Complete Matter of Nov Dec 2015.Pmd
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Voice of the East 1 Voice of the East 2 Voice of the East VOICE OF THE EAST Patron : His Grace Dr. Mar Aprem (A socio-Religious bi-monthly) Metropolitan’s Palace, Trichur - 680 001, Kerala, India (Private Circulation only) Phone : 91487 - 2420978 November - December 2015 Personal : 91487 - 2442166 Email : [email protected] Contents 1. Editorial (Peace on Earth) 2. Patriarchal Christmas Epistle 3. Historical Note: ‘Mar Gewargis’ International Church News 4. Updates from Chicago, Illinois 5. Chicago to Iraqi Kurdistan 6. Authenticity in Unity A Personal Reflection 7. Oriental Institute Indian Church News 8. Press Release: Youth of Mar Gabriel Church, Mumbai 9. Mar Abraham (1567 -1597 A.D.) 10. Calendar - 2016 3 Voice of the East Voice of the East Vol. 62 November-December 2015 Nos. 11 & 12 Editorial Peace on Earth The angelic choir sang the words ‘Peace on earth’ on the occasion of the birth of Jesus Christ’. It was in a manger in Bethlehem, a little town near Jerusalem. Not only did the shepherds in Bethlehem hear this angelic song; so did the wise men in Persia. Even after 2000 years we cannot claim that there is peace on earth. It is becoming worse and worse year after year. Angels may not claim now that there is peace on earth. Not only in Bethlehem and Jerusalem, but especially Iraq, Syria and elsewhere there is great terrorism threatening the peaceful existence of people on this planet earth. As long as oil is not dried up in the oil fields of Iraq there will continue to be religious and political instability. The ensuing terror means we now live in a frightened world. Let us pray that this year’s Christmas season will try to ease the tension and save the world from a Third World War. Most thinking people can imagine the destruction that would come about if the situation is not controlled with immediate effect. Let us pray so that world leaders will forget their cold war and struggle for power and unite in the noble need to end terrorism in all corners of the world. With a new leadership in the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East in the person of H.H. Mar Gewargis III Catholicos-Patriarch we the faithful believers all over the world pray that the year 2016 will be a blessed and prosperous year to all including the Assyrian ISIS captives of Hassaka and Syria. As the new Patriarchate building for our church is being finalized in the heart of the city of Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Regional Government in North Iraq we pray for peace in that region. Our Church is the only church which has its universal headquarters in the region Iraqi Kurdistan, close to the land of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. May the Yahovah, who blessed our father Abraham, bless the members of this church which continues to shed its precious blood in its ancestral region. Amen. Mar Aprem Metropolitan 4 Voice of the East 5 Voice of the East Historical Note: ‘Mar Gewargis’ In the history of the Church of the East, only two Catholicos-Patriarchs have used the name of ‘Mar Gewargis’: Mar Gewargis I from 661-680 (reigned 19 years) Mar Gewargis II from 828-831 (reigned 3 years) It is only after 1184 years that the 3rd Catholicos-Patriarch to use the name ‘Mar Gewargis’ was consecrated in Erbil, Iraq on 27 September 2015. 6 Voice of the East International News Updates from Chicago, Illinois On Monday December 14, 2015 His Holiness Mar Gewargis III, Catholicos-Patriarch visited Montrose Cemetery and prayed at the gravesite of His Holiness the Mar Dinkha IV of Blessed Memory. Bishop Mar Awa Royel, The Rev’d Fr Genard Lazar of California and others accompanied the Catholicos-Patriarch. A dinner reception was held on 15 November 2015 in honour of the newly-consecrated Catholicos-Patriarch. His Grace Mar Paulus Benjamin, Bishop of the Diocese of Eastern USA presided. His Beatitude Mar Aprem, Metropolitan of India, His Grace Mar Sargis Yosip, Bishop Emeritus, His Grace Mar Aprim Khamis, Bishop of Western USA, His Grace Mar Emmanuel Yosip, Bishop of Canada and His Grace Mar Awa Royel, Bishop of California were seated at the head-table along with the Catholicos-Patriarch. The famous Assyrian singer Linda George also performed. A large number of clergy including Archdeacon Aprim de Baz and Archdeacon Shlemon Heskial were present. Cor-bishop Dr George Toma read out the Epistle of appreciation issued by the Catholicos- Patriarch in respect of the leadership which the senior Metropolitan Mar Aprem of India had given to the Church universal during six months following