Every second Saturday of the month, Divine Liturgy in English of Sunday - Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Family, Duke Street, London W1K 5BQ.
4pm Divine Liturgy. Next: 13th November 2021

Very sadly, the Divine Liturgy in English at 9-30 am on Sundays at the Holy Family Cathedral, Lower Church, have had to be put on hold. Until the practicalities we cannot use the Lower Church space. Hopefully this will be resolved very soon. Please keep checking in here for details.

Owing to public health guidance, masks should still be worn indoors and distance maintained. Sanitisers are available. Holy Communion is distributed in both kinds from the mixed and common chalice, by means of a separate Communion spoon for each individual communicant.

To purchase The Divine Liturgy: an Anthology for Worship (in English), order from the Sheptytsky Institute here, or the St Basil's Bookstore here.

To purchase the Divine Praises, the Divine Office of the Byzantine-Slav rite (in English), order from the Eparchy of Parma here.

The new catechism in English, Christ our Pascha, is available from the Eparchy of the Holy Family and the Society. Please email johnchrysostom@btinternet.com for details.

Saturday 22 March 2014

Assyrian Orthodox Patriarch Dies in Germany - AINA

Posted 2014-03-21, Assyrian International News Agency


Germany (AINA) -- His Holiness Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, Patriarch of the Assyrian Orthodox Church, died Friday morning from a heart attack in a hospital in the city of Kiel in Germany. He was 81 years old and the 122nd patriarch of what is considered to be the oldest church in the world, with a following of some four million across the globe.



He was born on April 21, in Nineveh, Iraq (today's Mosul) during the fateful year of 1933 when Iraqi forces massacred some three thousand Assyrians in what is known as the Simmele massacre. His parents gave him the name of Sanharib after the ancient Assyrian king. On November 17, 1957, he was ordained as a priest. On On November 17, 1963, he was ordained as Metropolitan Bishop of Mosul.

Bishop Sanharib adopted the name Ignatius when in 1980 he was chosen to lead the church after the death of Patriarch Yaqub III.

The general secretariat of the Holy Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch issued a statement saying:
"In this time of mourning and grief, the general secretariat of the Holy Synod declares that the time of the funeral will be appointed later when the procedures of transfer of his saintly body from Germany to Lebanon and then to Syria, are completed. We commend that this coming Sunday, 23 March 2014, be consecrated to offer prayers and celebrate the Divine Liturgy for the peaceful rest of his pure soul and we will announce the procedures and dates of the funeral, burial and condolences when ready."
His tenure was characterized by a minimalist approach to church administration and the church has been in a steady decline since his take over. He was unable to resist pressure from the Syrian Arab Baath regime, which has infiltrated the church to a degree that Arabic has almost become the preferred language of the church instead of Assyrian (also known as Syriac or neo-Aramaic). He was also heavily criticized by Assyrian groups for issuing statements praising Arabism.

His death marks the beginning of a process in which different interests vie for the now vacant position. Turkey has worked openly to bring the seat of the patriarchate back to Turkey while Syria has been fiercely against such a move. Both states see the church as an asset and a tool to control a large section of the Assyrian people. Many observers believe that Turkey and Syria will work to have one of the bishops aligned with them to become the new patriarch.



Read more online here at AINA:

Assyrian Orthodox Patriarch Dies in Germany

No comments: