Anglican Communion News Service

Since the very first days of the Syrian conflict in March 2011, we have prayed as we watched in horror and sorrow the escalating violence that has rent this country apart. We have grieved with all Syrians - with the families of each and every human life lost and with all communities whose neighbourhoods and livelihoods have suffered from escalating and pervasive violence.

 

Members of the Anglican Communion are being asked urgently to pray for an end to the violence in Syria.

Five different churches in Egypt including the Coptic Orthodox Church, the Catholic Church, the Evangelical (Presbyterian) Church, the Greek Orthodox Church and the Anglican Church have joined together to form the Egypt Council of Churches after one year of deliberations and meetings between the churches.

 

A document to help Anglicans around the world to engage more deeply with and become more informed about the issues surrounding the situation in the Holy Land, is online and will soon be available to buy as a book.

Bishop in Jerusalem, Bp Suheil Dawani has spoken out against sexual violence affecting women and children escaping Syria. In a piece written for ACNS, the Bishop says the crisis "requires urgent action" and calls Christians do work in their own contexts to change attitudes to women.

Orient and Occident online magazine seeks to promote not just coexistence but cooperation with Muslims.

Canon Andrew White, the vicar of the only Anglican church in Baghdad, said it was "a major miracle" that a bus load of children returning from their First Communion were not killed in a double bomb attack.

The Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem, a former Episcopal bishop of Washington and four Iranian Shi’ite Muslims, two holding the rank of ayatollah, are among the religious leaders who’ve traveled to Beirut, Lebanon, for the second Christian-Muslim peace summit organized by Washington National Cathedral.

Together with all Egyptians, the Episcopal / Anglican Church of Egypt mourns the loss of Pope Shenouda III, the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church.

The Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem and his family are celebrating today after finally getting permission to remain in the city after many months of legal and diplomat appeals.

The Most Revd Mouneer Anis, Bishop of Egypt and President Bishop of the Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, told the annual conference of the Anglican mission agency USPG on Monday: "Christians - and Anglicans in particular - have a special role to play in helping to establish peace in Egypt and through the Middle East."

In a BBC radio interview the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has expressed his deep anxiety for Christians in the Middle East, but also cautious optimism about possible outcomes of the Arab Spring.

The Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem and Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, the Rt. Revd Suheil Dawani has decided to take his case to court after months of unsuccessful efforts to have his residency visa renewed after it was revoked by the government of Israel.

First, I would like to thank you so much for your prayers, phone calls, and messages from around the world that you have sent in the last few days. I want you to know that these meant a lot to me personally and to your brothers and sisters in the church here.  

 

The Anglican Bishop of Egypt has said all Anglican/Episcopal churches in the country are having to strengthen their security measures following the New Year’s Eve bombing that killed 19 and injured more than 90.

Today (Wednesday 14 January 2009) brought more injured and wounded patients to Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, as each of the last 18 days has. One patient who came to Al Ahli recently was Mohan'nad, a 9 year-old boy whose leg was badly injured when a building near his home was damaged. Thankfully, the doctors and staff at Al Ahli were able to save his leg.

Jerusalem, January 7th, 2009 - At a time when great tragedy is occurring in the Holy Land in Gaza, I want to share some insight into what we are experiencing on a moment to moment basis. Our Diocese has one of 11 hospitals serving a population of 1.5 million residents in the Gaza Strip. The Al Ahli Arab (Anglican) Hospital has been in operation for over 100 years and has a very dedicated medical staff of doctors, nurses, technicians and general services personnel.

Jerusalem - During recent weeks, the three Abrahamic Faiths have observed their Holy Seasons with a sense of peace and goodwill. Therefore, we are greatly grieved by the severity of the ongoing military operations in Gaza that are occurring in heavily populated areas and impacting the civilian population.

The peaceful images evoked by the Christmas carol "O Little Town of Bethlehem" have not always reflected the current reality in the birthplace of Jesus but this year there are reasons for hope.

The Anglican Bishop of Cyprus and the Gulf, whose diocese includes Iraq, has expressed his strong solidarity with all Christians there at a time when they in particular are suffering a spate of violence. The bishop recently visited Baghdad, where he met religious and political leaders, including major Shi'a and Sunni figures, as well as diplomats.