News from the Orient – September 20, 2024
Vatican news
In this week’s news from the Churches of the East, produced in collaboration with L’Œuvre d’Orient, Christians celebrate the feast of St. Matthew in Iraq and Eastern Rite bishops in Europe hold their annual meeting.
This week’s news from the Orient:
Party at Mar Mattai
On September 17, hundreds of faithful gathered at the Mar Mattai Monastery, located in the Nineveh Plain, to celebrate the feast of the death of Saint Matthew.
The celebration began with a solemn mass, presided over by the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch Ignatius Ephrem II.
The evening continued with a concert given by local schoolchildren.
The festivities culminated in the evening with a bonfire, a symbol of light and faith, illuminating the sacred site in northern Iraq.
Meeting of Eastern European Bishops
From September 16 to 19, the annual meeting of Eastern Rite Catholic Bishops of Europe was held.
About sixty bishops met in Oradea, Romania, in the presence of the Prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti.
The agenda included topics such as the relationship between bishops and priests, fraternity and humanity, and the Synod on synodality.
The annual meeting for debate and prayer has been held since 1997.
First anniversary of the fall of Nagorno-Karabakh
A year ago, on September 19, 2023, Nagorno-Karabakh suffered a fatal blow from the Azerbaijani army.
The rapid surrender left the autonomous region’s 120,000 residents stranded.
Most of them were welcomed in Armenia, but today the chances of their return are almost zero.
Vatican news
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