May 23, 2009

His Excellency Mar Bawai Soro visiting St. Paul Church

By: Sargon Yadegar

His Excellency Mar Bawai returned to St. Paul Assyrian-Chaldean Catholic Church of the East, approximately two months after his last visit. On Saturday, May 16th, His Excellency sat together with the representatives of various committees of St. Paul parish for lunch, enjoying both, delicious cuisine of Middle Eastern food and the friendly conversation with the committee members. After lunch all participants gathered for a discussion on the current affairs of the church in general and St. Paul parish in particular. Fr. Noel welcomed His Excellency on his visit to St. Paul and started off the discussion by introducing the representatives of each committee to His Excellency.

Mar Bawai listened to all attentively and offered to provide his counsel and advice to us after a close review of the matters at hand.

As to one of the questions related to the recent statement issued by the holy synod of the Chaldean Catholic Church in Ankawa, Iraq, His Grace spent a considerable time to explain the facts and the chronology of the events, which had led to its issuance by the synod members.

In his closing remarks His Excellency reminded all participants of the need to work together based on two important considerations. First, noting that the Chaldean Church is consisting of Assyrians and Chaldeans, plus other groups of faithful, therefore all of its people and their particularities are respected equally. Second he noted that we as Christians need to incorporate God's love and Christian principles in the way we function and in how we treat each other.

On Sunday, 17th May, the Divine Liturgy began by the readings from the Holy Bible with the presence of Church faithful, choir members, deacons, both priests, and His Excellency. The sermon delivered by Mar Bawai was about the unity in church and to be One as our Lord Jesus Christ prayed in the Gospel of John (17:21). His Excellency recalled the situation before the unification with the Chaldean Catholic Church and then discussed his current status, waiting for his official appointment within the Catholic Hierarchy by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI. Later Mar Bawai discussed the questions posed to him by a multitude of parishioners regarding the recent declaration of the Chaldean Holy Synod. He explained that as a result of his inquiry into the matter he was informed that several hundreds of adherents of the Chaldean Catholic Church have been targeted by certain Christian sects to divert them from the Catholic Church into Western Evangelical churches, an issue which His Eminence Cardinal Mar Emmanuel Delly III, the patriarch of Chaldean Church has spoken about it clearly in the past. In the end Mar Bawai reminded the faithful that the TRUE UNITY is achieved when the Christian love for each other is expressed through mutual acts that establish equality in dignity and rights between Chaldeans and Assyrians, and by accepting each other as one and the same. Unity is not achieved when we only say "we are one" but what we do that expresses the unity in deeds and actions. The parishioners burst in a continuous applaud upon the conclusion of His Excellency’s sermon.

Mar Bawai also baptized a young man, Mr. Brandon Michael Bader during the holy mass, which was to highlight both sacraments of baptism and confirmation.