Persecution at Christmastime

Muslim persecution of Christians "has been catastrophic... Churches of all faith traditions are deliberately targeted; Pope Francis calls this "the ecumenism of blood."

by Nina Shea, Christian Post — 12/26/2013

Nina Shea is director of Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom and co-author of Persecuted: The Global Assault on Christians.

During this holy season, Christians turn their thoughts to that first Christmas and to the early Christians. This year, we should prayerfully reflect on the fact that those church communities founded by Thomas, Mark, Paul, Andrew, and the other disciples of Jesus, communities that have remained faithful for 2,000 years, are now suffering mightily for their faith.

The reason is religious persecution. Christians will always be persecuted, the Scriptures tell us, but the unbearable scope of this wave is due to burgeoning extremism within some Muslim sectors. It now poses an existential threat to Middle Eastern Christians - though it is not limited to the Middle East.

Muslim Violence Forces Coptic Church in Egypt to Close

Christian Post via AINA — 12/27/2013

Copts in the village of Tarshoub, Beni Suef, Upper Egypt, are experiencing intimidation after extremists attacked them on Monday. Aggressors threw stones at Coptic homes, burned a tuk-tuk truck owned by a Copt named Magdy Fathi Rizk and a store owned by Badr Maher.

They also destroyed the fronts of some houses and called for the closure of the church, which dates back more than 40 years in the village.

Father Malak Shehata from the Fashn Diocese told Mideast Christian News that the village of Tarshoub has been served by Father Andrawis, who moved to serve in another location. When the Fashn Diocese delegated a new priest to serve in the village and Copts tried to prepare a residence for him in the church, some Muslims gathered and refused to let the priest enter the church. This was led by Muslim Brotherhood supporters in the village.

During a reconciliation meeting held yesterday to resolve the situation, the Brotherhood members mobilized the villagers to attack the homes of Christians and prevented the priest from entering the village. They closed the church and Copts could not practice their prayers.

Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society asks UN to defend Syrian Christians

Another lesson in the confusion and fear of many parties to address the issue of Islamic supremacism and jihad against Christians. 

Sadly, this letter and many other communiqués being issued regarding the Syria crisis go out of their way to avoid stating that these "rebels" are in fact Muslims waging jihad against Christians [and Alawite Muslims] in Syria, with the goal of establishing a Sunni Islam caliphate. This is not a case of generic "rebels" committing random crimes, but of devout Muslims from all over the world traveling to Syria with the purpose of waging religiously motivated jihad, using the Quran and the example of Muhammad as their justification, motivation, and guide. Not naming the enemy and their motivation does no one any good.

A Syrian Orthodox church destroyed by Muslims.

Interfax via Pravmir — 12/26/2013

Moscow, December 26, Interfax – The Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society has called on United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to put an end to the lawlessness perpetrated by [Muslim] rebels in Syria.

“The brutal attack by rebels on the ancient Convent of St. Thecla in Maalula and the cynical abduction of the mother superior and nuns of this ancient convent, where forty orphaned girls lives, is a challenge to the whole global community and an insult to all civilized norms,” the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society said in its letter to Ban Ki-moon and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, a copy of which was obtained by Interfax-Religion on Thursday, says.

Among these crimes is the abduction of Syrian hierarchs such as Metropolitan Paul of Aleppo and Metropolitan Gregory Ibrahim, whose fate remains unknown.

The letter says that over sixty ancient churches have been destroyed by rebels and Christians are being subjected to especially cruel violence.

Moscow condemns Baghdad church bombing

See also Christmas Bomb Attacks Kill 20 in Baghdad’s Christian Areas.

Interfax via Pravmir — 12/26/2013

Moscow, December 26, Interfax – The Russian Foreign Ministry is demanding a resolute response to terrorist attacks on [Christian] religious sites in Iraq, Syria and other countries of the region in the wake of a series of terrorist acts in Baghdad.

Debris at the site of the attack at the marketplace in Baghdad. Photograph: Reuters

“Attempts by extremist groups to destabilize the situation in the country and sow dissent among its different religious groups are a matter of serious concern. In our opinion, it is exceptionally important to offer a resolute response to criminal attacks staged by terrorists on churches, mosques and other spiritual places in Iraq, Syria and other countries of the region. Followers of Islam, Christianity and all the faiths that have lived side-by-side peacefully in the Middle East for centuries must be protected from attacks,” the ministry said in a statement.

