abortion and rape

It has been a while since I have posted, and I apologize. Also, this is my first post that deals with a current issues.

In a recent discussion, there was an argument regarding the issue of abortion in the case of rape. Often, the accusation of callousness is thrown against those who oppose abortion even in the case of rape, but in truth it is logical and ultimately an issue of love.

First, the logic. The pro-life movement is about saving the innocent unborn children from the massacre waged against them. The unborn innocent are entitled to a right to life which should not be denied them. As the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith states: “The tradition of the Church has always held that human life must be protected and favored from the beginning, just as at the various stages of its development” {for the complete document see here}.

Logically, it follows that the innocents’ right to life must be safeguarded regardless of the conditions in which they are conceived. Regardless of whether the man and woman are together or not, able to afford the kid or not, young or old, in school or not working. Denying life to the unborn is murder, and the convenience or readiness of the parents does not override the seriousness of such a sin. The condition in which the child was conceived does not make the unborn innocent any less or more guilty. It is unjustifiable to transfer the sin of the rapist to the innocent unborn child.

Pro-life is about forbidding murder, about love and brotherhood. It is not about wanting to punish irresponsible men and women, to make them take responsibilities for their action. The love is not just restricted to the unborn, but also flows to the parents. Love that seeks to prevent them from committing such a sin as murder. Love that knows that they will psychological and emotional pain {see here for some testimonies}. Love that advises the parents “give life a chance to surprise you with joy… see what goodness God provides for us.”

To say you are pro-life except in the case of rape or incest is illogical and hypocritical. Such statement loses the ethical and moral grounds that validate the pro-life stance in that it presents that not all life is necessarily sacred, and hence it cannot be maintained that “human life is sacred.”

Archimandrite Robert F. Taft stance

On January 21st, 2007, Archimandrite Robert Taft visited our parish in San Jose. The talk that he gave was reassuring and helped many in their stance in support of H.G. Mar Bawai Soro. Many of you reading this probably already know of Fr. Taft, who is a learned scholar with many works to his name; at the time, I myself had one of his books in my bookshelf.

When he weighed in on the situation as it existed in the beginning of 2007, he made it clear that he did not want to be used as a polemical tool in any kind of attack; what he had stated should be left as it is without alteration. I have done my best to faithfully transcribe his words from the video, leaving out just a personal note he had made near the beginning. The video itself can be seen at:

http://marbawai.netfirms.com/nfblog/?p=79

I am very happy to be with you today because as father said I have been very close to the Assyrian and the Chaldean communities ever since the 1950s when I was teaching in [ ] Baghdad. …

I have been accused by some people for taking sides in the very unfortunate dispute, which Mar Bawai at this very moment is in Phoenix meeting with Mar Addai trying to resolve. I know Mar Dinkha personally, of course. The only side I have taken is the side of truth in attempting to give Mar Bawai support in resolving his unfortunate problems as he is trying to do in the way of truth, Christian unity, and service to God in Christian charity. I support Mar Bawai because, rather than engaging in personal attacks or unchristian behavior, he is attempting to resolve an unfortunate problem that threats all of us because he is such a great Christian bishop. Some people call him an ex-bishop. There are no ex-bishops in the Christian Church, because once you are a bishop you are “sayedna” forever.

Mar Bawai is attempting to serve God and the Church because he realizes that the Church is not some kind of a tribal club, it is not some kind of an ethnic institution, it is the Church of God in which all of the apostolic churches such as the Assyrian Church and the various Catholic Churches must finally come together and resolve all of these stupid disputes that come from the past; disputes in which there is fault from both sides. The Catholic Church often acted as an aggressor in the Christian East at times when the other apostolic churches were in a state of weakness; but, now it is no longer a question of one church trying to swallow the other but of churches coming together in brotherly communion, accepting the apostolic foundation of both of the churches, of all of the churches of God that do trace their origins back to the apostles. So that’s what I support and that’s the only side that I take just as that is the side that Mar Bawai himself takes.

Mar Bawai, as some of you may know, was a student of mine in Rome. I was one of the members of the jury that judged his wonderful doctoral dissertation on your Assyrian tradition, your ancient tradition, but looking at it, as I said one must do today, in a modern and objective and scholarly way. The Assyrian Church is no longer hiding from persecution in a cave in the Hakkari. It is living in the real world, and we have to learn to live in that real world. It is not a world of tribalism or ethnicity. That doesn’t mean one does not remain faithful to ones tradition. It does not mean one does not remain faithful to our nation.

