“Cause of fire that destroyed heritage-listed church in St John’s Wood may never be known„ Reverend Kate Harrison
👉 A commentator wrote:
“CCTV footage? Or has that mysteriously disappeared?
Very interesting- it’s now becoming very common across Europe that these church’s that can stand for a 1000 years and over the last ten years many have just ignited – it’s incredible interesting how this has now become the norm, what’s become the biggest concern is the main media don’t say a thing, I suppose no one in Britain seems to care about culture or faith. A female vicar………….have you read the Bible lately?
A dilemma it is – I wonder why or who would do this ? Have you noticed how in every city that becomes “diverse”, all the churches mysteriously start catching fire?
It’s time for the reincarnation of Sherlock Homes the fictional character to present the fictional facts to satisfy the said media and local groups that represent Britain today or do we need just a policeman with bollocks to take on the media and present who or what group may seek to want the loss of ANOTHER CHRISTIAN CHURCH ⛪️ ..„
👉 I say: The church was burned by the usual suspect arsonists, destroyers and murderers; by 🐷 Children of Lucifer Morningstar:
☆ Ishmaelites (Mohammedans)
☆ Edomites (Atheists & Masons)
☆ Citizens of Sodom
♰ This beautiful church described as a historical treasure and which has links to the Royal Family has been tragically destroyed in a fire.
St Mark’s Church in St John’s Wood, which is grade 2 listed, was home to many significant memorials, artifacts and mosaics, and had strong ties to Queen Victoria’s son Prince Leopold, whose tutor was vicar there for around four decades, and the Prince himself laid a foundation stone there in 1877.
Built in 1846 to replace a small temporary building which had been set up to cater for the expanding population of St John’s Wood
Survived being hit by an enemy bomb in 1941 during World War Two, with work to rebuild its spire being completed in 1955
The interior features several memorials including one commemorating the tragedy of the Herald of Free Enterprise, a cross channel ferry which capsized off Zeebrugge in 1987
The floor and walls are decorated with ornate mosaics including multicoloured and gold depictions of Bible passages
Robinson Duckworth was appointed vicar of St Mark’s in 1870 after spending four years as Prince Leopold’s tutor. Prince Leopold also laid the church’s foundation stone when it was built
Duckworth was immortalised as the duck in the jury box in Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and was in the boat when the writer first told his famous story.
Since the ordination of the first women in 1994, its make-up has changed quite drastically. Between 2002 and 2012, the number of female full-time clergy increased by 41 per cent while number of full-time male clergy dropped nearly at the same rate. Now women comprise one in five members of the full-time clergy and there are far more part-time clergy the majority of whom are women.
At this rate the Church will soon mirror the medical profession and suffer all the same problems that feminisation has brought with it – a ‘part time institution’ working in its female clergy ‘s (family friendly) interests rather than for its congregation.
And guess what, as the wimmin have risen, church attendance has fallen. It’s halved in the forty years since my dad retired with more churches losing congregation members than are gaining them. If there is no correlation between these two trends, then I am the Pope.
People might approve of the idea of women vicars for all sorts of politically correct reasons. Who would dare not? That doesn’t mean they like them in practice.
But instead of waking up to this self fulfilling downwards spiral of destruction, all the Church of England feebly does is push it further. Having women bishops has become more important than dealing with declining church attendances – as though ‘gender equality’ was of spiritual significance. It is not. It is purely ideological and political. It says more about women’s demands for status and power than about any godly calling – more about the modern female ego than about spiritual humility that is for sure.
No wonder that so few self respecting, serious and educated young men, as my father was, would want to sign up to this part-time feminised force to answer their calling.
For the more women are ordained as ‘self-supported members’ (providing their own financial backing while working part-time elsewhere) and thereby are allowed to be a vicar without the burden of doing the real job, the fewer real jobs there are for men. No wonder the number of women ordained has begun to exceed those of men.
No wonder congregations drop off and no wonder there are fewer baptisms, weddings and funerals in church.
No wonder at all when those leading the Church are too blind to see this connection or are too ready to sacrifice their belief and their mission on what can only be described as the altar of gender politics.
❖ The Church of England has announced its support for a proposal that will allow congregations to bless same-sex unions but maintain a traditional definition of marriage.
❖❖❖ [Mark 13:1-13] ❖❖❖
1 And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples saith unto him, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!
2 And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately,
4 Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?
5 And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you:
6 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
7 And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet.
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
9 But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them.
10 And the gospel must first be published among all nations.
11 But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.
12 Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death.
13 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
🔥 Fortunately, no one was hurt; 10 children and the bus driver managed to extricate themselves from the car before it was completely engulfed in flames in the city of Nimes, in southern France.
