New Martyr Fr. Daniel Sysoev's writings being made available in English!

Many of Fr Daniel Sysoev's writings are now available to order in physical book form in English and Russian (with more English editions to follow, I am informed) from the Orthodox Internet Store of Rev. Daniel Sysoev.

In addition, a new online 'shop' has been opened on the ISSUU digital platform, with books and booklets by Fr Daniel Sysoev, including many titles in English.

One of if not THE most significant of the New Martyrs of the 21st Century under the Sword of Islam, the righteous Fr. Daniel Sysoev of Moscow was shot and killed by a Muslim in front of the altar at the church he founded.

Fr Daniel was not any ordinary casualty of Islam's renewed war on Christians. He was a towering figure in the Russian Orthodox Church, a theologian, writer, evangelist and missionary, who engaged in open debate with Muslims, and converted some eighty or more of them from Islam to the Orthodox Faith, including a number of Wahhabi extremists.

ISIS Attacks Assyrian Villages in Syria, 4 Killed, Dozens Captured, Churches Burned

ISIS may intend to use Assyrian hostages for a prisoner swap with Kurdish fighters.

AINA, February 23, 2015

The Assyrian church of Mar Bisho on fire, in Tel Shamiran, Syria.

Hassaka, Syria (AINA) -- Fighting broke out at 5 AM today between ISIS and Assyrian and Kurdish fighters in the Hasaka province in northeast Syria. ISIS attacked the Assyrian villages of Tel Goran, Tel Hurmiz, Tel Tamar, Tel Baloaa Tel Shamiran, Tel Riman, Tel Nasra, Tel Khareta, and Abu Tena. The ISIS fighters were met by members of Assyrian Guards (called Natorehs), an Assyrian Militia, and Kurdish fighters form YPG. 4 Assyrian fighters were killed as well tens of ISIS fighters. According to the latest reports, fighting is still ongoing in Tel Tamar.

ISIS has abducted dozens of Assyrian men, women and children, including 12 from Tel Hurmiz, 15 from Tel Goran. They have been brought to Jabal Abdul Aziz. The residents of the villages of Tel Shamiran (approximately 50) and Tel Jazira (about 40) are being held captive in their own villages by ISIS.

According to a report by Newsweek, ISIS will use the Assyrian hostages for a prisoner swap with Kurdish fighters.

A number of churches have been destroyed, including the church in Tel Hurmiz, one of the oldest churches in Syria, the Mar Bisho church in Tel Shamiran, the church in Qabr Shamiy and the church in Tel Baloua.

Is Islam Really 99.981% Terrorism-Free? Refuting Fareed Zakaria on ISIS

by Timothy R. Furnish, Mahdi Watch, February 22, 2015

Muslims the world over await the Mahdi's return.

Fareed Zakaria penned a rather inane article in “The Washington Post” last week, entitled “The limits of the Islamic label” (which he adduced at length in his “GPS” show this morning).  The point therein: to criticize Graeme Wood for his “Atlantic” article, “What ISIS Really Wants,” in which the latter dares to state that ISIS is profoundly Islamic, and even apocalyptic, in its belief system and actions. Zakaria supports President Obama’s Machiavellian “terrorism means never having to say ‘Islam’ ” strategy on the grounds that it avoids alienation of 1.6 billion Muslims, and takes Wood (and those of us like-minded) to task with the metric that ISIS’s 30,000 members only comprise .0019% of the world’s Islamic population.

But ISIS isn’t the only terrorist organization which adduces Islam as its raison d’etre—it’s only the most brutal.  I scrutinized the data on the other three dozen major terrorist groups which are Islamic, on the US State Department site as well as several others, and came up with a rough membership number for all the non-ISIS Sunni Muslim terrorist groups of some 65,000.  Adding in ISIS’s 30,000 puts the global Sunni dedicated terrorist ranks into the 100,000 range—especially when we consider that State enumerated the membership strength of a number of these entities as “unknown:” it’s certainly reasonable to estimate that these half-dozen groups (which include the likes of al-Qa`idah [AQ] central and the Abd Allah Azzam Brigades) count several thousand adherents.  

But wait, there’s more that refutes Zakaria’s specious claim.  

Mark Durie: ‘A Message Signed with Blood to the Nation of the Cross’

by Mark Durie, February 21, 2015

This post is a analytical explanation of a film produced by Al-Hayat Media of the Islamic State,  which portrays the ritual slaughter of 21 Coptic Christians on a beach in Libya, in the film “A Message Signed with Blood to the Nation of the Cross”.  

Indented, italicized text is commentary by Mark Durie.

Asterisk indicates words from the film, either in the form of titles or sub-titles, or as narration.   

This is Part 2 of a pair of posts about this film.  Part 1 is Bearing the cross: a letter to the Islamic State.  

This post has also appeared on Lapido Media.

