Patriarch Antonios of Eritrea: An Icon of St. Paul in Chains

His Holiness Abune Antonios - Patriarch
of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewhado Church

The rightful occupant of the Episcopal throne of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewhado Church is widely known to have been unlawfully detained in an undisclosed location within the general confines of Amasra, Eritrea for approximately 7 years and an uncanonical claimant has been occupying the Patriarchal throne. Reliable sources have indicated that while His Holiness is of delicate health due to a lack of proper medical care, his spirits remain high and his faith unshaken in response to a dedicated and fruitful prayer life.

His Holiness is viewed as a true icon of St. Paul who is depicted as a prisoner in chains in the books of Philemon 1:1, Ephesians 3:1 and especially in 2 Timothy 1:8 where he asks Timothy not to be ashamed of his imprisonment, but to join him in his suffering for the Gospel. In this manner of faithful resolve, His Holiness Antonios is steadfast and endures his suffering without complaint or ill words toward those who detain him just as St. Paul instructed his captors rather than criticizing them. This is why His Holiness is a living icon of St. Paul in Chains and establishes his rightful claim to the Episcopal Throne of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewhado Church and explains why most of the faithful continue to view His Holiness as the rightful leader of the Eritrean Church and continue to advocate for his well being while praying for his eventual return.

His Holiness is currently 87 years old and suffers greatly from decimating and debilitating effects of advanced diabetes. It is important to recognize that the major concern of the Eritrean faithful is the unattended medical condition of their spiritual leader, which makes their concern a humanitarian matter rather than a political or church matter. According to Article 3 of the Geneva Convention it is stated that as a minimum, the wounded or sick should be collected and cared for and this is based upon recognition of the moral and ethical treatment of another human who is suffering or in the involuntary care of another party. Article 3 of the Geneva Convention also indicates that all prisoners of conflict should be treated humanely and protected from “outrages upon personal dignity, in particular, humiliating and degrading treatment…,” which denial of appropriate medical treatment, religious observance and human companionship may be so characterized.

The irony of the situation is that His Holiness is not a prisoner of war, a combatant, an enemy, a political or military threat; nor a bearer of arms against a sovereign nation. Nevertheless, according to reliable internal sources, he is being denied one of the most basic of human rights, which is necessary medical care in response to a well known disease that is undoubtedly exacerbated by advanced age resulting in steadily declining health and well being, which failing medical and humanitarian intervention will ultimately result in the unfortunate death of a humble and faithful human being. Remarkably, the aforementioned information sources have indicated that despite his declining health Patriarch Antonios is always in good spirits and remains in prayer for his captors, as well as for his spiritual children of his beloved Eritrean Orthodox Tewhado Church.

This behavior is reminiscent of St. Paul during his period of captivity and is the basis for His Holiness being considered an icon of St. Paul in Chains. The chains by which he is bound are as much spiritual as they are physical because they restrict His Holiness Antonios from exercising his spiritual leadership over what has become a widely disbursed church with members in many countries outside of their homeland who still look to their patriarch for spiritual guidance and reassurance.

The faithful priests, deacons, religious and faithful of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewhado Church which is in Diaspora on many shores request your prayerful support in advocating for the humane treatment and appropriate respect for His Holiness, Patriarch Antonios and that of the worldwide community of faith. For more information on the plight of Patriarch Antonios and to sign the petition for his return please follow our link to Support Patriarch Antonios.

Thursday, 01 March 2012

+Metropolitan Scholarios-Gennadius III, OSB
Protohierarch
Œcumenical Canonical Orthodox Church Worldwide
bpscholarios@yahoo.com

Source: The Global Herald/Asmarino Independent

Robo Calls to Asmara: Pray for Prisoners of Conscience and Refugees

Arbi Harnet

Asmara, 30 November, 2012: Thousands of calls were received by Asmara residents yesterday afternoon, reminding people to pull together in solidarity with prisoners and refugees and particularly His Holiness Abune Antonios the Patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Church, who disappeared in 2005, on the occasion of Hidar Tsion, the feast of St Mary.

The calls were initiated and coordinated by a diaspora based, youth campaign Arbi Harnet (freedom Friday), that has made around 50,000 similar calls over the last 12 months. 5000 out of 6800 (73%) calls were delivered successfully and a number of follow up one-to-one calls for all those who requested further information were also made, by members of the team.

The robo messages and one-to-one calls all encouraged people to congregate in the compound of St Mary’s Church (Enda Mariam), and pray for prisoners of conscience and refugees.

These calls were made possible through donations from a number of Eritreans including a significant amount received from St. Athanasius Charitable Society (SACS); an Eritrean human rights charity committed to religious freedom.