🔥 Massive explosion At A Building Housing Thousands of Lithium Batteries In France
A massive explosion occurred at the Bollore Logistics facility in Grand-Couronne, France, that houses thousands of lithium batteries.
Hundreds of firefighters were battling a huge blaze that broke out last night, Monday, January 16, as the result of an explosion at a facility belonging to Bollore Logistics. Located near the city of Rouen, in the Normandy region of Grand-Couronne in northern France, the building reportedly houses thousands of lithium batteries.
❖ Fire
❖ France
❖ Frankincense
❖ The Three Wise Men (Magi)
❖ Axum, Ethiopia
❖ The Ark of The Covenant
❖ The Genocidal War Against Axum Zion
❖ FM Catherine COLONNA
❖ Tomb of the Three Magi in COLOGNE (Colonia) – EAU DE COLOGNE
When the wise men (or magi) found Jesus, they bowed down and presented Him gifts of Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh [Matthew 2:11]
The three gifts had a spiritual meaning: gold as a symbol of kingship on earth, frankincense (an incense) as a symbol of deity, and myrrh (an embalming oil) as a symbol of death.
👉 Etymology: The English word Frankincense derives from the Old French expression ‘franc encens’, meaning ‘high-quality incense’. The word franc in Old French meant ‘noble, pure’. Although named frankincense, the name is not referring to the Franks.
✞ AXUM ZION = Home of The Ark of The Covenant + GOLD, FRANKINCENSE & MYRRH
🛑 Corona Virus – Lungs – Oxygen – Breath – Frankincense – Tree of Life
✞ This week is Epiphany (Timket) , a three-day religious festival that is one of the most important events on the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo calendar.
For Western Christians, Epiphany is the day the Magi visited the baby Jesus. Most Christians in the West follow the Gregorian calendar, and the holiday is celebrated on January 6 or 7. For Eastern Orthodox Christians, Epiphany celebrates the baptism of Jesus (rather than the visit of the Magi). Eastern churches using the Gregorian calendar (for example, most Greeks) also celebrate Epiphany on January 6 or 7. For those using the ‘Julian’ calendar (like Greek Old Calendarists and Ethiopian Orthodox), Epiphany falls on January 19.
Timkat is the Ethiopian Orthodox celebration of Epiphany. The Chapel of the Tablet in Axum houses The original Ark of the Covenant or Tabot. Tabot is taking out of the chapel during a Timkat. A priest carrying a covered Tabot on his head and parading through the streets to the pool area. Tabot is storing inside a ceremonial tent (Tabernacle) for first night.
Last week, France – alongside Germany’s FM – sent its Foreign Minister Catherine COLONNA to Ethiopia to meet the notorious ‘Black Hitler’ aka Abiy Ahmed Ali, who massacred, and is still starving to death over a million ancient Orthodox Christians of Axumite Ethiopia. Protecting the genocider – the ‘depopulation agent’ of the Edomite West and Ishamelite East. What an evil crime! Well, Everything Jinni Ahmed touches burns or dies!
🔥 The genocidal war against Axumite Ethiopians is a spiritual war on Christianity + The Ark of The Covenant + Gold + Frankincense + Myrrh & Tree of Life.
✞ Magi’s Tomb in Axum (Aksum), Ethiopia
A Magi’s Tomb may have been found in Axum (Aksum), Ethiopia. The Birth of Christ is said to have taken place in the eighth year of Emperor Bazén’s reign. The Ethiopian church teaches that Emperor Bazén was one of the Magi who visited Jesus soon after his birth. He delivered the gift of Frankincense.
Emperor Bazén (Jewish), whose name also appears as Zäbe’esi Bazén, ZäBazén Balthazar or Tazén, was the seventeenth or twenty-first ruler of the Solomonic line according to the shorter King Lists or the twenty-fifth or twenty-sixth ruler of his line according to the longer King Lists.
Because papyrus and skins did not survive due to the humidity, of old it has only been oral tradition, or stone inscriptions. What we think is the Magi’s tomb, can be visited today in Axum (Aksum) as can the Boswellia grove that the frankincense most likely came from. When the Emperor returned to Axum he announced that the Messiah had been born. There are several accounts of who the Magi specifically were.
The so-called “Stone of Bazen” is now built into one of the walls of the cathedral of Maryam Tseyon at Aksum, or St. Mary of Zion. It is St. Mary of Zion where many believe the Ark of the Covenant is waiting. (Zephaniah 3:10-12: From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia my worshipers, the daughter of My dispersed ones, shall bring My offering.)
In addition to the Tomb of Bazén, located to the West of the city of Axum is what is called the Tomb of Ityopis. The Book of Aksum that was kept at St. Mary of Zion church and was written in the 14th to 17th century AD with updates in the 19th century AD states that Ityopis was the great grandson of Noah.
