthinkable that this would happen to a little child like this.

"Persecution against Christians is an ongoing matter that we see happening every week. In fact, it has increased by 400% in the last several years, but the killing of a little child like this is unheard of. In this horrible tragedy, we find strength and hope in Jesus."

Members of the Gospel for Asia team are with the family, providing comfort and support in their time of mourning.

Around 200 believers gathered for the young boy's funeral on 19 November, including a local GFA supported pastor.

"The wail of the people and the parents was truly heartbreaking to see," one reporter commented.

"It was truly a painful and intolerable incident."

Anmol's murder comes in the wake of warnings that persecution and violence against Christians is on the rise in India, where many states have discriminatory laws that place restrictions on Churches and threaten Christian converts with jail sentences of up to three years.

Gospel for Asia is calling for prayer for Anmol's family, that his persecutors would come to know the love of Christ, and for the protection of all believers in India.

http://www.christiantoday.com/article/7.year.old.indian.boy.tortured.and.killed.for.being.a.christian/34848.htm

Mother superior: Nuns abducted by Syrian rebels

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — The mother superior of a Syrian convent says 12 nuns have been abducted by opposition fighters and taken to a rebel-held town.

Febronia Nabhan, Mother Superior at Saidnaya Convent, said Tuesday that the nuns and three other women were taken the day before from another convent in the predominantly Christian village of Maaloula to the nearby town of Yabroud.

Syrian rebels captured large parts of Maaloula, some 40 miles northeast of the capital, on Monday after three days of fighting.

Nabhan told the Associated Press that the Maaloula convent's mother superior, Pelagia Sayaf, called her later that day and said they were all "fine and safe."

The state news agency SANA had reported Monday that six nuns, including Sayaf, were trapped in a convent in Maaloula.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/12/03/nuns-abducted-syrian-rebels/3840091/

Christmas message from Bethlehem Mayor Vera Baboun

Christmas message from Bethlehem Mayor Vera Baboun

Published yesterday (updated) 01/12/2013 22:14

Vera Baboun in front of the Nativity Church in Bethlehem's historic center
(MaanImages/file).

 

By Vera Baboun

Vera Baboun is the mayor of the Bethlehem Municipality.

The following is a letter written on the occasion of the commencement of this year's Christmas season. 

From a small grotto in Bethlehem a message of love, hope, justice and peace was spread all over the world.

Today, our little town has become even smaller due to the continued expansion of Israeli settlements, but the message of Jesus Christ remains in our hearts, overcoming with hope the despair of decades of living under a foreign occupation and being deprived of our rights.

In Bethlehem, despite the hardships, we have an obligation to look to the future with hope. We celebrate because an important part of our Old City has become a World Heritage Site at UNESCO and the works to repair the Nativity Church have begun under the patronage of H.E President Mahmoud Abbas.

Our private sector continues to invest despite the obstacles erected by the occupation, and our people continue to peacefully demonstrate against the injustices imposed upon them, while the international community merely watches sympathetically.

Once a year, the town of Bethlehem enters millions of homes worldwide through the figure born in this little grotto. Over 2000 years have passed since that moment, and the people of Bethlehem continue to protect and care for the places where the Holy Family left its legacy.

As the late Pope John Paul II told us during his visit to our town in 2000, "The pastors and shepherds of Bethlehem were your predecessors, your ancestors."

But Bethlehem is not a museum, nor just a wooden grotto. It is a living experience of a daily struggle for existence, for a just and lasting peace, and this is the Bethlehem we also share with the world. A Bethlehem that is a model of natural coexistence between Christians and Muslims, an example for the rest of the region.

A Bethlehem which is home to thousands of refugees who have been waiting for the fulfillment of their rights since 1948. A Bethlehem where Christian priests and nuns pray for the freedom of all the Palestinian people and the preservation of their land and livelihoods. Bethlehem and her people are a living call for freedom and dignity.

From the Nativity Square, we thank world leaders for the attention they have given for our country Palestine and our town of Bethlehem in particular. But it is time to take concrete action in order to preserve the hopes for a just peace in the region. As we continue the restorations of our Old City, we continue to call for the restoration of our lands and the return of our people.

We pray for this Christmas to enlighten the hearts of those who have the power to end decades of injustices and secure the establishment of a free and sovereign Palestinian State on the 1967 border with East Jerusalem as its capital, our twin city that has been completely separated from Bethlehem for the first time in 2000 years of Christianity, due to the Israeli settlement enterprise.

Every Christmas we say "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."

