Myanmar Junta Torches Century-Old Catholic Church| የምያንማር ኹንታ ጥንታዊውን የካቶሊክ ቤተ ክርስቲያን ሕንጻን አቃጠለው

💭 ቻን ታር፣ ምያንማር/በርማ፤ የምያንማር ጥንታዊው የቅድስት ድንግል ማርያም አብሳሪ ካቶሊክ ቤተ ክርስቲያን ሕንፃ በምያንማር ወታደራዊ መንግስት ተቃጥሎ ወደመ | እ.አ.አ በ1894 ዓ.ም ተመሠረተ

😲 “ካረን/Karen“ የሚለው ቃል ሰሞኑን ተደጋግሞ እየመጣብኝ ነው።

👉 ካረን/ Karen፤

• ፩. እንደ አክሱም ጽዮናውያን ከፍተኛ አድሎ የሚካሄድበት የ‘ምያንማር ጎሣ‘ መጠሪያ ነው
• ፪.’ የሴት ስም’ ነው
• ፫. አማካይ እድሜ ያላቸው ቀበጥባጣ የምዕራባውያን ነጭ ሴቶች ‘የቅጽል ስም’ ነው

… ግን ይህ መገጣጠም ምን ይሆን?

እጅግ በጣም አሳዛኝና አስገራሚ ነው፤ ታች እንደምናየው፤ ከሦስት ወራት በፊት የብራዚል ጥንታዊው የቅድስት ድንግል ማርያም አብሳሪ ኦርቶዶክስ ቤተ ክርስቲያን ሕንፃ እንዲሁ በቃጠሎ ወደሟል።

ከምስራቅ እስከ ምዕራብ፣ ከሰሜን እስከ ደቡብ፤‘የቅድስት ድንግል ማርያም አብሳሪ ዓብያተ ክርስቲያናት‘ ለምን? ሰይጣን ከእስር ስለተለቀቀ ይመስላል፤ በየሃገሩ ሥልጣን ላይ የወጡት የዋቄዮ–አላህ–ሉሲፈር ጭፍሮች ናቸው፤ በአክሱም ጽዮን፣ በማርያም ደንገላት፤ በጉንዳጉንዶ ማርያም ወዘተ አረመኔዎቹ እነ ዳግማዊ ግራኝ፣ ጂኒ ጁላና ጃዋር የፈጸሙትም ይህን ነው።

ለፈሪሳውያኑ የቤተ ክህነት ዓባላት አጀንዳ የሰጡ ሰለመሰላቸው የእናታችን ቅድስት ድንግል ማርያምን ክብር ለማሳነስ የሚደፍሩት ፕሮቴስታንት ጋላ–ኦሮሞ ፓስተሮችም የተለቀቀው ሰይጣን ጭፍሮችና የክርስቶስ ተቃዋሚው መልዕክተኞች ናቸው። አብዛኛዎቹ የኤሚራቱ እርኩስ መንፈስ ከነገሰባት ከሐረር አካባቢ መሆናቸው አያስደንቅም፤ ለጊዜው ይለፈልፉ ዘንድ አፍ ተሰጥቷቸዋል!

አዎ! የክርስቶስ ተቃዋሚ ይነሳል ግን በክርስቶስ ተሸንፎ ወደ ገሃነም ይጣላል። ቅዱሳን “ከመጀመሪያው ትንሣኤ” በኋላ ሲነግሱ ሰይጣን ለ “ሺህ ዓመታት” በሰንሰለት ታስሯል። ከዚያ ጊዜ ጊዜ በኋላ ፣ ሰይጣን ከእስር ተለቋል ፣ ከዚያ በኋላ በቤተክርስቲያኑ ላይ የመጨረሻ ጥቃት ይሰነዝራል። ግን እሳት ከሰማይ ወደቀች እና “አውሬው እና ሐሰተኛው ነቢይ” ወደ ነበሩበት “ወደ እሳቱ ገንዳ” የተጣለውን ዲያብሎስን ይበላዋል። ኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ ቤተክርስቲያኑን ለመቀበል በክብር ተመልሷል ፣ ሙታንን እንደየሥራቸው ይፈረድባቸዋል ፣ እሳት ይወድቃል እናም አዲስ ሰማያትና አዲስ ምድር ተሠርተዋል ፣ ዘላለማዊነትን ከፍተዋል። [ራዕይ.፳፩፥፩–፪]

😈 የዋቄዮ–አላህ–ሉሲፈር ጭፍሮች፤ ወዮላቸው!