The late Ruth Plant identified the location per archeologist Stuart Munro-Hay.
Modern day Israel confirms the great numbers of Beta Israel living in Ethiopia. Bazen ruled at a time of great Judaic influence in Aksum. Could Bazen have been one of the great Magi that was one of Daniel’s understudies? Is the Magi’s Tomb where we think it is? Join us on a Christian trip to Ethiopia and learn for yourself.
😇 The Relics of The Three Magi in the city of COLOGNE (Colonia – Catherine COLONNA)
The Shrine of the Three Kings, also known as the Tomb of the Three Kings or the Tomb of the Three Magi, is a reliquary traditionally believed to contain the bones of the Biblical Magi, also known as the Three Kings or the Three Wise Men. The shrine is a large gilded and decorated triple sarcophagus placed above and behind the high altar of Cologne Cathedral in Germany. It is considered the high point of Mosan art and the largest reliquary in the western world.
According to legend dating to the 12th century, the relics of the Magi were originally situated at Constantinople after being discovered by Saint Helen, but brought to Milan with two small cows which transported a large sarcophagus of marble by Bishop Eustorgius I of Milan in 344, to whom they were entrusted by the Emperor Constans I. Eight centuries later in 1164, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa took the relics of the Magi from the Church of Saint Eustorgio in Milan and gave them to the Archbishop of Cologne, Rainald of Dassel. The Three Kings have since attracted a constant stream of pilgrims to Cologne. A part of these relics were returned to the Basilica of Sant’Eustorgio of Milan in 1904.
✞ 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
💭 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
💭 Fr Isaac Achi of Ss Peter and Paul Church in Kafin Koro, in Niger State, was murdered by assailants who set fire to his house in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Fr Collins Omeh, the assistant priest, was shot while trying to escape the building but survived his injuries and is being treated in hospital.
According to Diocese of Minna, the priest is “responding to treatment”.
Fr Amanchukwu Emeka, the chancellor of Minna Diocese, said: “Please pray for healing mercy from God for Collins.”
Some media reports have claimed that the gunmen doused the outside of the building with petrol and set fire to it after failing for more than an hour to break in.
Sources told Aid to the Church in Need, the Catholic charity for persecuted Christians, that they believed the attackers’ initial motive was to kidnap Fr Achi.
One said: “Because of the dimension and the duration of the assault, we can say that it was planned and organised.”
During the attack, Fr Achi managed to contact relatives, who alerted the police, but no-one attempted to rescue him during the attack. He had previously survived a bombing of 2011.
The attack took place the same day that Fr Michael Olofinlade of Ibadan Archdiocese in south Nigeria was kidnapped.
Last year a total of 28 priests were kidnapped in Nigeria and four were murdered. Aid to the Church in Need revealed in “Persecuted and Forgotten? A Report on Christians oppressed for their Faith 2020-22” that about 7,600 Christians were killed in the country between January 2021 and June 2022.
Speaking in November at the report launch, Bishop Jude Arogundade of Ondo, Nigeria, told the Houses of Parliament that the persecution of Christians in his country by Islamic militants is tantamount to a genocide.
He said: “I strongly appeal to this important body and all people of goodwill to compel the Nigerian government to stop the genocide.”
He urged UK politicians at the very least to “ask for help from other countries before Nigeria is overrun as is the case of Afghanistan”.
“The entire nation is on the edge, apprehensive of a major offensive that may sweep round the entire country,” he said.
The bishop had earlier emerged into the international limelight last summer when he publicly criticised Irish President Michael D. Higgins for blaming “climate change” for the massacre of 41 Catholics, including many children, by Islamists during a Mass at St Francis’ Church, Owo, a parish in his diocese.
President Higgins had suggested moral parity between the massacre “and any attempt to scapegoat pastoral peoples who are among the foremost victims of the consequences of climate change”.
Bishop Arogundade said, however, that “terror attacks, banditry, and unabated onslaught in Nigeria and in the Sahel Region and climate change have nothing in common”.
Any informed person could see “that alluding to some form of politics of climate change in our present situation is completely inappropriate”, the bishop continued.
“Terrorists are on free loose slaughtering, massacring, injuring, and installing terror in different parts of Nigeria since over eight years not because of any reasonable thing but because they are evil — period.”
The scale and frequency of attacks by jihadists means Nigeria is now rated as the seventh most dangerous country in the world for Christians, according to the Open Doors human rights group.
💭 In the video, armed men burning civilians to death in Western Ethiopia. Some of the men in the crowd are wearing Ethiopian military uniforms as well as uniforms from other regional security forces.