“Moscow resolutely condemns such inhuman crimes and extends its sincere condolences to the families of victims and wishes a speedy recovery to those injured,” it said.

Over 20 people were killed and another 30 were injured in three bombings in Christian areas of Baghdad on Wednesday, the Russian ministry said.

“The most powerful explosion occurred outside Catholic St. John the Baptist Church in the south of the capital as a Christmas service was conducted there,” it added.

Orthodox Church in Kosovo turned into public toilet and garbage dump

As much as the Albanian and Bosnian Muslims would like to destroy the Orthodox Christian faith, and especially the very site where St. Tsar-Martyr Lazar of Serbia and his army attended Liturgy and received holy communion before the Battle of Kosovo, we know from the Lord's promise that the gates of hell will not prevail against the His Church.

Regarding the Battle of Kosovo, I wrote this in my book, Facing Islam:

The Great-Martyr Tsar Lazar of Serbia, inspired by a vision, sacrificed himself and his army in the epic Battle of Kosovo on June 15, 1389. At the Divine Liturgy, before going out to battle, they chanted “For the glorious Cross and golden freedom!” and the stirring motto of St Sava of Serbia, “Give up everything for Christ, but Christ for nothing!” The battle waged by Tsar-Martyr Lazar and his army at Kosovo weakened the Muslim invaders enough so as to prevent them from conquering Western Europe.

Make no mistake, the repeated Muslim desecrations of the Church of the Beheading of St John the Baptist are specifically targeting this Serbian Orthodox National Shrine, which holds immense symbolic importance for the Serbs, all of Europe, and free people everywhere. Albanian Muslim attacks on this church are an attack on us all, and a new chapter in Islam's very old war against Christianity.


Orthodox Church in Kosovo turned into public toilet and garbage dump
InSerbia via Pravmir — 12/25/2013

Orthodox church dedicated to the Beheading of St. John the Baptist in the village of Samodreza near Vucitrn, was desecrated and turned into a garbage dump. The altar of this Serbian shrine, built on the place where Prince Lazar received communion with the army before the Battle of Kosovo, Albanian children turned into a public toilet, writes “Kurir”.

Photo: Kurir

All attempts to stop the desecration of the Orthodox church were unsuccessful because the Albanian population is against its renewal. The church was burned, vandalized and desecrated for the first time in 1999 after international forces arrived in Kosovo, writes the daily.

Unlocking the Meaning of the Nativity

Video in four parts...

Fr. Igumen Sergius, Abbot of St Tikhon's Monastery, presents a talk on the Nativity of Christ based largely on the theology of St Maximus the Confessor. Part 1 is below. Go to St Tikhon's website for all four parts.

The Holy Fathers on the Incarnation of Christ

A Word from the Holy Fathers     ~ On the Incarnation ~

Here is a unique collection of reflections on the Incarnation, the Nativity of Christ our God in the Flesh, from the podcast A Word from the Holy Fathers. These brief and clear talks on the Nativity, by Fr. Deacon Matthew (now Hieromonk Irenaeus) Steenburg of Monachos.net, present the insights and wisdom of the Great Fathers of the Church to aid us in our contemplation of the awesome mystery of the Birth of God. 

Stream and play right on your computer, or download and save to your iPod, iPhone or other device, or subscribe to the podcast through iTunes.

Why not set aside a few minutes each day during the celebration of the Nativity for these quiet and profound insights...

• The Fathers on the Nativity of Christ - Introduction
• What was God to do? - St Athanasius the Great
• The Wonder of the Incarnation - St Gregory the Theologian
• Glory to God Who has shown Himself to Us - St Ephraim the Syrian and St John Maximovitch
• Remembering the Mother of God's Role in the Incarnation - St Cyril of Alexandria
• The Coming of the Lord - St Leo the Great, Pope of Rome

Ancient Faith Radio has dozens more podcasts by its many contributors reflecting on the Feast of the Incarnation. You can explore them on this special page.

For a wide selection of excellent resources on the Nativity of Christ, go here.

CHRIST is BORN! GLORIFY HIM!

Troparion (Tone 4)

Thy Nativity, O Christ our God,

Has shown to the world the light of wisdom,

For by it those who worshiped the stars

were taught by a star to adore Thee,

The Sun of Righteousness,

And to know Thee, the Orient from on High,

O Lord, Glory to Thee!