the sad demise of the H.H. Mar Dinkha IV. Chicago to Iraqi Kurdistan This travelogue is the 77th book which I am writing. In many cases in the past I write separate travelogues for separate trips. Between March and November 2015 I undertook four trips. I admit my human limitations owing to my old age. At 75 one does not count himself old. But others consider me old. The fact that I decided to combine four travelogues into one book is proof of my human physical weakness. I was seriously considering ceasing to write these travelogues. I believe that my books are not meant to be a mere travelogue. Although I have mentioned many details like a writer of travelogues it is also meant to be the up to date historical data of the Assyrian Church of the East and her people, a race without a direction. Their hundreds-year old dream of an independent region in the Iraqi Kurdistan region or the Nineveh Plains of Mosul is sadly not becoming a reality. The Assyrians use the Syriac word Umtha as a ‘nation’. Now they use it to also mean race. It is a very controversial issue which cannot be solved easily. The League of Nations between the two World Wars (1914-18 and 1939-1945) had tried to solve this problem. In recent years U.S. politicians had given some hope for an autonomous district in North Iraq. Such attempts will continue. Unfortunately no strong leader has emerged from the several domestic and international organizations of the Assyrians. 7 Voice of the East In the year 2015 I made four trips, two to Chicago and two to Iraqi Kurdistan. During the trip to Chicago I also visited Toronto and Detroit. The first visit was to Chicago and the last trip too was to Chicago. The visit to Chicago was in connection with the death of the Catholicos-Patriarch H.H. Mar Dinkha IV. During that trip, I had to go to Rochester, Minnesota, where the Patriarch was being treated at the famous Mayo Clinic. Going from Chicago to Minnesota was by airplane. But the return journey was by car after the Catholicos-Patriarch had breathed his last. It took between four and five hours to reach Chicago by car. The first visit to Chicago in March - April 2015 witnessed the sad hours of the funeral of the Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East. It is the second time in the history of the Assyrian Church of the East that a Patriarch dies in the USA. The first occasion was the death of Catholicos-Patriarch Mar Eshai Shimun on 6 November 1975 in San Jose, California. He was buried in California itself. This time there were proposals to take the body of late Patriarch Mar Dinkha IV to Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan where he had already summoned a Holy Synod to meet in April. He had also agreed to shift the Patriarchate from the temporary headquarters in Chicago to Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan. Finally it was decided to bury the body of H.H. Mar Dinkha IV in Montrose Cemetery in Chicago. We had buried Mar Narsai Metropolitan of Lebanon in the same cemetery in February 2010. I had come from India to attend the funeral and to speak at the meal after the burial. The burial of the Patriarch was delayed due to the holy week and Easter. As bishops and dignitaries of various churches around the world were expected to attend the funeral we decided to keep the body in the funeral home. The body was brought to St Andrews Church on Tuesday after Easter and it was brought to St George Cathedral for the burial service. On the day itself, there was not much rush as restrictions were imposed inside the Cathedral as well as in the roads leading up to the Montrose Cemetery. All 14 prelates were present for the funeral. The record trip of 2015 was to Erbil in Kurdistan in North Iraq. Last time when I went for the Holy Synod in 2008 the visa was issued by the Iraqi Government. This time I was pleasantly surprised to see that the visa was issued by the Kurdistan Regional Government in Erbil. Since Emirates Airways had stopped flying to Iraq including Erbil we could not fly direct from Dubai to Erbil. The Royal Jordanian Airline flight was from Dubai to Amman in Jordan and from there to Erbil. The purpose of this trip was the Council of Prelates to elect the Catholicos-Patriarch. During this period we had sincerely attempted to unite the divided church especially the faction under H.H. Mar Addai II Catholicos-Patriarch of the Ancient Church of the East. A small committee consisting of three prelates from them as well as three from our side met in Chicago and made proposals. The condition was that H.H. Mar Addai II should retire prior to the electing the new Patriarch.