One thing I have always loved about the Assyrian Church and the Armenian Church is they are two churches that have been persecuted throughout their history but they are churches that have never had it in for anybody. They simply want to be left alone to live their own tradition. That is our prayer today for you, for your church, for your community and for the work that Mar Bawai is now trying to do on this very day in his visit with Mar Addai in Phoenix, Arizona.

So today, let us pray for him and for this intention and for all of the holy churches of God that they may turn the page on what was sometimes an unfortunate past and look to the future. We are now living in a modern world. We’re not hiding in some cave in Hakkari; we are living in a modern world and we have to learn that that is a world not of tribalism and personal interest, not a world of seeking power but a world of Christian unity and love for all peoples no matter what their church is and the peoples of all faiths.

We pray also for Iraq that the violence there, the terrible violence, may stop, that people may come together and live in God’s peace which is His Will for them and for us. May God bless you all!

Father Jarjis Robert Sayd & Mar Bawai Soro At The Vatican: Hope, Defiance, Unity

The following blog was nicely written by asimplesinner:

Father Jarjis Robert Sayd & …

Clarification of Unity by Fr. Dimitri

Recently, Fr. Dimitri posted in a forum the following response to attempt to clear up some confusion that had been taking place about the union that was just achieved under the guidance of H.G. Mar Bawai Soro. Fr. Dimitri is one of the priests who recently united into the Chaldean Catholic Church. He writes:

There seems to be more than a little confusion regarding the status of the parishes and their clergies who have supported His Lordship Mar Bawai. Permit me to try to clear up this confusion and set the record straight.

First, let us recall that Mar Bawai made several promises to us. He promised NOT to try to make us “Roman Catholics.” He promised NOT to start another Church. And he promised to seek unity with both churches of our Church of the East patrimony, the Chaldean Catholic and the Ancient Church of the East.

We should all acknowledge that he has kept these three promises. His Grace found it prudent to incorporate a diocese, the “Assyrian Catholic and Apostolic Diocese,” to serve his followers. This was not a “church,” but a legal covering.

Regarding seeking unity, while the Ancient Church of the East has shown great charity and openness towards Mar Bawai and his supporters, (which is appreciated on every level) her leadership was not interested in pursuing unity with the other apostolic Churches at this time. This did not fit the criteria His Grace had set for the Diocese in seeking unity.

The Chaldean Church however was just as helpful and the Diocese of St Peter (San Diego) invited our clergy to their clergy meetings, ordinations and special events. They attended our services as well. Discussions were held as to how we who followed Mar Bawai could unite with the Chaldeans and still retain our identities as parishes and communities. There were also concerns from some of our people regarding what changes we would HAVE to make if we united with the Chaldeans….which would make us CATHOLIC. These have nearly completely been laid to rest.

Please note that the Chaldeans are 100% Catholics – as much as the Pope, although they are not “Roman” Catholics. The term “Roman Catholic” is itself an improper one that started in Protestant usage. The Proper term is “Western Catholic Church” or “Latin Catholic Church.” There is only one Western Catholic Church, but there are 22 Eastern Catholic Churches, each a full church in its own right. Several churches use the same “rite” or practice. For instance, the Chaldeans and the Syro-Malabars both use the Chaldean or Mesopotamian rite we are used to. And there are 14 Catholic Churches that use the Byzantine rite!

All that said, what happened this weekend was that the members of the Assyrian Catholic and Apostolic Diocese, both clergy and parishes, that are located within the geographic boundaries of St Peter’s Diocese, were accepted into the Diocese of St Peter. It was a merger of part of our diocese, the Californian and Washington part, with the regional Chaldean diocese. This was done in reply to the requests made by our parishes and youth groups. We were “accepted” and “joined to” the Chaldean diocese, not converted to being “Catholic.”

Look at it this way; when we were members of the Assyrian Catholic Church of the East, Rome declared in 2001 that we had a certain, incomplete communion with the Catholic Church. Although it was incomplete, still under certain circumstances Chaldeans could receive communion from us and we from them. This issue of having a “full” or “complete” communion with Rome was something the Pope and Mar Dinkha, on behalf of their Churches, pledged themselves “to do everything possible to dispel the obstacles of the past which still prevent the attainment of full communion between our Churches, so that we can better respond to the Lord’s call for the unity of his own, a unity which has of course to be expressed visibly.”