Mark Durie: Bearing the Cross — A Letter to the Islamic State

Anglican pastor and author of key books on Christianity and Islam, Mark Durie, pens a powerful and evangelical response to ISIS in the wake of the martyrdom of the 21 Coptic Christians in Libya. Read all the way to the end, and share widely.

by Mark Durie, February 21, 2015

This is the first of a two-part post on the 21 Egyptian martyrs killed in Libya.  This first part is a reflection, as a Christian, on aspects of this event and reactions to it.  The second part, ‘A message signed with blood to the Nation of the Cross’ consists of explanatory notes on the texts – spoken and written – which were part of the Islamic State’s film of their ritual beheadings.  This post has also appeared on Lapido media.

The Islamic State sent me a letter this week. This letter was in the form of a short film produced by the Islamic State’s Al-Hayat Media centre.  This was not addressed to me personally, but to all Christians everywhere.  Its title was A Message Signed with BLOOD to the Nation of the Cross.  This was a video of the ritual slaughter of the 21 Egyptian Christians.  Their blood flowing in the ocean waves was the ‘signature’ at the end of the video.

As I write this it is Ash Wednesday.  This is the start of forty days of Lent, a period of fasting and contemplation for Christians all over the world.  For many centuries it has been a custom of Christians to receive a mark of the cross in ash upon the forehead as a sign of repentance.

A Coptic Girl with a Wrist Cross Tattoo

As I received this mark of the cross today I was thinking of the 21 Egyptian Christian martyrs.  Copts permanently bear the sign of the cross, tattooed on their wrists, as a sign that they will refuse to renounce their beliefs.

I intend to read out these men’s names at our morning church services this Sunday, here in Melbourne, Australia.  And I also choose to honour them today by writing to acknowledge the truth about why they were killed, and in particular the explanation given by their killers. 

I also wish to record, as a Christian and a pastor, my intense protest at the White House official statement of February 15 2015 concerning this event.  This makes no mention of the reason the twenty one were killed: their Christian faith.  This culpable denial dishonours them, as it dishonours me and Christians everywhere.  

The White House statement claimed that “ISIL’s barbarity knows no bounds. It is unconstrained by faith, sect or ethnicity.”  Not true.  The Islamic State’s actions are constrained by its theology, and in this case its targets are also determined on religious grounds; they were Christians.  It is not an endorsement of the killers’ Islamic beliefs to acknowledge that these jihadis follow a form of Islam, and that their sect and faith does constrain their behaviour accordingly. 

President Obama has defended his administration’s misrepresentations on the grounds that the radicals are “desperate for legitimacy” so “They try to portray themselves as religious leaders, holy warriors in defense of Islam.” But these are not desperate people.  They are shockingly confident in their beliefs. They do not “try to portray themselves” as Islamic: they sincerely believe they are. Christopher Hitchens got it right over a decade ago when he suggested of Al Qa’ida recruits that “they believe their own propaganda,” and “absolutely subscribe to the tenets of their version … of their religion, Islam.”

Obama also stated that “we must never accept the premise that they put forward, because it is a lie.”  This too is nonsense.  A lie is a deliberate intention to deceive, and these self-described jihadis are – at least by their own understanding – speaking the absolute truth when they claim to speak for Islam. 

Some years ago I had the privilege of reading the Gospel at a Coptic service held in St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral, here in Melbourne.  The service was held to commemorate the 22 martyrs of the attack on Al-Qiddisin Church in Alexandria on New Year’s Eve. It was led by Bishop Suriel, Melbourne’s Coptic bishop.

The Al-Qiddisin martyr’s service impressed me deeply. I long pondered the fact that the Coptic church of Egypt has been grieving over the freshly dug graves of its martyred sons and daughters since the dawn of Christianity.  As I sat through the service and sung the hymns about martyrdom, I thought, “So this is what it means to be a Copt”.

Fr Georges Massouh on the 21 Martyrs in Libya

"Middle Eastern Christians are called today to become words, to become wounds that wipe away the sins and transgressions of this Middle East. They heal it through their suffering in all their tragedies, wars and woes and they spread peace wherever they are found."

Arabic original here.  In a similar vein, I’d highly recommend reading these two articles recently published in The Atlantic: What Isis Really Wants and Why Obama Won’t Talk about Islamic Terrorism.

The Innocence of Islam, not of Islamic Institutions

Fr Georges Massouh, OCP Media, February 21, 2015

The apologetic and justificatory rhetoric has become repugnant. The excuse has become more vile than the crime. The pictures of imams and patriarchs coming together have become unconvincing… What happened in Libya– and before that in every part of this suffering Middle East– cannot be confronted with a parroted rhetoric about religions’ not being responsible for the spread of terrorism in our lands. If it is axiomatic to say that religions are not responsible, this in no way means that religious institutions and their leaders are not responsible for the growth of extremism and the rejection of those who are different, even if they belong to the same religion.