Messages were received positively by Asmara residents and reports reaching the campaign team indicate that there were significantly more people at the service in the main Church of St Mary’s in Asmara. Coordinators of the initiative said: ‘our main objective is to call people to make a communal response to what has become an unimaginably common occurrence in Eritrea’.

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=1lhwNAOGR6o&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D1lhwNAOGR6o&gl=GB

Notes :

1. Having gained its independence from Ethiopia in 1991, today Eritrea is daubed Africa’s North Korea owing to the appalling human rights records there. In June the UN Human Rights Council agreed to appoint a Special Rapporteur to look into the human rights violations perpetrated by the regime.
2. ArbiHarnet (Feedom Friday) is an initiative coordinated by Eritrean youth in the diaspora with the aim of narrowing the gulf between the resistance to the government of Eritrea in the diaspora and inside the country.
3. One of the objectives of the initiative is to encourage Eritreans inside the country to indentify communal responses to the dictatorship that has caused thousands of Eritreans to become refugees and prisoners.
4. ArbiHanet is an inspired by the Arab Spring Revolutions, and works to inspire the Eritrean public to rise up in a similar act of defiance against injustice in Eritrea.
5. Please contact ArbiHarnet on: arbiharnet@gmail.com

Source:

Asmarino Independent

Pope Tawadros II on Egypt: Prayer love wisdom

Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Qandil congratulates
Pope Tawadros II on ordination
-Photo courtesy of Mai Shaheen/Ahram Online

Cairo,30 November: Islamists approved a draft constitution for Egypt early on Friday without the participation of liberal and Christian members. The vote by the constituent assembly advanced a charter with an Islamist slant that rights experts say could give Muslim clerics oversight over legislation and bring restrictions on freedom of speech, religion, women's rights and other liberties.

The draft, which the assembly plans to deliver to the president on Saturday, must be put to a nationwide referendum within 30 days.

Vatican Radio’s Olivier Bonnel spoke to the newly installed Orthodox Coptic Pope Tawadros II about the current situation in the country.

He says, “We pray for the unity of all the Egyptians”.

Asked what can be the role of the Coptic Church in this crisis, the Pope responding by saying, “Number one, pray; number two, love in action; number three, we treat with every situation with deep wisdom.”

Source: Vatican Radio

Catholicos offers Rebel Jacobites peace

Delivering the presidential address, Catholicos Baselius Marthoma Paulose II of the East said Malankara Church had to fight for 400 years to protect its rights.

Catholicos of the East His Holiness the Baselius Marthoma
Paulose II delivering his presidential address.
Photo credit: Catholicosate of the East

Kochi, November 26, 2012: His Holiness Mar Baselios Marthoma Paulose II, Catholicos of the Holy See of the East and Malankara Metropolitan, Supreme Head of the Universal Orthodox Syrian Church of the East which includes the Malankara (Indian) Church on Sunday 25th November 2012 extended an olive branch to the Rebel Jacobite Syrian Christian faction (Jacobite Syrian Christian Church-2002) in the church, saying, “There is no reason for those having the same faith and liturgy to stay apart.”
Addressing a mammoth gathering of the faithful at the centenary celebrations of the re-establishment of Catholicate and the 1960th anniversary of the Malankara church at the Marine Drive, here, the pontiff said, “I am all for unity in the Malankara Church. I don’t know why it’s still a far cry, and who all are blocking it.”
“We never wanted quarrels and litigation. We never sought power and possessions, but only justice. We are not seeking any undue privilege or rights, but only what we deserve,” the Catholicos said.
“We want to worship God together as a single body. But who are the ones who violates the agreements that were made? Who prompts us to degenerate the holy tradition of St Thomas?” he said.
The Catholicos said a few evil perpetrators were standing against the unity. “However, our struggle for freedom should not make us bitter or hateful,” he said.
He also urged the members of the Church to restrain from hating oppressors.
Recalling a brief period of unity, Mar Baselios said he had the fortune to taste that unity once and he was longing for it again. “The Supreme Court had ruled in favour of us and what we sought was only what was due for us,” he said, referring to the church case.
He said that the Malankara Church was founded by St. Thomas the Apostle in AD 52 and hence the church was now celebrating the 1960th anniversary together with the centenary of the re-establishment of the Catholicate of the East.
The Catholicos also declared Rs 100 crore-worth of welfare projects at the diocese and parish levels, to mark the centenary of the re-establishment of the Catholicate of the Orthodox Syrian Church.
This included the setting up of the Parumala Gregorious Cancer Centre, various projects for treating heart ailments and kidney diseases, building houses for the poor, extending help for marriage of poor girls, helping farmers caught in debt trap, and implementation of a health insurance project.