Quite frankly, with our being accepted into the Chaldean Church we have done just that. Yes, we were “catholic” before, but in an incomplete way and now we have completed our catholicity. Now we are in full communion with 22 other Churches. Ironically, the largest church of our Mesopotamian tradition is not the Chaldean, but the Syro-Malabar of India! We have now attained full communion with over half of all Christians and one-sixth of the world’s population!

And lastly, rather than leaving our Church of the East traditions, consider that perhaps we are actually rediscovering them. Yes, we are reclaiming what was lost long ago. For instance, icons ….. most Assyrians have one or more at home, almost every house has an icon of St Mary. Ah, but never in a church? Why? Oh, that would be idolatry! Really? No other apostolic and orthodox Church would say that. Yet I’ve recently seen it on a Church of the East website. THE TRUTH IS we had icons in our churches! The Hhudra clearly says that before the consecration of the church, THE ICON WHICH IS ABOVE THE ALTAR is to be taken down, later to be placed back. What was this icon? It was an icon of Jesus in his humanity. What we saw at the altar of the new St Matthew church was the ancient and liturgically correct use of icons in our Church.

This is not some “Catholic” or “Chaldean” idea, this is the true tradition of the Church of the East. And here’s another regarding the Pope… “And as the patriarch has authority to do all he wishes in a fitting manner in such things as are beneath his authority, SO THE PATRIARCH OF ROME HAS AUTHORITY OVER ALL PATRIARCHS, like the blessed Peter over all the community, for he who is in Rome also keeps the office of Peter in all the church. He who transgresses against these things the ecumenical synod places under anathema.”

Now you may ask, “Who wrote this? Surely he was a Chaldean or some other Catholic!” No, my brothers and sisters. Long before there was a “Chaldean Church” there was Mar Odisho of Sauwa, the author of Marganitha. Those were his words from his Nomencanon. For him, there was the Church in the West and the Church in the East, divided by hostile kingdoms, united in belief, one apostolic catholic church. He was with us this Saturday, I’m sure.

Sermon of Hope during Unity Prayer

In sermon delivered by H.G. Mar Sarhad Jammo during a prayer service of unity, the bishop repeated and emphasized, no more is it “you and I, or I and you”, but now it is us. We are now one. The clergy and laity of parishes and missions in Western US had united and come under the guidance and leadership of H.G. Mar Sarhad Jammo.

Indeed, there was no you and I on Saturday, May 10th. It was a wonderful day, when all our spirits ran high, and many were emotional, crying forth tears of joy. From the meeting that begun the day, with the gathered councils of the Church laity which help administer and run the parishes, until the end of the dinner fund-raiser for the newly consecrated Church of St. Matthew, this was a day of thanks giving and praising the Lord for bringing forth this wonderful day.

H.G. Mar Sarhad had a message of hope for our people, especially in this time when our people in the Mideast are facing great persecution. Bringing forth the prophet Jonah as an example when doom was prophesied to Nineveh, and the people repented, he called on us to also challenge the prophecies of doom that now abound about our people:

Challenge destiny, by the force of the Holy Spirit! … Are we doomed? Not if we unite. Not if we are with the Truth of the Lord. Not if we fulfill His will. Not if we are loving each other and loving the Truth. Where can we reach? Survive? I don’t think so, I think we can do better!

The bishop had a message of unity and hope for us, and exhorted us to work as one and in the Lord:

All of Nineveh is all of us, and all of Babylon is all of us. And all the name of Assyrians is for all of us. And all of the name of Chaldeans is for all of us… this is really the beginning of the chapter of Hope!

…

Unless the Lord builds the house,
those who build it labour in vain.
Unless the Lord guards the city,
the guard keeps watch in vain.