May this Christmas give us, and our brothers and sisters around the world, the strength needed in order to celebrate Christmas 2014 having achieved the fulfillment of justice and peace for all the peoples of the world, including here in Palestine.

Tree-lighting ceremony in Bethlehem's Manger Square
on Sunday, Dec. 1, 2013. (MaanImages/AlexaStevens)

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=652272&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Regaining our Spiritual Vision During Advent: Orthodox Christian Homily on the Healing of the Blind Beggar (14th Sunday of Luke)

 Ephesians 2:4-10

St. Luke 18:35-43

           If we are honest with ourselves, we will admit that there have been times when all that we could do was to ask from the depths of our hearts for God’s mercy.  When we have lost loved ones, when we or our family members have been sick or in danger, or when we have not seen a way out of a very difficult situation, our spiritual vision became focused.  Then we called upon the Lord for help, not as a reward for our merits, but because He alone is our salvation and our hope.  

As we continue preparing to celebrate the Nativity of Jesus Christ at Christmas, we are reminded by today’s gospel text of how we all stand before Him:  blind, weak, and in need of blessing beyond our own power or ability.  For our Lord was not born as a reward for humanity’s good behavior, but purely out of the divine love and mercy for human beings, and the rest of creation, deformed and suffering from our sins.   

That is why St. Paul taught that we are saved by grace through faith “and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, lest anyone should boast.” The blind beggar performed no good work that earned the Savior’s mercy.  Instead, he simply called out persistently, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” as the Lord passed by.  Even though others told the man to be quiet and not to cause a scene, he continued to plead for healing.  He succeeded in getting the Savior’s attention, and He asked the beggar only a simple question:  “What do you want me to do for you?”  The blind man responded, “Lord, that I may receive my sight.”  Christ said, “Receive your sight; your faith has made you well.”  Immediately he could see again and began to follow the Lord and to glorify God.

One of the reasons that we practice intensified prayer, fasting, and almsgiving during Advent is to become more like that blind beggar, for we want to long from the depths of our being for our spiritual eyes to be opened by the healing presence of Jesus Christ.  We want our vision to be focused.  It is hard to cultivate that attitude, however, in such a busy time of year, when we are often surrounded by rich food and a cultural obsession with spending money.  So much in the media tells us that the season is about simply indulging ourselves in whatever we want.  Unless we are careful, we can easily be so distracted by our decadent culture that we will not even notice our spiritual blindness, much less want to be healed from it.  Like too many today, we will forget that Christmas is fundamentally about Jesus Christ and not about money, pleasure, or good times with our friends and family. Yes, we will celebrate Christmas as a season that begins on December 25 and leads to Epiphany, but unless we prepare by spiritual disciplines in these weeks of Advent to welcome the Incarnate Son of God into our lives in a new way at His Nativity, we will not have the spiritual eyes to behold the glory of His birth.   We will risk being blind to the salvation that He came to bring the world.

 Nothing that we could possibly do could ever earn or deserve the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, but we must all do our part if we want to open ourselves to His healing presence, if we want to participate personally in His salvation.  For example, the blind beggar kept crying out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”  He did nothing other than to persist in calling for Christ’s help, even when others told him to be quiet.  We do not know about this man’s beliefs concerning the Savior.  As a Jew, he probably thought that Jesus was the kind of messiah expected by his people:  a righteous teacher and leader who would bring God’s blessings upon the Jews, but not the Incarnate Son of God.  Christ does not require an elaborate confession from him, however, but took his persistent cries as evidence of his faith.  That is how the man regained his sight.

 On the one hand, we have great advantages over the blind beggar, because we have already put on Christ in the waters of baptism, been sealed with the Holy Spirit in chrismation, and nourished with the Body and Blood of the Lord in the Eucharist.  We have entered into His Body, the Church, and confessed Him in the words of the Creed. We are able at any moment of the day to show the humble faith of the blind beggar through the words of the Jesus Prayer.  

These advantages, however, may tempt us to laziness, for it is easy simply to take the Lord’s mercy for granted.  Remember that Christ said, “To whom much is given, from him much will be required.”  Our spiritual blindness deepens when we allow our faith to be merely a collection of abstract ideas or beliefs and not personal participation in the Divine Energies such that we become like an iron left in a fire that takes on the heat and light of the fire.  In other words, religious doctrines, practices, and traditions do us no good if we do not grow in holiness through them, if they do not become paths to our partaking of the Divine Nature.  Our souls, bodies, and minds must actually be sanctified by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Our spiritual blindness must be overcome.  Otherwise, we simply judge and condemn ourselves by claiming the spiritual advantages of Orthodox Christians without actually embracing them or being transformed by them.    

