APPEAL BY RUSSIAN ORTHODOX PATRIARCH FOR PEACE IN GEORGIA

Appeal by His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia

Having learnt about the hostilities in Tshinvali and its outskirts, I call upon the warring parties to cease fire and return to the path of dialogue. Blood is being shed in South Ossetia and people are being killed and this makes my heart to grieve profoundly. Among those who have lifted their hand against each other are Orthodox Christians. What is more, those who have come into conflict are Orthodox nations who are called by the Lord to live in brotherhood and love. I am aware of the appeal to peace made by His Holiness Catholicos-Patriarch Iliya of All Georgia. I also make my ardent appeal to those who have gone blind with hatred: stop! Do not let more blood be shed, do not let today’s conflict be expanded many times over! Show common sense and virtue: sit at the negotiation table for talks with respect for the traditions, views and aspirations of both the Georgian and Ossetian peoples. The Russian Church is ready to unite efforts with the Georgian Church and help in achieving peace. May our God, Who ‘is not a God of disorder but of peace’ (1 Cor. 14:33), be our Helper in this endeavor.

+ ALEXY
Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia

http://www.mospat.ru/index.php?page=42213

QUEEN RANIA'S WEBSITE

Check out Queen Rania of Jordan's Youtube website, featuring her initiative on Arab stereotypes. Some of these are really quite hilarious. I applaud the effort, but I would add that it would be good (perhaps even more important) to also try to enlighten Arabs and Muslims about their manifold false stereotypes against the West.

http://www.youtube.com/QueenRania
http://www.queenrania.jo/

MARONITE PATRIARCH SFEIR THRUST INTO LIMELIGHT

Lebanon's political wranglings thrust Sfeir into limelight
Bkirki sees renewed influence in deeply divided scene
By Inter Press Service (Mona Alami)

Monday, August 11, 2008

BEIRUT: Bkirki towers atop the coastal Lebanese city of Jounieh, a white mansion that serves as the refuge of the Maronite patriarch. The century-old construction seems to shine amid the shrubbery, contrasting against the pristine blue sky. Its story is as ancient as Lebanon's, and reflective of its diverse past.

The history of the Lebanese Maronites, a branch of the Syriac Eastern Catholic Church dating back to the fifth century, has been punctuated with adversity. The order, the name of which originates from Maronite patriarch John Marron, currently reaches across the globe, dovetailing the emigration of Christian Lebanese to the United States, Australia, the Caribbean, Europe and South America.

"Some 76 patriarchs have led the Maronite Christian community over the years," says Antoine Saad, author of "76th Maronite Patriarch: Monseigneur Nasrallah Sfeir."

Their leadership has proven a complex, if not perilous, exercise in a region mostly dominated by Muslims and where Christians have become, over time, a minority. In spite of the absence of accurate statistics, Christians are believed to constitute about one-third of the population in Lebanon (out of about four million), a figure dwindling away with each subsequent war and political crisis.

Today, Lebanese patriarchs are elected by an electoral college in a similar manner to that of the Pope. This democratic process has along the years rendered Syria, Lebanon's powerful neighbor and one-time occupier, wary of Maronite patriarchs, especially considering the pivotal political role the leader of the Maronite church plays.

Since the establishment of Lebanon under the French mandate system in 1920, Lebanon has had as many as five patriarchs, each of whom participated significantly in the country's political scene.

More here: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=94956
Also: http://bkerkelb.org/english/

GEORGIAN PATRIARCH SPEAKS OUT AGAINST VIOLENCE

Patriarch urges nation to pray
2008-08-10

Georgian Catholicos Patriarch Illia II spoke about the political crisis in Georgia in His Sunday Preachment today. The Patriarch expressed his concern that Orthodox Russians were bombing Orthodox Georgians and that such aggression had never occurred in the history of two nations. ''Indeed, we are facing very serious peril, but don't be afraid of anything, God is with us and Virgin Mary is protecting is, but one thing concerns us very deeply that Orthodox Russians are bombing Orthodox Georgians. This is unprecedented act of relations between our countries. Reinforce your prayer and God will save Georgia. There is a saying ''Water will flow up and down and will return to its weir. So, believe that God will not separate Georgia into peices,'' Patriarch declared.

http://www.patriarchate.ge/_en/?action=home

"CRUSADES LONG GONE, BUT JIHAD LINGERS ON"

Although off in a few tiny details, the spirit of this article sums up a key difficulty in dealing with the Arab world.

Aug 7, 2008 12:28 | Updated Aug 12, 2008 19:02
The Region: Crusades long gone, but jihad lingers on
By BARRY RUBIN

A 19-year-old man is tortured and beheaded for a bad joke interpreted as blasphemy. A father is accused of killing his son because he converted to another religion. They are not Muslims but Christians, and the place is France in the mid-1700s.

