Meeting of the Syriac Catholic parishes in Syria: Listening to the Church Today and Its Needs

Meeting of the Syriac Catholic parishes in Syria: Listening to the Church Today and Its Need

“In unity, we reflect the image of the Church and our Christian identity.” With this spirit, the bishops and priests of the Syriac Catholic Dioceses in Syria gathered at the Syriac Catholic Bishopric in Al-Hamidiyah, Homs.

Bishop Mar Yulian Yakoub Murad, in his welcoming speech, emphasised the importance of the meeting as our Syriac Church is an integral part of the Catholic Church. He pointed out that our thinking should stem from our responsibility to listen to the Church today and its needs, driven by the desire to heed the spirit that seeks to renew the Church striving to build the Kingdom.
He saw that every effort we make together is a manifestation of the spirit, and every joint effort is an embodiment and a mirror reflecting God’s will.

The Synodal Journey: Sharing, Participation, and Message, which means walking and working together, formed the core of the meeting that commenced with prayer and included moments of reflection and collective contemplation, for in unity there is strength and testimony.

This meeting is in preparation for the second session of the synod in October 2024, on the main question: “How can we be a synodal church in the case of a message?”, What way can be done to live synodal at all levels?
The gatherers felt that the Church was distinguished by its diversity and by the company of its members, especially secularists, each of whom had a talent, role and responsibility in the Church.

The Archbishop of Aleppo  Marr Dionysius Antoine shahda underscored the role of participatory democracy crystallized in church institutions, fraternities and pastoral committees, for the benefit of families in all educational, spiritual, material, social and other fields, and called for adherence to the Eastern liturgies called by Pope John e Paul II. He noted the need to translate synodism into action in view of believers’ needs in view of difficult economic and living conditions.

The Archbishop of Damascus, Archbishop John Jihad Batah, and the Patriarchate’s coordinator of the Syrian Catholic Church in the Synod, called on the secularists to know their important role and position in the church, noting that the secularists in his diocese had their responsibilities before the synod began. He also referred to the realities of migration and displacement and endeavours to establish believers in the motherland by supporting them in development and development projects, in addition to the work of the Committee for the Service of Love, which he chairs and which deals with medical matters.

Archbishop Al-Hasakah and Nisaibin Maryakov Joseph Shamei noted that the situation within his diocese was tragic in terms of the economic, security and social situation. He also spoke of the dramatic decrease in the number of Christians due to migration, as the diocese included 1700 family and less than 300 family today. In addition, churches in Deir ez-Zor, Darbassiyah and other areas are now abandoned. He pointed out that he simply works with the remaining Christians by communicating the spiritual word and comfort to families and      young people, and by working to establish projects that support families