Kontakion (Tone 3)

Today the Virgin gives birth to the Transcendent One,

And the earth offers a cave to the Unapproachable One!

Angels with shepherds glorify Him,

The Wise Men journey with a star!

Since for our sake the Eternal God was born

As a little child!

Hymn To The Theotokos (Birthgiver of God):

Magnify, O my soul, the most-pure Virgin Theotokos, 

More honorable and more glorious than the heavenly hosts.

I behold a strange, most glorious mystery: 

Heaven—the cave; 

The cherubic throne—the Virgin; 

The manger—the place where Christ lay—

The Uncontainable God, Whom we magnify in song!

For an excellent collection of resources, including patristic texts, suggested books, videos, icons, and more, go here.

Archpastoral Nativity Message of His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon

via The Orthodox Church in America

To the Honorable Clergy, Venerable Monastics, and Pious Faithful of the Orthodox Church in America,

My Beloved Brethren and Blessed Children in the Lord,

Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

Today, as we proclaim with joyous hearts that “God is With Us,” we give glory to God for the Feast of the Nativity in the Flesh of our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ. At the same time, we are surrounded by a host of images, symbols, icons, and representations of what the world thinks this Feast is, and what it should be. From Christmas trees live and fake, to reindeer and snowmen, the world is drowning in empty images of Christmas. And even in those images that seem to follow the tradition of the Church, we find lacking a true engagement with the brokenness and emptiness around us.

In the Church, we behold “a strange, most glorious mystery” — a child, born in a tomb-like cave, laid in the feeding trough of animals, born into this world to a people unprepared to receive His message, a people unable to accept His message. This is indeed a strange image, an image of weakness, an image of defeat, poverty and lowliness. It is an image which could easily be dismissed if it were not so wondrous in its inexplicability. It is an image that has at its core the message of the life of the world to come. It is the image of our salvation.

When faced with this image of Christ born in a tomb, we are, as the Mother of God was, faced with a choice to say: “Yes Lord enter into my members, my veins, my heart; cleanse me, purify me, adorn me.” Or, we can choose to turn away and reject the joy, health and gladness offered us through the Christ and our communion with Him. And yet, this choice is not simply an intellectual assent to some vague and nebulous idea or concept.

When we decide to turn to Christ and invite Him into our hearts, we commit to a life of action, a life in which we not only hear, but act upon the commandments of Christ and the teaching of the Holy Fathers of the Church. In speaking of the motherhood of the Theotokos, Father Georges Florovsky reminds us that the act accepting Christ into our lives is not one that is exhausted by the initial moment, “even as natural motherhood is not exhausted by the fact of physical birth. The fulfillment of motherhood lies in sacrificial love. By this love for the One born the passive self-centeredness of the heart is broken. In this love is shown the natural image of love for another person, for the neighbor.”

Our turning to the tomb-like cave of Christ’s birth, and our acceptance of Him into our lives, commits us to a life of love for our neighbor and for all mankind. Our turning to the One Who laid in a manger is our accepting of the call to minister to our fellow man, here and now. Our turning to the One Who was born of a Virgin is a proclamation of our love of Christ and of His Cross. Indeed, our turning to the God Who is now with us is a proclamation of our anticipation of the life of the world to come.

With heartfelt prayers and in the ineffable love of the Holy Christ child,

With love in the Lord,

+TIKHON
Archbishop of Washington
Metropolitan of All America and Canada

Patriarch John X of Antioch: We will never submit to those who transgress against sanctities

AXIOS to His Beatitude for explicitly refusing to "submit." "Islam" means "submission," and those who submit are Muslims. Christians should never submit to Islam or Muslims.

May the Lord continue to bless, strengthen and protect Patriarch John X and his flock!

Patriarch Yazigi: We will never submit to those who transgress against sanctities

SANA via OCP Media — 12/24/2013

Damascus, (SANA) – Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East John X Yazigi affirmed that there will be no submission to those who transgress against sanctities, nor will there be silence over the abduction of bishops, priests and innocent people.

In his Christmas letter issued on Tuesday, Patriarch Yazigi said “we will not be silent over the abduction of our Bishops John Ibrahim and Paul Yazigi… we will stand against those who imprison the voice of our peace, and by that I mean the nuns and orphans of Maaloula.”