Tibetan spiritual leader, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who inaugurated the celebrations, said India showed the path for peaceful coexistence of various traditions and other countries should follow this model.
He also said that only faith in God would bring inner peace. “Material values and inner values should be combined for a peaceful life. In fact, a healthy mind is vital for physical health as well.”
Former Indian President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, who gave the main address, recalled the contributions of the Christian churches for national causes. He said people should embrace a combination that will unite economic prosperity and the spiritual way of life. He also emphasized the importance of imparting moral values during the early years of education.
The Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who released a souvenir on the occasion of the Catholicate centenary celebration, said the biggest achievement of the Christian Church in India was the adoption of Indian values. It also carried out its social responsibilities well.
A large number of religious, political, church and community leaders—including Indian Union Minister of State for Food and Civil Supplies K V Thomas, Archbishop Mar Aprem, Metropolitan of the Assyrian Church of the East in India, Marthoma church head, Joseph Mar Thoma Metropolitan, Archbishop emeritus of Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, Mar Joseph Powathil, Rev Thomas K Ommen, Church of South India, CPI-M Politburo member Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, BJP state president V Muralidharan, World Council of Churches Asia secretary Dong Sung Kung, National Council of Churches in India general secretary Roger Gaikwad, SNDP Yogam head Vellapally Natesn and mayor Tony Chammany—attended the public meeting. Tens of thousands of Orthodox Church faithful from all over the State showed up.
A huge rally was taken out in the city to mark the centenary.
In view of the huge crowd expected to attend the meeting, the police had announced traffic regulation. However, there were disruptions of traffic on the key roads in the city.
The Catholicate (Catholicosate) was re-established on 15th September 1912 by consecrating Mar Ivanios, the Metropolitan of Kandanad as the first Indian Catholicose of the East with the title Mar Baselios Paulose I. The Catholicate was headquartered in Persia until the end of the 19th century. The Patriarch of Antioch St. Ignatius Abdul Masih II (1895-1915) relocated the Catholicate to India in 1912.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama joins in prayer at the opening of the centenary Celebrations of the re-establishment of the Catholicosate of the East and the 1960th jubilee of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church in Kochi, Kerala, on November 25, 2012. Also seen are Kerala Chief Minister His Excellency Shri Oommen Chandy (1st left), His Holiness Catholicos Baselios Marthoma Paulose II of the East (3rd left) and Former President of India His Excellency Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. —Photo courtesy of Tenzin Choejor/The Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama[OHHDL])

World should follow India’s example: Dalai Lama

India exemplified how different religious faiths and traditions could live in harmony.

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, delivering
 his inaugural address. His Holiness Dalai Lama is both the
head of state and the spiritual leader of Tibet.—Photo courtesy
of Tenzin Choejor/The Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama[OHHDL])

KOCHI (Kerala, India), Nov 25, 2012: Addressing the Centenary celebration of the re-establishment of Catholicosate of the East on Sunday 25th November, His Holiness the Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso, the spiritual leader of Tibet and a global messenger of peace and non-violence, said India is an example for the world because many religious sects co-exist in the country even today. "Spiritually, the country occupies a very important place and its tradition is relevant today. Harmony can be more effective if love and compassion are practised in daily life. Now everyone talks about money, which is important, but one must not forget peace of mind and spirituality," he said
The Dalai Lama said that a fine matching of physical comfort with mental comfort was essential for the well-being of humankind. material comfort led only to physical comfort. But physical comfort alone could not guarantee an individual’s overall comfort. For this, a combination of physical comfort and mental comfort was necessary. The mental comfort would come from spiritual values.
He pointed out that a healthy mind was essential for a health body because a disturbed mind would upset physical health. He emphasised the importance of inner peace.
“We ourselves should create inner peace,” he said. Practice of love and compassion would help create inner peace, which would lead to non-violence. Non-violence was “very, very necessary” in the present world. “First, look into your inner world and create inner peace; then, verbal and physical actions will become non-violent”, he said.

SOURCE:

Related Posts:
Orthodox Church of the East celebrates Re-establishment centenary of Catholicate of the East
Catholicos of the East Calls-On Shri Pranab Mukherjee, the President of India

Egypt's President Morsi receives Coptic papal delegation

President Mohamed Morsy welcomed Pope Tawadros II
and several bishops to the presidential palace.
 (Photo courtesy of the presidential office)

Cairo, 21 November 2012: Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi on Wednesday received a delegation of Coptic Church officials who offered him their condolences for the death of his sister on Tuesday.