Both bishops, Mar Sarhad and Mar Bawai, emphasized the need to be tied to the successor to Peter, the Pope of Rome. Two banners were prominently displayed that day read “That they all be one”, and “On this rock I will build my Church”. H.G. Mar bawai emphasized that in reading the Holy Scriptures, our liturgy, our canon laws, the thoughts of our church fathers, it was clear that we needed to work honestly to coming into communion with the Church of Rome. This unity that we had achieved was in true faithfulness to the Apostolic tradition that had been handed down to us. Like H.G. Mar Sarhad, he too emphasized the need for our people to act as one, and to work according to the will of the Lord.

We are currently working on putting out videos of the events that took place that day and more about what had been said that day will be posted.

St. Peter the Apostle Diocesan Announcement on May 9th

The following announcement was published by the St. Peter the Apostle for Chaldeans & Assyrians Diocese on May 9th:

http://www.kaldaya.net/2008/DailyNews/05/May09_08_E1_HistoricalCelebration.html

To all the clergy and faithful of the Catholic Diocese of St. Peter the Apostle for Chaldeans & Assyrians, and to all clergy and faithful of the Assyrian parishes and missions who requested merger with our Diocese.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In the midst of the painful news of our people in Iraq, and the wounds of our Church among the challenges of the present situation, the mercy of God sends us aid and comfort, which is the movement of ecclesial Unity, whose fruits are now ripe for harvest. Thus the clergy and faithful of the Assyrian parishes and missions who have publicly requested fullness of communion with the Catholic Church and living union with the Chaldean Church by their entrance into the Chaldean Catholic Dioceses in which they reside have submitted, on March 17, 2008, an official request for the fulfillment of this intention.

In these past three months, we have lived together in mutual interaction and ecclesial and brotherly union, between all the clergy and all the children of these Dioceses, having shared our liturgies, spiritual activities, youth movements, and seminars for deacons.

The most obvious element which has aided this Church Unity movement was the general meeting of the clergy on the Friday of the Confessors, March 28, 2008, in the Cathedral of St. Peter in San Diego, on which a Catholic Profession of Faith was recited publicly before the altar of the Lord, and a mutual acceptance of Church Unity was accomplished within the one Catholic Diocese of St. Peter the Apostle.

After consultation with the highest competent authorities of our Catholic Church, attending to their directives and in total adherence to Canon Law, with great joy we are inviting you all, clergy and faithful, responding to the will of the Lord for the unity of his disciples, to join us in the public gatherings and ecclesial ceremonies within which we will celebrate the grace of full communion, on the days of Saturday and Sunday, May 10-11 2008, according to the following program:

Saturday, May 10^th, 12 PM – Celebration of Unity at St. Thomas Church in Turlock.

Saturday, May 10^th, 5 PM – Consecration of St. Matthew Church in Ceres.

Sunday, May 11^th, 10 AM – Holy Qurbana at St. Matthew Church in Ceres.

– Episcopal Curia of the Catholic Diocese of St. Peter the Apostle for Chaldeans & Assyrians

Msgr. Felix Shabi, Chancel1or
Of the Catholic Diocese of St. Peter the Apostle for Chaldeans and Assyrians

Unity Prayer, May 10th, St. Thomas Church

On Sunday, May 4th, an announcement was made at St. Mary’s Catholic Church. The announcement heralds the entry of the parishes of ACAD {the Assyrian Catholic Apostolic Diocese} into the local Chaldean Catholic dioceses.

It seems that after their uplifting visit to Rome, H.G. Mar Sarhad and H.G. Mar Bawai are fully underway to leading their diocese to a union. On Saturday, May 10th, at noon, at St. Thomas Chaldean Chatholic Church in Turlock, CA, there will be a joint prayer of unity with the clergy of the two diocese. Then at 5pm, there will be the “Syameeda” {laying of hand} of St. Matthew Church in Ceres. This new church will be opened with the clergy as one.

The parishes which were part of ACAD will be joining the local Chaldean Diocese, so that our California parishes will be in the diocese of H.G. Mar Sarhad, where as the parishes in other areas or countries will be joining whichever diocese they fall under territorially.

This is a significant event in history. Truly, it would have been a significantly greater steps towards unity had the entire Assyrian CotE kept in earnest pursuit of communion with the Catholic Church. However, the significance of this diocese uniting with the Chaldean church should not be underestimated: it has been about 180 years since any similar scale unity between our people. This diocese has managed to follow the teachings of our Church, and to establish communion with our brothers already in the Catholic Communion.