✞ The 129-year-old Assumption Church in Chan Thar in Ye-U township in the northwestern Sagaing region was set ablaze on Jan. 15, along with many villagers’ homes.

Myanmar junta forces have continued their attacks on Christian communities by torching a more than century-old Catholic church in a predominantly Christian village.

The church was completely destroyed in the inferno. However, there were no human casualties as villagers managed to flee before the army arrived.

The place of worship built in 1894 had a ‘priceless’ historical value for Catholics and non-Catholics alike. Before setting fire to it, soldiers desecrated it by drinking and smoking inside. Catholics and Buddhists have lived together in harmony in the area for centuries. In the past year, the village has been attacked four times by militia, without any clashes or provocations.

It is a new wound for the religious minority, after two air force fighter jets carried out a raid in Karen State in recent days, destroying a church and killing five people including a child.

The first Catholic presence in the area, which refers to the diocese of Mandalay, dates back about 500 years and the village of Chan Thar itself arose and developed thanks to the work of descendants of Portuguese Catholics who then inhabited it for centuries.

In the village, the population has always been predominantly Catholic, scattered in 800 houses in close contact and harmony with two neighbouring Buddhist centres. Last year, the military set fire to the houses of Chan Thar on 7 May and a second time a month later, on 7 June 2022, destroying 135 buildings.

The third assault took place on 14 December, just before the start of the Christmas celebrations; the last was a few days ago, on 14 January 2023, when the Tatmadaw (Armed Forces) men razed and burnt almost all the houses.

Local sources, on condition of anonymity, report that the soldiers attacked and set fire to the church “for no apparent reason”, because there was no fighting or confrontation going on in the area, and without any provocation.

The soldiers had been stationed in the area in front of the church since the evening of 14 January, and before leaving the area, they carried out an “atrocity” by setting fire to the building and “completely burning” the church, the parish priest’s house and the centuries-old nunnery, which collapsed after being enveloped in flames.

The Church of Our Lady of the Assumption was a source of pride for Catholics in Upper Myanmar not only because of its centuries-old tradition, the baptism of the first bishop and the birth of three other archbishops and over 30 priests and nuns.

The place of worship was in fact a historical and cultural heritage for the entire country, including Buddhists, and proof of this is the climate of fraternal cooperation that was established between the different communities.

The church, bell tower and other buildings were destroyed on the morning of 15 January. Government soldiers, an eyewitness revealed, also “desecrated” the sacredness of the place by “looting, drinking alcohol and smoking” inside.

In response to the attack, a number of Burmese priests on social networks have been raising appeals to pray for the country and for the Christian community itself. On the other hand, there have been no official statements or declarations from the Archdiocese of Yangon and Card. Charles Bo.

“We are deeply sorrowful as our historic church has been destroyed. It was our last hope,” a Catholic villager, who did not want to be identified due to repercussions by the army, said.

Villagers said a Marian grotto and the adoration chapel were spared. But the parish priest’s house and the nuns’ convent were destroyed.

They said the army arrived in the village in the conflict-torn Sagaing region on the evening of Jan. 14 and set many houses on fire and stayed in the church overnight before setting it ablaze early on Jan. 15, when local Catholics were expected to arrive for worship.

More than 500 houses in the village were also destroyed. in what was the fourth raid on the village in eight months.

“We have no more houses and the church where there was an antique painting of St Mary, which can’t be replaced,” another resident who wished to remain anonymous said.

The junta is targeting the Sagaing region to tackle growing resistance to its rule by people’s defense forces who are suspected to be based there.

Christians make up around 8.2 percent of Myanmar’s 55 million population. The junta has repeatedly raided Chan Thar since May, 2022. Nearly 20 houses were destroyed and two Catholics, including a mentally disturbed person, were killed during a raid on May 7, 2022. More than 100 houses were set ablaze a month later on June 7. In a raid on Dec.14, more than 300 houses were torched.