The more we participate by grace in the life of the Holy Trinity, however, the more we will develop the deep spiritual insight and focus of that blind beggar.  He was certainly aware that he was blind and could not heal himself.  He had no illusions about where he stood before God or in relation to others.  But when he had his chance, he took it and no one could stop him. He zeroed in on the one thing needful; and then the mercy of the Lord healed him and transformed his life.     I wonder if the same can be said of us?  Given the teachings of our Church and the examples set by so many Saints, we should all be clear on the kind of faith and faithfulness that bring us more fully into the life of Christ.  Orthodox Christianity is not a Gnostic sect with secret teachings for an elect few, but a public witness for the salvation of the world.  As hard as it is to believe, we are all called to become holy.  Christ’s mercy is for you, me, and our neighbors just as much as it was for that blind beggar.

That is why we all need to use the disciplines of this season to help us become more aware of our spiritual blindness so that we will be able to regain our spiritual sight.  In other words, the first step in receiving the Lord’s mercy and growing in holiness is to recognize our sinfulness, as we do in Confession. Prayer, fasting, and generosity to the poor and needy are good teachers of our own spiritual sickness because we usually find them so hard to do and, when we actually do them, we often do them so poorly.  Of course, it is prideful to think that we should be the judges of our spiritual disciplines.  Better to follow this advice from St. Macarius of Optina, “Pray simply.  Do not expect to find in your heart any remarkable gift of prayer.  Consider yourself unworthy of it.  Then you will find peace.  Use the empty cold dryness of your prayer as food for your humility.  Repeat constantly:  I am not worthy:  Lord, I am not worthy!  But say it calmly, without agitation.”

In other words, be like that blind beggar who knew that his only hope was in Jesus Christ.  Refuse to give up in prayer for the Lord’s mercy, as well as in whatever types of fasting and almsgiving you are able to do at this point your life.  Use your weakness in all of these endeavors as food for your humility, and get on with the daily life of faith and faithfulness as the Lord strengthens and focuses your spiritual sight as He sees fit.  Surely, there is no better way to prepare to behold the glory of our Savior when He is born at Christmas.  

New Book Makes Eastern Othodoxy More Understandable

Contributed Photo McMurry University professor Philip LeMasters’ book, The Forgotten Faith: Ancient Insights for Contemporary Believers from Eastern Christianity,” was published recently by Cascade Books.

A glance at the table of contents tips readers off that what they are about to read isn’t a stuffy book on the history of Eastern Orthodoxy.

McMurry University religion professor Philip LeMasters, who also is a local Orthodox priest, set out to write a popular book about his religion that would be appealing to those with little or no background in the faith.

With chapter headings such as, “Salvation, Sex, and Food,” and “Football, Liturgical Worship, and Real Life,” he no doubt accomplished his goal.

LeMasters’ book is titled, “The Forgotten Faith: Ancient Insights for Contemporary Believers from Eastern Christianity.” It recently was published by Cascade Books, an imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers.

During the academic year, LeMasters takes art and religion majors from McMurry, Hardin-Simmons and Abilene Christian universities on tours of his church, St. Luke’s Orthodox, explaining the faith as he goes.

He points out the icons, incense and other features that may be foreign to students at United Methodist, Baptist, and Church of Christ universities.

“The book grows from those talks,” LeMasters said.

But the book isn’t just a transcription of those talks. It contains a section on how LeMasters came into the Orthodox faith after growing up Baptist and attending an Episcopal church. And, LeMasters’ academic background comes through in tracing the faith’s roots and practices. A foreword by Everett Ferguson, a retired professor of church history at ACU, says it best.

“He writes with the fervor of a convert and the balance of a scholar,” Ferguson wrote.

LeMasters said the point of his talks to students and the book is not to make converts but to explain the ancient faith and its practices that may seem odd to outsiders.

LeMasters wears several hats at McMurry. He is a professor or religion and dean of the School of Social Sciences and Religion. He also directs the university’s Honors Program.

Even with all those opportunities, LeMasters said he will resist the temptation to require students to buy his book as a textbook supplement. He didn’t rule out colleagues doing that, however.

“If some of my friends at ACU and Hardin-Simmons want to use it,” he joked, “that would be great.”

http://www.reporternews.com/news/2013/nov/29/book-makes-eastern-othodoxy-more-understandable

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