Although one can have regrets about not being able to do it as a whole, one must remember to trust in God All-mighty. Our goal now will be two-fold… to continue in the path that is opened to us, in true faithfulness to the teachings of the Church fathers, and to pray and help our brothers and sisters that did not take this step.

Post from BaghdadHope

H.G. Mar Bawai Soro and H.G. Mar Sarhad Y. Jammo are currently in Rome. On Sunday, April 27th, 2008, there was an ordination of 29 men into the priesthood. Many of our parish were happy to see him at that wonderful event. The following is a blog entry written by a certain blogger named “BaghdadHope”. I have reproduced it here as it is quite informative of recent going-ons with our diocese.

Mar Bawai Soro: place of honour in Saint Peter

By Baghdadhope

In the two benches reserved for the Chaldean bishops present in Vatican today on the occasion of the priestly ordinations, among them that of Father Robert S. Jarjis of Baghdad, sat also Mgr. Mikhail Jamil, Procurator to the Holy See and the Apostolic Visitator in Europe for the Syriac Catholic church, and Mgr.Bawai Soro, a figure that has aroused in recent years several controversies in the United States.

Bishop of the Holy Apostolic Assyrian Church of the East led by Patriarch Mar Dhinka IV who lives in Chicago, Mar Bawai was suspended by the synod held in November 2005. The suspension was followed by a period of sharp contrasts within the Assyrian church that led to a lawsuit at the Supreme Court of Santa Clara County, California, focusing on the request by the Assyrian Church of the return of all properties of the same church still under control of Mar Bawai Soro. On 3 November 2007 in an official statement Mar Bawai accepted the decision of the court in favour of the Assyrian church saying that he had no intention to appeal, and restating his intentions to “restoring unity among all branches of the Church of the East, bridging the theological gap with the Protestants, re-establishing communion with other Christians, financially helping our needy people in the Middle East and bringing unity to the Chaldo-Assyrian community of Iraq.” In the same statement Mar Bawai, in paragraph 3, stated that: “In the past two years I have stated several times that our side would not establish a new independent branch of the Church of the East, nor would it abandon or replace Church of the East tradition with another one. We are and shall always remain faithful to the Lord, worshipping Him within the Church of the East patrimony. Practically speaking this means that we, as a Diocese (i.e. a bishop, priests, deacons and faithful) shall unite with one of the two remaining branches of the Church of the East tradition: either The Ancient Church of the East or the Chaldean Catholic Church.” The road to unity required by Mar Bawai’s declaration preceded, as announced, by contacts with both churches (Ancient of the East and Chaldean) took another important step on January 27, 2008 with the birth of ACAD, “Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Diocese” led by Mar Bawai, in the declaration of intents of which adopted in Dublin (California) is stated the willingness to “enter full communion with the Catholic church” and “to resume church unity with the Chaldean Catholic church” and to begin a “process of negotiation with respective Church authorities to define a concrete model of this union.” A process of unity welcomed with joy by Mgr. Sarhad Y. Jammo, Chaldean bishop of the Western United States who in an open letter dated February 11, 2008 and entitled “United in one church” called, as the ultimate goal “full communion and factual ecclesiastical unity” between the Catholic Church and other apostolic churches, committing also himself to promote the canonical process with the Holy See and the Patriarchate and the Chaldean synod to “formulate and enact a concrete model of ecclesial unity suitable for all concerned.” It is still too early to say if and when this process of unity, this passage of a bishop from a church that does not recognize the authority of the Pope of Rome ( Assyrian Church of the East) to one who does so (Chaldean) will happen. Vatican times, is well known, especially in such difficult cases are long. Certainly this process will be facilitated, and perhaps accelerated, by the background of Mar Bawai, committed since 1984 to promote the dialogue between the churches, and by the support Mgr. Sarhad Y. Jammo always granted to him. Equally certainly his very presence in the Vatican and the place of honor reserved to him by the ceremonial could be interpreted as a signal of “unofficial” welcome. Maybe the Holy Church is preparing to welcome among its loving arms a new bishop besides 29 new priests?

.

To read the original, please see:
http://baghdadhope.blogspot.com/2008/04/mar-bawai-soro-place-of-honour-in-saint.html

Presentation to Synod in 2005

Before discussing further the history of this present movement, and all that led to it starting from a time long ago, I’d like why we who have chosen to follow Bishop Bawai Soro have full-heartedly supported him in these troubled times.