The church delegation, which was headed by newly ordained Coptic Pope Tawadros II, also thanked Morsi for sending a presidential representative to attend the new pope's ordination ceremony earlier this month.
The meeting was also attended by Vice President Mahmoud Mekki and former presidential chief-of-staff Mohamed Refaa El-Tahtawi.
"President Morsi assured Pope Tawadros II and his delegation that he was responsible for safeguarding the rights of all Egyptians without distinction," a presidential spokesman announced on Wednesday.
The spokesman went on to stress that Morsi was "keen to reach a consensus on Egypt's new constitution."
Also on Wednesday, Parliamentary and Legal Affairs Minister Mohamed Mahsoub visited Tawadros at the papal residence in Cairo's Cathedral of St. Mark to congratulate him on the church's well-organised papal elections.
At the end of the visit, Mahsoub declared that the Coptic Church would remain "part of the homeland and identity of Egypt" regardless of whether its representatives participated in Egypt's Constitutional Assembly, tasked with drafting a new constitution.
Earlier this week, the Coptic Church pulled its representatives from the Constituent Assembly to protest perceived attempts by the assembly's Islamist majority to enshrine Islamic Law in the country's new national charter.

source: Ahram Online
Read more: Daily News Egypt

What came out of the first Holy Synod meeting chaired by Pope Tawadros

22 Nov. 2012


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REOOArcBGl8&feature=player_embedded

Translated from Christian Dogma

The first ever Holy Synod meeting chaired by Pope Tawadros II took place this morning and lasted several hours. The meeting was attended by 91 bishops. Seven bishops were absent. The Holy Synod will meet every six months.
Bishop Raphael, bishop of churches in central Cairo, and one of the final candidates for Papacy, was appointed secretary of the Holy Synod, a positioned considered to be the second most powerful in the Coptic Church. He will be replacing Bishop Bishoy of Kafr El-Sheikh, Damietta, who has held this position since 1985. Bishop Thomas of Qusiya, Bishop Youssef of the southern United States and Bishop Apollo of South Sinai were all appointed as his secretaries.
Fr Seraphim Al Soriany, one of the final candidates for papacy, was appointed as secretary for affairs of the diaspora. He served in three churches in the United Kingdom for 12 years. These were St George & St Athanasius in Newcastle, St. Mary & St. George in Nottingham as well as one of the churches in Wales.
The church also announced a plan to increase its online presence. A new website is being built for the Cathedral of St Mark. New Facebook and Twitter accounts are being made for His Holiness Pope Tawadros. For the first time in the history of the church, there is a push to use modern technology to facilitate communication to the congregation.
Also, a committee was formed under the leadership of Bishop Pakhomious to rewrite the outdated laws of patriarchal elections which were written in 1957. Bishop Pakhomious acted as the interim pope after the passing of His Holiness Pope Shenouda III till the appointment of His Holiness Pope Tawadros II. The committee will write a preliminary draft of the new law in the next four months. The draft will be sent to all the bishops for study and feedback. Another committee will have four months to study and examine the feedback from bishops. Yet another committee will have four months to write the final draft and present it to the Holy Synod. Once approved by the Holy Synod, it will be submitted to the Egyptian government to be written into law.

Source: Coptic World

Popular Current meets Pope Tawadros II

Both parties stressed the importance of drafting a constitution protecting equality, citizenship and freedom

Hamdeen Sabahi meets with Pope Tawadros II
on Monday, 19 November.
(Photo courtesy of the Popular Current Facebook page)

Fady Salah,Daily News Egypt

Cairo, November 20, 2012: Pope Tawadros II met with a Popular Current delegation headed by founder Hamdeen Sabahi, in addition to several leading figures of the political group.
Tawadros, the 118th pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church, asserted the national role and Arabic loyalty of the Church at the meeting on Monday night. He stressed the Church’s firm stance on the Palestinian issue and the Arab identity of Jerusalem.
The delegation spoke of their appreciation for the national role played by the Egyptian church throughout its long history. They praised the church’s strong relations with Al-Azhar, and thanked it for it’s collective efforts aimed at protecting moderate religious stances in Egypt.
Heba Yassin, media spokesperson of the Popular Current, said that the purpose of the meeting was to greet the pope rather than discuss politics. However, she said that Sabahi asserted the Popular Current’s commitment to achieving the legitimate goals of the 25 January Revolution, i.e. freedom, democracy, social justice and human dignity.
She added that both parties stressed the importance of drafting a constitution protecting equality, citizenship and freedom for the interest of all Egyptians.
Sabahi also attended the enthronement of Pope Tawadros II at St. Mark’s Cahtedral in Al-Abbaseya on Sunday.
The Popular Current is the first political movement to meet Tawadros since his enthronement on 18 November.

source: Daily News Egypt