If it is true to assert that Islam is innocent of the crimes and atrocities of ISIS, religious institutions that have not  undertaken their duty to disseminate a culture of mutual respect and total equality between Christians and Muslims are responsible for the dissemination of the culture of religious hatred and rejection of people of other religions and creeds. These same institutions are likewise responsible for disseminating a culture of hatred between sects of Islam, since they have not done enough to eliminate the causes of religious divisions and disagreements between Muslims themselves.

Coptic Christian Mother Forgives, Prays for ISIS Slaughterers of Son

The Mother of a Martyred Saint shows the Love of Christ to those in the Devil's Grip.

Today (Sunday, February 22) is the Sunday of Forgiveness in the Orthodox Church. Great Lent begins with the Vespers of Forgiveness on the evening of this Sunday. May Christ our True God grant this faithful mother profound consolation for her Christ-like love for her enemies.


via Coptic Christian Mother ‘Thanks’ ISIS Slaughterers of Son
by Raymond Ibrahim, February 21, 2015
h/t OCP Media

The mother of Kyrillos (Cyrus), one of the 21 Coptic Christians recently butchered by the Islamic State in Libya, said in a recent interview that she forgives the Muslim murderers of her son — since he is now “with his Lord” — and prays that they see the light and turn from evil.

Said the mother of the 22-year-old martyr — one of the many Copts who testified the name of Christ seconds before their heads were cruelly hacked off: “My son is with his Lord. He wasn’t kidnapped.  They always told me ‘your son has been kidnapped,’ but I said, ‘No, he is with the Lord.’”

When asked if she had any message for her son’s executioners, she said, “I thank you [for his martyrdom], may the Lord touch your hearts and light a way for you so you don’t end up in a bad place — light a way for you so you don’t end up in hell.”

New Martyrs of Libya added to the Coptic Synaxarium

COPTIC ORTHODOX CHURCH of ALEXANDRIA
Diocese of Los Angeles, Southern California and Hawaii
February 21, 2015 — h/t John

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II announced the inclusion of the 21 Coptic New Martyrs of Libya in the Synaxarium of the Coptic Orthodox Church today. Every year, they will be commemorated on 8 Amshir in the Coptic calendar, which corresponds to 15 February in the Gregorian calendar, the same day as the Feast of the Presentation of our Lord in the Temple.

Axios, Axios, Axios!

This beautiful icon, which is also featured on the diocese front page, was drawn by Tony Rezk. May the Lord reward his talents.

Metropolitan Tikhon speaks at NY memorial for 21 Coptic martyrs

Excerpts from His Beatitude's memorable address at the Memorial held on Thursday, February 19, 2015

OCA.org - February 20, 2015

There are those who would overcome the world with weapons of violence, but this is not our way. 

There are those who cling to death and to sin in order to bring about more death and more evil, but this is not our way. 

There are those who blame religion for tragedies such as the one we mourn today, but they are blind to the reality that true believers become such only when their hearts are purified of sin and their lives filled with the light of the Resurrection. 

Let us, who stand fast in our faith in Christ and His eternal victory, remember that He alone has trampled on death by His own voluntary death. 

Let us, who are filled with the hope of the resurrection, give glory to God for the martyric witness of the 21 souls who now witness to this victory. 

And let us, who each struggle in our own way to remain faithful to God, give example in our own lives of those things which we hold dear—Peace, rather than violence; love, rather than hate; and forgiveness, rather than revenge.

You may read the full text here.

AXIOS! Metropolitan Tikhon!

‘What ISIS Really Wants’ — A brief review of Graeme Wood’s Feature Article in the March issue of The Atlantic.

by Ralph H. Sidway

Graeme Wood’s 11,000 word article on the Islamic State hit the blogosphere like a bomb this past week. Thank God.

One of my friends and co-strugglers immediately posted a link to the online edition on his Facebook page. And Robert Spencer over at Jihad Watch posted this stirring assessment of its importance:

This is an extraordinary piece, as it represents one of the first, if not the first, mainstream media acknowledgment that... jihadis use the texts and teachings [of Islam] to justify their actions and make recruits, and make a case that obviously convinces many young Muslims, that they represent the truest and most authentic expression of Islam.

The publication of Mr. Wood’s extremely cogent and informed piece couldn’t be more timely, arriving the same week as the President’s “Summit to Counter Violent Extremism”, whose false premises it ably refutes.  Wood’s work is made all the more compelling through his in depth interviews and face time with ISIS supporters from Australia and Britain, through whom he conveys the supernatural allure, the “pull” which ISIS exerts upon Muslims who begin to buy into its end-times theology. This journalistic aspect of the article balances the analytical, and makes it real for us, putting a human face on ISIS.