The Pope to the Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East: the martyrs guide us towards unity

In Erbil, Francis greeted Catholicos Mar Gewargis III, recalling that so many Christians here have shed their blood and now shine together, stars in the same sky, showing us the way to the fullness of unity. A journey that began in 1994 with the common Christological Declaration between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East.

Amedeo Lomonaco - Vatican City At the end of Holy Mass in the "Franso Hariri" stadium in Erbil, in northern Iraq, Pope Francis greeted with affection the Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, Mar Gewargis III, who resides in this city. “Thank you, dear Brother!” Began the Holy Father, who wanted to embrace Christians of various confessions in him: “Many here have shed their blood on the same soil! But our martyrs shine together, stars in the same sky! From up there they ask us to walk together, without hesitation, towards the fullness of unity ".

The Assyrian Church of the East The Assyrian Church of the East is an ancient Church present in this land since the origins of Christianity. The Acts of the Apostles report that "Parthians, Medes, Elamites and inhabitants of Mesopotamia" were present near the Upper Room on the day of Pentecost. They were the first Christians of Persia, where they then preached, according to tradition, the apostle Saint Thomas and his disciples Addai and Mari. In its centuries-old history, the Assyrian Church of the East has developed an original theological and spiritual tradition in a predominantly Semitic and Syriac cultural context very close to the first apostolic communities. In the early Middle Ages, the Assyrian Church of the East developed an extraordinary missionary dynamism by following the various silk routes through Central Asia, India and even China. It has the same theological and liturgical heritage of the Chaldean and Syro-Malabar Church in India, both of which entered into communion with the Church of Rome in the 16th century. Since its origins, the history of the Assyrian Church of the East has been tragically marked by persecution. Dramatic pages that intertwine with the periods of the Persian Empire, then the Mongol Empire, and finally the Ottoman Empire. In particular, after the massacre that took place between the years 1914 and 1924 also known by the term "Seyfo" (in Syriac literally means "sword"), most of its faithful emigrated to the West, bringing with them a centuries-old tradition. Although large communities remain in the Middle East, especially in northern Iraq, Syria, Iran and Lebanon, nearly half of the 450,000 faithful of this ancient Church are located in the United States, with a significant diaspora in Canada, in Europe and Australia.

Common Christological Declaration The dialogue between the Catholic and Assyrian Churches of the East led in 1994 to the signing of a common Christological Declaration. In this document, Pope John Paul II and the Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East Mar Dinkha IV acknowledge that they share the same faith in Jesus Christ. "As heirs and guardians of the faith received from the Apostles - we read in the text - we confess one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten son of God, born of the Father before all ages, who, having reached the fullness of time, descended from heaven and became man for our salvation ”. "Regardless of the Christological differences that have existed - it is emphasized - today we confess unitedly the same faith in the Son of God who became man so that we, through his grace, might become children of God". "The mystery of the Incarnation that we profess together is not an abstract and isolated truth. It concerns the Son of God sent to save us ”. In 2014, Pope Francis, receiving Mar Dinkha IV at the Vatican, defined the Common Christological Declaration signed in 1994 "a milestone" on the path "towards full communion". “With it - said Francesco - we have recognized of confess the one faith of the apostles, faith in the divinity and humanity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, united in one person, without confusion or change, without division or separation ".

The Joint Declaration of 2018 In 2015 Mar Gewargis III was elected Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East. In the message immediately after this election, Pope Francis remembers Christians and other religious minorities in Iraq and Syria. “Together with her - reads that document - I ask the Lord to grant them the strength so that they can persevere in their Christian witness”. In November 2018, Pope Francis and Mar Gewargis III signed a Joint Declaration on the situation of Christians in the Middle East. In the text, written in 8 points, gratitude to the Lord is underlined "for the growing closeness in faith and love between the Assyrian Church of the East and the Catholic Church." Churches have come closer than they have ever been over the centuries.

PER VATICAN NEWS ITALY ~ Translated to English on 03/07/2021 from https://www.vaticannews.va/it/papa/news/2021-03/viaggio-iraq-saluto-dopo-messa-erbil-chiesa-assira-oriente.html