Whilst the Franciscan community was solemnly celebrating the first Sunday of Lent at the Holy Sepulchre with the Patriarch, the Custos of the Holy Land, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, had joined an illustrious assembly of Syriac Catholics in the church of St. Thomas for the start of the silver jubilee celebrations of its building.
In his welcome address, Monsignor Grégoire Pierre Melki, Patriarchal Exarch of the Syriac community of the Holy Land expressed the desire that the celebration of this jubilee, starting on the feast day of St. Ephrem, doctor of the Church and which will continue until July, be an occasion of renewal for his Church.
The celebration was presided by the Apostolic Nuncio and he concelebrated it saying the words of consecration in Aramaic, according to the tradition of this Oriental Church.
Many superiors of religious communities and representatives of Palestinian Christian civil life came to pray on this occasion.
The Syriac community of the Holy Land, present in particular in Jerusalem and Bethlehem, groups together a few hundred families of faithful who celebrated, according to the tradition of their Church, in Aramaic – the closest language to that spoken by Jesus – and in Arabic.
The Custody, which has many brothers of the Syriac rite, joined in the prayer for joy in the Syriac community of the Holy Land and all the Middle East, and specially Iraq where it is most sorely tried.
Mab
In his welcome address, Monsignor Grégoire Pierre Melki, Patriarchal Exarch of the Syriac community of the Holy Land expressed the desire that the celebration of this jubilee, starting on the feast day of St. Ephrem, doctor of the Church and which will continue until July, be an occasion of renewal for his Church.
The celebration was presided by the Apostolic Nuncio and he concelebrated it saying the words of consecration in Aramaic, according to the tradition of this Oriental Church.
Many superiors of religious communities and representatives of Palestinian Christian civil life came to pray on this occasion.
The Syriac community of the Holy Land, present in particular in Jerusalem and Bethlehem, groups together a few hundred families of faithful who celebrated, according to the tradition of their Church, in Aramaic – the closest language to that spoken by Jesus – and in Arabic.
The Custody, which has many brothers of the Syriac rite, joined in the prayer for joy in the Syriac community of the Holy Land and all the Middle East, and specially Iraq where it is most sorely tried.
Mab