Thousands have fled the village since last May and taken shelter in churches near Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city, and at relatives’ homes in other parts of the country.

Chaung Yoe, Mon Hla and Chan Thar, which are part of Mandalay archdiocese, are known as Bayingyi villages because their inhabitants claim that they are the descendants of Portuguese adventurers who arrived in the region in the 16th and 17th centuries. These villages have produced many bishops, priests, and nuns for the Church.

✞ São Paulo: The Oldest Orthodox Church in Brazil Was Destroyed by a Fire

👉 ገብርኤል 👉 ማርያም 👉 ኡራኤል 👉 ጊዮርጊስ 👉 ተክለ ሐይማኖት 😇 ዮሴፍ 👉 መድኃኔ ዓለም

• ❖ ኢትዮጵያ
• ❖ ግብጽ
• ❖ ናይጄሪያ
• ❖ ሩሲያ
• ❖ ዩክሬይን
• ❖ ኮሶቪ/ሰርቢያ
• ❖ ቱርክ
• ❖ ብራዚል
• ❖ አሜሪካ
• ❖ ምያንማር

.…ዓብያተ ክርስቲያናት በየቦታው እየተቃጠሉ ነው

💭 ሳዖ ፓውሎ፤ የብራዚል ጥንታዊው የቅድስት ድንግል ማርያም አብሳሪ ኦርቶዶክስ ቤተ ክርስቲያን ሕንፃ በቃጠሎ ወደመ | እ.አ.አ በ1904 ዓ.ም ተመሠረተ

በ2016 ዓ.ም ላይ የሩሲያ ኦርቶዶክስ ቤተክርስቲያን ፓትርያርክ ኪሪል ይህን የብራዚል የቅድስት ድንግል ማርያም አብሳሪ ቤተ ክርስቲያንን ጎብኝተውት ነበር።

የሩሲያ ኦርቶዶክስ ቤተ ክርስቲያን ፓትርያርክ ኪሪል እሁድ በሳኦ ፓውሎ ሜትሮፖሊታን ኦርቶዶክስ ካቴድራል ሥርዓተ ቅዳሴ አከበሩ። ይህ ካቴድራል፣ ለብዙዎቹ የብራዚል ኦርቶዶክስ እምነት ተከታዮች ዋና የጸሎት ቤታቸው ነው።

✞✞✞ አቤቱ ምህረትህን ስጠን ✞✞✞

• ❖ Ethiopia
• ❖ Egypt
• ❖ Nigeria
• ❖ Russia
• ❖ Ukraine
• ❖ Kosovo/Serbia
• ❖ Turkey
• ❖ Brazil
• ❖ USA
• ❖ Myanmar

….Churches are burning everywhere

💭 The Antiochian Orthodox Church of the Annunciation to the Theotokos, in São Paulo, was destroyed in a fire yesterday and today. It had been founded in 1904 by Syrian and Lebanese immigrants, seven years after the first Divine Liturgy in Brazilian history had been celebrated in a room in the same street. The community had mostly merged with that of the Orthodox Metropolitan Cathedral, but there were still weekly liturgies that kept the memory of the temple alive. Only the altar survived, but some icons could be retrieved from the walls.

The fire started in a nearby store, and it doesn’t seem anyone was hurt.

In 2016, Patriarch Kirill, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church visited The Antiochian Orthodox Church of the Annunciation to the Theotokos, which was founded in 1904

✞✞✞ Lord, have mercy. ✞✞✞

______________

The Feast of the Assumption of Saint Mary | Filseta — ፍልሰታ

😇 The Feast of the Assumption of Saint Mary | Filseta — ፍልሰታ 😇

Filseta (Ge’ez: ፍልሰታ) or The Assumption of Virgin Mary is a feast day observed by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church in commemoration of the Dormition and Assumption of Mary.

