In this week’s news from the Eastern Churches, produced in collaboration with L’Œuvre d’Orient: All Saints’ Day is celebrated in the East, Romanian Catholic bishops meet to pick a new head, and the Eastern Orthodox Patriarch meets with Catholic Bishops in France.
In this week’s News from the Orient:
All Saints’ Day in the East
On November 1, Christian communities in the East celebrated All Saints’ Day, paying tribute to the communion of saints and martyrs. In several countries, the faithful and clergy gathered for liturgical celebrations, processions, and prayer vigils, demonstrating the vitality of the Eastern Churches. In Iraq, at the Church of Saints Peter and Paul, children dressed up as their favourite saints, a joyful tradition illustrating the transmission of faith. In Gaza, in the Catholic parish of the Holy Family, children also marked this feast, in a message of faith and hope in the midst of a truly dire humanitarian situation.
Election of a new Romanian Major Archbishop
The Romanian Greek Catholic Church will soon have a new Major Archbishop. From November 2 to 6, an extraordinary session of the Synod of Bishops is being held in Rome, at the Pontifical Pio Romano College. This assembly was convened following the death of Cardinal Lucian Muresan, who had been head of the Romanian Greek Catholic Church from 2005. On November 3 and 4, the bishops participated in a spiritual retreat, before celebrating the Divine Liturgy and a memorial service marking 40 days since the death of the cardinal.
Ecumenical Patriarch meets French bishops
Patriarch Bartholomew I, the leader of the Eastern Orthodox Church, is in France, where he participated in the plenary assembly of the French Catholic bishops from the 4th to the 8th November. In his address, the Patriarch called for a revival of Christian unity and a renewal of spiritual responsibility in the face of the world’s environmental, social, and spiritual crises. The Patriarch emphasized the common role of the Churches in protecting creation, promoting peace, and educating younger generations. The plenary assembly concluded with a time of prayer for peace, in communion with Christians of the East.
