البطريركية الكلدانية بطريركية الكلدان
“Not only that, but we even boast of our afflictions, knowing that afflictions proven endurance; endurance, character; and character proven hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” (Romans 5:3-5)
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
Best wishes for a happy New Year
Inspired by feelings of faith and hope in the glowing words of the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans, we begin our pastoral message on the occasion of the new world in 2015 AD.
The Year 2014 was a year that the Christians of Iraq afford their Cross, and a year of severe distress, afflicted us all in the core. What happened in Mosul and in the towns of Nineveh plain wasn’t in mind, it has tipped the scales, and all this causes for the birth of heavy secretions physically, psychologically, socially and spiritually.
Also it was a year of painful examination on the Chaldean Church, whether it was because of the attitudes faced by the Diocese of St. Peter the Apostle in the western United States of America about the transgressors priests and monks from their original monastery and dioceses without getting approvals. These two cases: the terrorist aggression to displace Christians, and the issue of St. Peter were imposed on us, and weighed on our shoulders and the shoulders of the church, and the secret behind these two cases remained a mystery that is difficult to understand!
With regard to dealing with the plight of the home, worked hard with our brother bishops to employ all the money we could and human cadres to meet the essential needs of the displaced families, and relieve suffering, and to mobilize world public opinion to stand with their cause. Thankfully, we have succeeded to some extent in reducing the damage through our service to them, and to mobilize solidarity of many associations and activists of Christians and non-Christians, Iraqis and foreigners, involved in emotions and actions, but the wound is still deep and the disaster is heavy. More than one hundred and twenty thousand Christians live today outside their homes and hometowns, afraid about their future and their lives, and longed to return to their homes, but the return doesn’t look close, prompting many of them to emigrate, it’s a leap into the unknown, and this threatens their existence and injure their memories, and written off them from history!! Here, we hope, before it is too late, to unite the political, social and cultural events of our people under a joint and unified leadership that agrees on the principles, to move within the framework of a rallied and unified team towards a single goal, to overcome the catastrophe and reach to a fair and lasting solution that doesn’t leave the Iraqi Christian wandering.
At the level of the church we have tried, patriarch and bishops, , in two distinct Synod we have mode the locomotive of Chaldean Church on the right track in the “unity, authenticity and renewal,” to update the mission and the maintenance of the order. That requires the cooperation and participation of everyone rather than put obstacles in the way! Picking good and thanks to the Lord, mostly on the level of the venerable bishops, and the two ordeals gave us the opportunity to deepen our faith and our Christian obituary and make our lives “here and now” an act of offering. It has helped us to reject this compromising, and not to allow exploiting the church platform for political and national propaganda and election campaigns, as we believe that the Church is at the service of all. Throughout this time, our love has remained patient, and our hope strong that the future is what God founded, and Church is that Jesus rises.
We thank this blessed Althelp of benevolent for their response to us to the service of Displacement. We praise the Lord has dawned white thread on the horizon, the return of courage elite group of monks and priests from abroad whom were concerned in the illegal processes to their monastery and dioceses, which reflected another reality, marking our Christian upbringing and our service with a certain spiritual experience that has given a new taste of brotherhood and common message to live the joy of Gospel and bear it.
Shouldn’t we have to encourage this small experience to stay and commitment to the land and the church?!! Doesn’t that deserve to talk about it and praise it?!! We hope that this convergence is evolving and we stay communicated with each other and build a close personal relationship so this new situation becomes fertilized seed in the church and give thirty and sixty and a hundred.
Beloved Sisters and Brothers
In the beginning of this blessed AD year let’s go back to our faith and our spiritual path, and consistently apply what we have learned of Christian Ethics: love, humility, service and forgiveness so that Jesus shall be present in us and among us? Is not the Lord who raise us when we fall and illuminates the road when it’s darkened in our face, and restore our confidence when we suspect, and make the miracle when we are incapacitated?
In this New Year, a third of our patriarchate t, we have very much hope that things will be better and that the unity and the communion will be enhanced more and more, and that harmony and take shelter under the tent of Patriarchate will be a bright harmony with the Biblical description: “as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings” (Matthew 23:37-39), It represents the paternity and filiation in its vertical and horizontal dimensions. From our side, our heart remains wide towards all our brothers and our daughters and sons, and will never relent or hesitate to meet the calls of God and the needs of the people, and put order in the Chaldean House till the end. And hope for all, in this New Year, with God’s blessings .
+ Louis Raphael I Sako