In November of 2005, His Grace went to Chicago to attend a Synod meeting which would bring no surprise for many of us. Far too many of us in the congregation knew already what lay in store and what we were to expect. Actually, not just in our congregation, but from San Jose, to Chicago, to Europe, and Australia, everyone understood what was to come forth from this Synod. There had been an uneasiness brewing, and people from both sides were anticipating the results of this gathering. One side anticipated with joy, some of its members having been assured of the results before the synod had even been convened — the other side in sadness hoping against that their fears would not be realized.

Many years after the fact, it is easy to attribute things using hindsight and logic derived through the dialogs and arguments that have taken place since. The vivid view of the past gets fogged by the years and the many things said, and done, since. So, perhaps the best way to vivify the memory once again is to just allow the past to talk for itself.

The following letter was presented by Mar Bawai Soro in the Synod of 2005 on November 2nd. It presents succinctly the beliefs of many of us who chose to support our bishop when he was unjustly mistreated by his brother bishops and the patriarch of the Assyrian CotE. In the end, we could not turn our backs on a bishop who had been faithful to his Lord Christ and had tended the Lord’s flock. A bishop who had spoken persistently and consistently in true love of his brother Christians, and was true to the faith of the Church of the East. A bishop who was in love with Christ, and on fire for the Church, and was to undergo persecution and hardship for that.

I leave you with the paper presented by H.G. Mar Bawai…

This short paper on the perspective of the Church of the East on the question of communion was presented on November 2, 2005, by Bishop Mar Bawai Soro to the assembled members of the Holy Synod of the Assyrian Church of the East held in Chicago, IL. In the past two previous Holy Synods, Bishop Mar Bawai Soro made two other presentations exposing the understanding on the same question but from the view point of the other Traditions, i.e., Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant.

Mar Bawai Soro
Bishop of the Western Diocese of California
Assyrian Church of the East

1. A true Apostolic Church cannot possibly remain isolated and alone without being in full ecclesial communion with other Apostolic Churches. If the Apostles of the Lord: Thomas, Andrew, James, John and Peter were bound together in Apostolic communion then also their churches must also be bound with the same communion of their founders. However, due to historical factors, namely, political and geographical, between the Persian and the Roman Empires, ecclesial ties between the Assyrian Church of the East and the rest of Christendom, i.e., the three major ecclesiastical families in Christianity: the Catholic, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox, communion was ruptured for many centuries. As a result of this regrettable reality, we notice that today the Assyrian Church of the East is not in ecclesial communion with any other Apostolic Church.

2. Therefore, the state in which we find our Church in today is for many legitimate reasons contrary to ecclesial logic and true theological and apostolic understanding. The following points below are the basis for us, as a church, to seek the restoration of communion with other Apostolic churches:

a. The dogmatic prayers of Jesus Christ in the Gospel of Saint John in which Jesus prays to the Father that all His followers be one just as He and His Father are one (Jn 17).

b. The ecclesial reality of the early New Testament Church shows the Apostles never were independent from one another but all were united in communion, prayer and charity (Acts 2: 42-47).

c. Model of communion between our Church of the East and the Western Church during the first five centuries of Christianity was characterized by the willingness of our Church Fathers to receive from the Western Fathers church teachings (creeds), liturgical texts and instructions and canonical legislations. An excellent example of such communion is the Synod of Mar Isaac in 410 AD.

d. Common sense dictates that in today’s world there is a need for Christians from all churches and traditions to form a strong bound of brotherly witness so that the world may believe in Jesus Christ. Furthermore, our people’s instinct of spiritual and cultural survival demands that we unite and form communion with other Apostolic churches to maximize our people’s chances of such survival in a world that is increasingly becoming more hostile by the day.

e. Various liturgical, canonical and patristic texts used and accepted until today in the Assyrian Church of the East during the Holy Qurbana and the Office for Prayer would certainly teach us two fundamental standpoints:

(i) The Assyrian Church of the East belongs to the Great Body (Gushma Rabba) of the one Holy Catholic Church established by our Lord, which is also the holy undivided Body of Christ (I Corinthians 12:27; Eph. 4:12). The following segment of a prayer recited by every priest and bishop celebrating the Holy Qurbana every Sunday illustrates the above point: “In your mercifulness, my Lord, you have deemed the vileness of our feeble nature worthy to be made recognized member in the Great Body of the Holy Catholic Church, to administer spiritual assistance to the souls of the faithful.” Within the one body of the Lord, which is the Church, there cannot be independence because the body is one. There can only be mutual recognition, respect, harmonized planning and action among Christian brethren. In a body, the hand cannot go independently from the feet and still belonging to the same body (I Corinthians 12:14-21). On the contrary in every functioning of the body there is inter-dependence and mutuality. Indeed, in the history of the Church there were and still are several particular churches who have their autonomy (self-government) but organically they are harmonized as one in the Body of the Lord Jesus Christ, i.e., His Holy Church. Such sacred objective of the unity of Christ’s Church must however be developed from an ecclesiological mentality not political, from an apostolic way of thinking not secular. Because, in a civic or political context a group of people ought to seek objectives as freedom and independence but in an ecclesiastical and spiritual reality, churches are a part of the holy Body of Christ and therefore are tied together in a communion that is characterized by charity, hope and faith. Again, we ought to learn how to think and behave like a church from the New Testament model of the early church to see how these churches were actually living in communion (Acts 2: 42-47).

(ii) The Church of the East attributes a prominent role to Saint Peter and a significant place for the Church of Rome in her liturgical, canonical and Patristic thoughts. There are more than 50 liturgical, canonical and Patristic citations that explicitly express such a conviction. The question before us therefore is, why there must be a primacy attributed to Saint Peter in the Church? If there is no primacy in the universal church, we shall not be able to legitimize a primacy of all the Catholicos-Patriarchs in the other apostolic churches. If the patriarchs of the apostolic churches have legitimate authority over their own respective bishops it is so because there is a principle of primacy in the universal Church. If the principle of primacy is valid for a local Church (for example, the Assyrian Church of the East), it is so because it is already valid for the universal church. If there is no Peter for the universal church there could not be Peter for the local Church. If all the apostles are equal in authority by virtue of the gift of the Spirit, and if the bishops are the successors of the Apostles, based on what then one of these bishops (i.e., the Catholicos-Patriarchs) has authority over the other bishops?

The Church of the East possesses a theological, liturgical and canonical tradition in which she clearly values the primacy of Peter among the rest of the Apostles and their churches and the relationship Peter has with his successors in the Church of Rome. The official organ of our Church of the East, Mar Abdisho of Soba, the last theologian in our Church before its fall, based himself on such an understanding when he collected his famous Nomocanon in which he clearly states the following: “To the Great Rome [authority] was given because the two pillars are laid [in the grave] there, Peter, I say, the head of the Apostles, and Paul, the teacher of the nations. [Rome] is the first see and the head of the patriarchs.” (Memra 9; Risha 1) Furthermore, Abdisho asserts “. . . . And as the patriarch has authority to do all he wishes in a fitting manner in such things as are beneath his authority, so the patriarch of Rome has authority over all patriarchs, like the blessed Peter over all the community, for he who is in Rome also keeps the office of Peter in all the church. He who transgresses against these things the ecumenical synod places under anathema.” (Memra 9; Risha 8). I would like to ask here the following: who among us would dare to think that he or she is more learned than Abdisho of Soba, or that they are more sincere to the church of our forefather than Mar Abdisho himself? This is true especially since we the members of the Holy Synod have in 2004 affirmed Mar Abdisho’s List of Seven Sacraments as the official list of the Assyrian Church of the East. How much more then we ought to consider examining and receiving Abdisho’s Synodical legislation in his Nomocanon?

3. As an implementation of the above mentioned principles of full-Communion and Christian Unity, the restoration of ecclesial unity with the Old Calendar and the Chaldean Churches would be the most historically fulfilling objective from any other project we may seek to fulfill. In fact this noble aim has been already recognized by our hierarchs in the past decade when letters of reconciliation and unity were exchanged with the Old-Calendar segment of the Church of the East, and a dialogue was opened and an agreement was reached and signed by the two Catholicos-Patriarchs and the rest of our bishops to bring about a comprehensive formula of unity between the Chaldean Church and the Assyrian Church of the East. Unfortunately, this serious dialogue has been interrupted and paralyzed from 1998 until the present time. In my opinion, this noble quest for unity is the only valid way for the Church of our forefathers, the Church of the East, to fulfill its historic destiny and thrive in the future. Such an action would be a solid ground for our people to activate the mechanism that may also lead one day to a national unity.