There was a time when Europe often behaved in ways parallel to that of Muslim-majority countries today. Yet by the end of the 1700s, this was changing. In the first case cited above, the king and even Catholic bishops failed to save the unfortunate Chevalier de la Barre, but the outcry led to the end of such actions. In the second case, Voltaire led a campaign that saw Jean Calas's name legally cleared on the grounds that he was the victim of an unjust frame-up because he was a member of the Protestant minority.

It's true, then, that there are parallels between Western and Middle Eastern societies. But even leaving aside important doctrinal religious issues, the crucial difference between the two is that phenomena the West has left far back in the past continue to exist in Muslim-majority counterparts.

More here: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1218095193781&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

MONASTERIES OF ANTIOCH

Anybody have $145 I can borrow for this book? :-)
http://www.alexiapublications.com/Monasteries_Antiochian_Church.htm

ORTHODOX PRIEST PRAYING OVER GEORGIAN SOLDIERS

Georgian soldiers prayed with an Orthodox priest. Air attacks by Russian forces caused numerous casualties among the civilian population in Gori.

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/08/11/world/0811-GEORGIA_10.html

COPTIC CHRISTIANS IN EGYPT

IN EGYPT, MUSLIM-CHRISTIAN DIVIDE SEEMS WIDER
By Michael Slackman
Published: August 2, 2008

CAIRO: A monastery was ransacked in January. In May, monks there were kidnapped, whipped and beaten and ordered to spit on the cross. Christian-owned jewelry stores were robbed over the summer. The rash of violence was so bad that one prominent Egyptian writer worried it had become "open season" on the nation's Christians.

Does Egypt face a sectarian problem?

More here: http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/08/02/mideast/egypt.php

SAUDIS CALL FOR INTERFAITH DIALOGUE, THEN ARREST 15 CHRISTIANS

Monday, August 4, 2008

Saudi Arabia to Deport 15 Christians
Deportation Comes Two Weeks after King Abdullah Calls for Reconciliation Between Muslims and Christians at Saudi Hosted Interfaith Dialogue

By Michael Ireland
Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

SAUDI ARABIA (ANS) -- Saudi Arabia is set to deport 15 Christians on Tuesday, August 5, for holding private worship meetings in a house in the city of Taif.

International Christian Concern (ICC) www.persecution.org says that on Friday, April 25, twelve Saudi Arabian police raided a house where 16 Christians were holding a prayer meeting.

More here: http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/2008/s08080019.htm

CHRISTIANS IN ALGERIA

PERSECUTION SPURS DEBATE IN ALGERIA

The Algerian government has been appeasing Islamists since early 2008 by implementing its 2006 'Presidential Order Concerning Religion' and repressing Christian worship and practice. Habiba Kouider (35) was charged with 'practising non-Muslim religious rites without a licence' after police found Bibles in her handbag on 29 March. Her case is so controversial that on 27 May the court postponed its verdict. On 1 June police harangued Habiba in the street for two hours. Then on 3 June, four Algerian Christians got suspended jail sentences and fines for 'attempting to shake the faith of Muslims'. The government asserts that religious liberty is part of a foreign conspiracy to colonise Algeria. But many Algerians are not buying that and voices for liberty and justice are being raised in Algeria. Please pray for Algeria and its Church in this time of trial and debate.

http://www.ea.org.au/default.aspx?id=13f4212d-fd05-4b5b-87bd-21813c15be3f

CHRISTIANS IN YEMEN

CHRISTIANS IN YEMEN ARRESTED

Since October 2007 Islamic sources have been claiming large numbers of Muslims are converting to Christianity in Yemen. The World Muslim League has urged the Yemeni government to curb conversions and al-Qaeda deputy Ayman Al-Zawahiri has called for a 'media jihad' in Yemen against missionaries and apostasy (leaving Islam). In mid-June 2008 Yemeni authorities arrested what they described as a 'missionary cell' of seven people, charging them with promoting Christianity and distributing the Bible. One member, Hadni Dohni, is also charged with converting to Christianity. The believers are presently being 'investigated'. Religious liberty monitors believe these Christians are at grave risk of beatings, torture and murder. Please pray for these believers and that their arrests will not be in vain but will arouse interest in the gospel. Pray for the Church in Yemen.

More here: http://www.ea.org.au/default.aspx?id=f0c00b78-ebfe-4e33-b359-d01eb3a60d39

BRANCH MAP OF CHRISTIANITY

http://www.aina.org/aol/link2.htm