Monthly Archives: April 2020

A sign marks St. Joseph’s Hospital in Jerusalem. (CNA)Catholic News AgencyVATICAN CITY — A Vatican congregation has announced that it is sending medical supplies to Syria and the Holy Land as the coronavirus spreads across the Middle East.…

Fahad Shabbir (@FahadShabbir) 2 days ago Wed 15th April 2020 | 08:44 PMThe Easter service in the St. Isaac and St. George Greek Orthodox Church of Qatar will be held this weekend behind closed doors due to coronavirus-related restrictions, but believers will be able to watch the service online on social networks, Archbishop…

A woman is assisted at the site of a car bomb blast outside the Syriac Orthodox Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Qamishli, Syria. Photo: CNS Covid-19 has achieved in a few short weeks what colonial powers and cultural Marxists couldn’t achieve for the last 1,600 years writes Dr Michael Kinsella   There is a…

BEIRUT (CNS) — Catholic patriarchs of the Middle East, in Easter messages from churches barren of the faithful due to the coronavirus, lamented the scourge of the pandemic while evoking the hope of the Resurrection.Lebanese Cardinal Bechara Rai, Maronite patriarch, acknowledged that the COVID-19…

By Iraqi Christian Relief Council CHICAGO, April 14, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — In 2003, the lives of 1.5 million Iraqi Christians began to change forever as people were persecuted and displaced in Iraq. Today, as Americans face the threat of the deadly COVID-19 virus, an Iraqi Christian foundation has not forgotten the benevolence of the American…

The local population is struggling to find clean water simply for drinking and cooking – much less for hand washing. By LEILA GILBERT  An internally displaced Syrian girl wears a face mask as members of the Syrian Civil defence sanitize the Bab Al-Nour internally displaced persons camp, to prevent the…

Ali Abdulhadi al-Mamouri DeAgostini/Getty ImagesThe interior of the Khan Murjan ancient caravanserai, Baghdad. Iraq, Feb. 9, 2016. BAGHDAD — Khan Murjan, built in 1358 by Amin al-Din Murjan al-Alkhani, has been used for many purposes in its long life. Initially a caravanserai, or inn for travelers, this…

By Catholic News Service CNS photo/courtesy Syriac Catholic patriarchateSyriac Catholic Patriarch Ignace Joseph III Younan celebrates Easter Mass April 12, 2020, at St. Ignatius Church in Beirut; the Mass was livestreamed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. (CNS photo/courtesy Syriac Catholic patriarchate) See EASTER-…

People wear masks on a bridge as Italy celebrates Easter under lockdown to try and stop the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Venice, April 10, 2020. REUTERS/Manuel SilvestriAsharq Al-Awsat…

 A family in Ainkawa celebrate Easter on April 12, 2020. Photo: Mahdi Faraj / RudawERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Christians in Ainkawa, a predominantly Christian neighborhood in the north of Erbil city celebrated Easter Sunday from their homes as the Kurdistan Region remains under coronavirus lockdown. …

ABC Radio NationalBy Siobhan Hegarty for The Religion and Ethics Report Photo: For the first time since the Black Plague, the Holy Sepulchre has closed its doors due to disease. (Getty images: picture alliance)…

Louise Callaghan, SwedenPlaces of worship that were not closed have seen low attendances as Assyrian and Syriac communities are hit by the virusJONAS EMSTROKER…

An Oxfam shop is seen, in London, Britain, February 11, 2018. (REUTERS)Charlie Peters“The economic crisis that is rapidly unfolding is deeper than the 2008 global financial crisis,” Oxfam said…

Adeeb Joudeh, the custodian in charge of the ancient key to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, closed the entrance to the site on March 25, 2020 as part of efforts to stem the spread of coronavirus. (AFP)Asharq Al-Awsat…

Palm fronds adorned largely empty pews as Pope Francis celebrated Palm Sunday mass in St. Peter’s Basilica mass on April 5. Easter services are set to take place behind closed doors Alberto PIZZOLI POOL/AFP…

In his message to the faithful, the cardinal stresses hope of a pass-over “from darkness to light,” from “suffering to freedom; from selfishness to altruism and from isolation to solidarity”. Politicians have the task of rethinking development, protecting creation and building a world without wars, death, and poverty.…

Rana al-Ahmde A general view shows a church in the Assyrian village of Abu Tina, Syria, Feb. 25, 2015. HASAKAH, Syria — Christian Assyrian and Syriac political parties in northeastern Syria canceled celebrations marking the 6770th anniversary of the Assyrian Babylonian New…

Premier News reports, the news of the workers’ release has been provided by the office of French President, Emmanuel Macron.No details of the release were given but the president’s office says it made every effort to reach the outcome.…

Five Christian traditions have come together to produce a 90-page statement of faith that touches on all the major topics of the Christian faith. FEATURE AUTHOR Andrew Messmer 05 APRIL 2020 11:00 h GMT+1 Photo: Pixabay (CC0) Introduction In 2015, something amazing happened. Representatives from the Orthodox, Armenian, Syriac,…

A former school in Syria, inhabited by displaced families, being disinfected.   (AFP or licensors)With 9 years of conflict that has killed over 380,000 people and accounted for more than 12 million displaced persons and refugees, the situation in Syria has become even…