The above statement is also my conviction in front of God, you my brothers, and my own church and nation. This conviction I have learned from Mar Abdisho of Soba and cannot abandon it, for it will be a betrayal to my church fathers and to my duty as a bishop of the Church and a shepherd of my people. Accordingly, I do believe that we ought to Implement these principles with caution and in a Christian manner in order to fulfill the objective of church unity and ecclesial communion. This is done so that the Assyrian Church of the East could unite with both the Chaldean and the Old Calendar Churches and all three of them can once again become one United Church of the East. Then and there, this united Church of the East could formulate a common position to negotiate with the Catholic Church how this New United Church of the East could preserve its spirituality, canon law, liturgy, theological terminology and self-governance but at the same time be in full-communion with the Universal Church.

This and many other news items are found in an open and unaffiliated Assyrian news publication called Zinda Magazine.

This quote was copied from:
http://www.zindamagazine.com/html/archives/2005/11.19.05/index_sat.php

Hello world! Ab Oriente

Ab Oriente

A friend I met on the Catholic Forums encouraged me to write a web blog and so I started. First thing was to name the blog, and already I had a problem… what do I name the blog? To answer that, I would have to first think about why I was blogging to begin with.

Why am I starting this? There are important things taking place for years now within the Church of the East, especially on of the branch which was not in full communion with ANY other church or community. As my friend pointed out, not enough from West of the Euphrates are very aware of all that is taking place.

So the name had to indicate the information was about what was happening in the East. Min Medenkha is what it would be called in our language, but since this was to enlighten our Christians brothers in the West, specifically the Latin Church, about developements in the East, Ab Oriente seemed fitting.

The plight of our people in the Mideast should be familiar news to many people now, especially with the escalation of violence and the systematic oppression against us in Iraq. Prayers and support and a voice crying out for the protection of our people are needed.

Although the churches that we will be discussing, and much of the history as well, will be of the East, the precarious situation in the Mideast has created a world-wide diasphora of our people. I, myself, am living in California and barely remember the country of my birth, Iran. Most of what I remember is tainted by the Islamic revolution and state that took over in that country. I was too young to remember how anything may have been under the Shah. Many people are not physically in the East and much of the things that I will write about wil have taken place in the West, but this is the Church of the East (CotE for short) still. It is a much like many other Eastern churches that have been forced to also survive in a diaspora away from their traditional territory.

Where do I begin the the blog? What is it that I thought is important enough to begin blogging? I am a subdeacon under His Grace Mar Bawai Soro. Until a few years ago, we were part of the “Assyrian Church of the East,” but then things happened. My bishop felt very passionately about the split within our people and worked to reconcile the various apostolic branches to each other, and not just with each other, but with other churches, one of which is the Church at Rome. This would be necessary because of John 17:21, and also because of our Church canons and beliefs {to be discussed later}. There was also a practical necessity: the Chaldean Church of the East was the branch of the CotE which was in communion with Rome, and to be one with them would involve the resolution of the subject of communion with Rome between our two churches.

At first, I thought that was were to begin, but then, what about 5 years earlier, or 10, or even over a quarter of a century earlier? After all, as far as I can tell, my bishops message of unity has always been his central message. His emblem was John 17:21, writing in Classical Syriac, “that they may be one”, “et unum sint.” But maybe I need to start out much earlier. Like all that happened in the beginning of the 20th century… a turbulant and key to unlocking some of what happened.

Where do I begin? I hope my next blog will have a beginning. For now, I have a title for the weblog. For those interested to find out more on their own about my bishop and his current ordeal, please visit: http://www.marbawai.com

For those who would like to have an approach to this issue from a Catholic source, please visit: http://www.kaldu.org which is the website of the local diocese of the Chaldean Catholic Church under the guidance of their bishop, His Grace Mar Sarhad Yawsip Jammo. This diocese have been open arms of friendship and Christian fellowship for us, being fathers, and mothers and brothers and sisters to us.

I must also mention the Ancient Church of the East, which also opened its churches and its heart to us at a time when we were most in need.

In Him,
Anthony