Ang Catholic-Orthodox Commission ay nagdaos ng isang Misa para sa pagkakaisa at kapayapaan

Isang mabuting balita! 

Nagkaroon ng Banal na Misa ang dalawa sa pinakamatatandang Iglesia sa Kristianismo-- ang Iglesia Katolika at ang Iglesia Orthodox sa Amman, Jordan.  Alinsunod ito sa kahilingan ni Papa  Francisco sa pamamagitan ng Pontifical Councils for Promoting Christian Unity.  

Narito sa ibaba ang kabuuan ng balita.

Abouna.org - Within the framework of the current meetings of the joint Orthodox-Catholic Commission taking place for the first time in Jordan, Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, presided over a Mass at St. Mary of Nazareth Church in Amman on Saturday, September 20, with the participation of Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches. 

Present at the Mass were a number of local bishops and guests, a large number of bishops representing the Orthodox churches in the world, and a large crowd of the faithful. 

Parish priest Fr. Tony Hremat expressed pleasure to hold this historic Mass which is the first of its kind. 

Cardinal Koch delivered a sermon in which he expressed his happiness to return to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan after he accompanied Pope Francis last May on his visit to the Holy Land with Jordan being his first-leg. He prayed for Christian unity, especially between the two sisterly Orthodox and Catholic churches, and recalled the words of the Orthodox Patriarch Athenagoras fifty years ago: "The time has come for the courage of Christianity. We love each other and share in faith. Let us thus proceed together to the glory of participating in one altar.” 

Turning to the persecution of Christians in Iraq, Syria and other countries of the world, Cardinal Koch said: “We can say that nowadays we have more martyrs than those who had fallen during the Roman persecution at the emergence of Church.” He added: “Today we gather to pray for the unity of Christians and for peace. The persecuted Christians do not suffer because they are Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant or others. They are rather pained because they are Christian. This motivates us to work for unity and the spirit of overture towards the world--particularly for serving the poor and the needy--as well as in our dialogue with the brotherly Muslims and other followers of other religions.” 

At the end of the Mass, Cardinal Sandri delivered a brief sermon in which he recalled the visit of His Holiness Pope Francis being one of his companions. He expressed solidarity with the pained churches of the East, having participated last week in an international conference that took place in Washington DC in support of Christians in the Middle East. He also presented Latin Patriarchal vicar for Jordan Archbishop Maroun Lahham and parish priest Tony Hremat with two commemorative medals. 

It is worthy to note that the Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Orthodox and Catholic churches was launched at the Baptism Site last Tuesday, September 16, and continued over the past few days at Landmark Hotel in Amman. The meetings will conclude on Tuesday, September 23, taking place in Jordan for the first time.