The Assumption of Virgin Mary is the most highly honored feast among all the feasts of the Saints. Observed on August 22 (August/Nehase 16 According to the Ethiopian calendar), the Feast of the Assumption commemorates the entrance of Saint Mary’s corporeal body and soul into heaven as she preceded the faithful believers, taking her seat at the right hand of her bridegroom and Son. The feast is based on the conviction that the Lord did not permit the body in which He Himself had dwelt to fall prey to corruption and dissolution: though Mary as a human being underwent death, she was taken up into heaven. To Ethiopians, the celebration of this event bears a powerful witness to the eschatological truth of their faith. As members of the Church, they await the final consummation. On the Last Day, the righteous will rise from the grave and be united once more to a body–not a body such as we possess now, but one that is transfigured and “spiritual” a body in which inward sanctity is made outwardly manifest. The Ethiopian faithful, assured of their resurrection first and foremost by the resurrection of their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, are being further assured by the Assumption of their sister, the Virgin Mary, and therefore observe the Feast of the Assumption with high honor and supreme joy. (1 Cor. 15:40-42)

Ethiopian Orthodox Christians have a striking loyalty to their faith which is easily observed during such seasons as the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, Mother of God. This devotion is expressed, as we have seen, through the rich and varied hymns and prayers dedicated to the Virgin, in addition to the splendid titles and the poetic imagery which are associated with her. Thus, Ethiopians have retained a sense of the mystery and miracle of the incarnation of God, God’s relationship with humanity, the divine maternity of Mary, her favor with God and her identity with the people of God throughout the ages. Almost every facet of the Ethiopian Orthodox liturgy and worship is an elaboration of the grace of God extended to humanity in the mystery of the incarnation of our Lord anti Savior Jesus Christ through the holy Virgin Mary. In this respect, Ethiopian Christians see the election of the Virgin by God as the instrument for the work of salvation.

The Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary is important for Ethiopian Orthodox believers for several reasons. For one thing, much of the life of the Orthodox is spent in recitation of the prayers and of the devotional literature honoring the Virgin Mary. Throughout their lives, they listen time and again to the stories of the Virgin’s life and hardships, joys and sorrows contained in the apocryphal gospels and The Book of the Miracles, as well as others. These stories form a part of the Orthodox Christian’s very consciousness; they strengthen his or her identity and experience in its similarity to the Virgin Mary From the beginning of their Christian life, the Orthodox believers are assured that Mary, in so far as she is a human being, is their sister; and because she has suffered in a fallen world like all human beings, she is their Mother, well acquainted with the pain and agony of this world and ready to comfort and save. Finally, because the Virgin is above all the Mother of God, she is their hope, for through her our salvation has become accessible in her Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Thus, the celebration of the Feast of the Assumption is not merely an interlude between engagements; for the Ethiopian Christian, the annual Feast of the Virgin is the ever-repeated Culmination of a life-time of teaching and learning, listening and believing. In this Feast, the believer celebrates all that the Virgin Mary has come to mean to him or her. It is here, in the context of her Assumption, that the faithful affirm the attributes of the Mother of God, the Virgin Mary. She is to them the intercessor, the virgin mother, the sister, the Lady of Sorrows, the queen–seated beside her Son, our Lord and Saviour, in heavenly glory.

In addition, the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary emphasizes the nature of God, God’s concern for the world which He created, His desire to redeem and save it through the willing participation of a humble woman, the two-fold Virgin Mary, who was pure in body and in soul. In this respect, the Feast of the Virgin represents a celebration of God’s love and charity. God gave His only Son to the world that the world might live through Him; the Virgin Mary willingly chose to participate in that salvation, and to bear to the world God Himself! Thus, the Feast of the Assumption is a time when the faithful express their gratitude to Mary through the works of charity, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked; visiting the sick; comforting the sorrowful, welcoming the stranger. In this way, they hope to express something of the unconditional love of God as expressed in the life of the Virgin Mary, His Mother. Indeed, the very name of Mary, understood within the context of the life of the Ethiopian Orthodox Incarnation Church, has come to be associated with the kindness, the tenderness, the love, and the mercy of God Himself. The Feast of the Assumption is also a time when the faithful examine their lives in light of the purity, holiness, and obedience of the virgin. Remembering her faithfulness to God and sacrificial love for her precious Son, the faithful are reminded of their own relationship to Him, or lack thereof. In this spirit one fasts, one prays, one dedicates anew his or her life to God. The Virgin Mary is associated with all of this. In her, the Orthodox see the purity of her virginity and thus, the willingness and capacity for serving God. In the purity of her obedience to God expressed in her response to the angel’s message, “Behold, I am thy handmaiden, let it be done to me according to thy word”, they see her faithfulness and in the purity of her gratitude and love for God. For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name! they see the meaning of humility and thanksgiving. Mary is the expression of what God intends for them; she is the one, though human, who expresses the perfect will of God; she is humanity par excellence. One could say that like the Apostles before them the faithful fast in order to see and perceive the attributes, the holiness, the purity, the wonder of the Virgin Mary. (Luke 1:38, 1:49)

The celebration of the Feast of the Virgin is clearly a celebration of God’s victory over death as expressed in the assumption of the Virgin Mary and of the eschatological assurance that what Mary enjoys, eternal life in heaven’s glory, is that to which we can look forward in the future. Because the Virgin Mary shares in our death and has assumed her place in God’s kingdom, we have the sure hope that we will one day share her victory over a world of sin, decay, and corruption. She is the first-fruit of God’s eternal kingdom. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has received her in the heavenly places; He has made a place for His blessed Mother. For this reason, we, too, await the day when we will be joined together with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Mary, who is in every way a human being, like ourselves a daughter of Adam, assures us of our hope. In a sense, one could say that for the Ethiopian Christian, Mary is the guarantee of the promise of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

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ፍልሰታ ለማርያም (ኪዳነ ምሕረት) – ነሐሴ ፲፮

😇 የእመቤታችን ትንሣኤና እርገት መታሰቢያ – በጾመ ፍልሰታ ወቅት ብዙዎች ከቤታቸው ተለይተው በመቃብር ቤት ዘግተው፣ አልጋና ምንጣፍ ትተው፣ በመሬት ላይ ተኝተው ዝግን ጥሬ እፍኝ ውኃ እየቀመሱ በጾምና በጸሎት በመትጋት በታላቅ ተጋድሎ ይሰነብታሉ፡፡ በሰሙነ ፍልሰታ ምእመናን ለእመቤታችን ያላቸውን ጽኑና ጥልቅ ፍቅር የሚያሳዩበት ነው፡፡

ጌታችን ሦስት መዓልት ሦስት ሌሊት በከርሰ መቃብር ቆይቶ ሙስና መቃብር ሳያገኘው፣ መግነዝ ፍቱልኝ መቃብር ክፈቱልኝ ሳይል በሥልጣኑ እሑድ በመንፈቀ ሌሊት እንደተነሣ ሁሉ እርሷም በተቀበረች በሦስተኛው ቀን ማኅደረ መለኮት ናትና ሙስና መቃብር ሳያገኛት መግነዝ ፍቱልኝ፣ መቃብር ክፈቱልኝ ሳትል የልጅዋ ሥልጣን ኃይል ሆኗት መነሣቷን ትንሣኤዋ “ከመ ትንሣኤ ወልዳ፤ እንደ ልጅዋ ትንሣኤ”ነው ተብሎ ሲከበርላት ይኖራል፡፡

በዚሁ በነሐሴ ፲፮ ቀን የሰማእቱ የቅዱስ ጊዮርጊስ ፍልሰቱ ነው፡፡ ሥጋው ከፋርስ ሀገር ወደ ሀገሩ ወደ ልዳ በክብር የፈለሰበት ነው፡፡ ፍልሰቴን ከፍልሰትሽ አድርጊልኝ፣ ብሎ ለምኗት ስለነበር ፍልሰቱ ከእመቤታችን ፍልሰት ጋር እንዳሰበው ሆኖለታል፡፡ ስለዚህም እርሷን መውደዱ የሚያውቁ ሥእሉን ከሥእሏ አጠገብ ይስላሉ፡፡ በስሙ ለሚማጸኑ የድኅነት ወደብ ይሆን ዘንድ፡፡

😇 የእመቤታችን አማላጅነቷ አይለየን አሜን።

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