The Karen are a large and dispersed ethnic group of Southeast Asia. They trace their origins to the Gobi Desert, Mongolia, or Tibet. Karen settled in Burma/Myanmar’s southern Irrawaddy Delta area and in the hills along the Salween River in eastern Myanmar and in neighboring Thailand. In the past numerous peoples were considered Karen sub-groups: the Pwo Karen (mostly delta rice-growers), the Sgaw Karen of the mountains; and the Kayahs (also called Karennis), Pa-Os, and Kayans (also called Padaungs), who live in the Karenni and Shan States of Myanmar. Now all of these groups consider themselves distinct ethnic groups.
The total population of Karen in around 6 million (although some it could be as high as 9 million according to some sources) with 4 million to 5 million in Myanmar, over 1 million in Thailand, 215,000 in the United States(2018), more than 11,000 in Australia, 4,500 to 5,000 in Canada and 2,500 in India in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and 2,500 in Sweden,
🔥 ‘A Living Hell’: Churches, Clergy Targeted By Myanmar Military
On Thursday, a Baptist pastor and a Catholic deacon were killed in Lay Wah village, two women wounded, hundreds flee. Karen rebels call the attack a “war crime”, urge the international community to cut off fuel supplies to ruling military junta. Myanmar’s government-in-exile condemns the attacks, extends condolences to victims’ families.
Thursday afternoon two jet fighters attacked Lay Wah, a village located in Mutraw district, Karen State, south-eastern Myanmar.
The area is under the control of the Karen National Union (KNU) whose armed wing, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), has been repeatedly engaged in heavy fighting with Myanmar’s regular army.
At least five people were killed as a result of the bombing. Hundreds of residents hastily left their homes and fled, fearing further raids and more violence.
Local sources report that at least two bombs were dropped. Over the past few days, two churches and a school, as well as several other buildings were hit.
The mother and the child died instantly, while a Baptist pastor and a Catholic deacon succumbed later to their injuries. Two other women were wounded albeit not seriously.
The child, Naw Marina, would have turned three next month; she died along with her mother, Naw La Kler Paw; Catholic deacon Naw La Kler Paw; Rev Saw Cha Aye; and the last victim, Saw Blae, a villager who helped out in church.
Four large craters now dot the area, the result of the blasts; some believe the churches were the target. But luckily, the death toll was limited because the school was closed. For some time, its pupils have been attending lessons in a nearby forest.
KNU spokesperson Padoh Saw Taw Nee described the bombing as a “war crime”. For him, “It is very important to stop the supply of fuel for the junta military’s aircraft,” to limit the attacks.
“I ask again that the international community take more effective action against the junta,” he added.
Following the bombing of Lay Wah, Myanmar’s exiled National Unity Government (NUG), which includes former MPs from Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League of Democracy, issued a statement condemning the raid.
“We convey our condolences to all those who have lost their lives,” the press release said. “ We pledge that we will do our utmost to bring justice for all those lives lost, be it national or international,”
Myanmar’s military junta has repeatedly attacked civilian targets in Karen and Kachin states and Sagaing and Magwe regions. So far, the bombing campaign has killed at least 460 civilians, including many children.
👉 Just in:
One person was killed and eight others wounded when rebels opposed to the ruling junta attacked a state celebration in eastern Myanmar today, the military said.
The nation has been in turmoil since Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government was toppled in an army coup almost two years ago.
Long-established ethnic rebel groups, as well as dozens of “People’s Defence Forces” (PDF), have emerged in opposition.
The junta said one man was killed when a rebel group and PDF shelled an event in eastern Kayah’s capital Loikaw early Sunday as people gathered to celebrate the anniversary of the state’s recognition.
“The artillery fell at the celebration area near city hall and at the ward where people were staying,” a junta statement said.
Among those wounded were six students, as well as a man and a woman, the military said, adding that some security services personnel were also hurt.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
More than 2,700 civilians have been killed since the military grabbed power in February 2021, according to a local monitoring group.
The junta blames anti-coup fighters for a civilian death toll it has put at almost 3,900. — AFP
🏎️ Jay Leno Is Recovering After Suffering Serious Burn Injuries From a Gasoline Fire
Former Tonight Show host Jay Leno was seriously burned when one of his vehicles erupted in flames at his Los Angeles-based garage, according to TMZ. “Jay was in the L.A. garage where he stores his cars on Sunday when one of the cars erupted into flames without warning,” people with direct knowledge of the incident told TMZ, adding Leno was burned on the left side of his face.
The 72yo comedian was rushed to Grossman Burn Center in Los Angeles, where he is currently recovering. Variety reported Leno suffered “serious burns” but is in stable condition.
“I got some serious burns from a gasoline fire. I am ok. Just need a week or two to get back on my feet,” the comedian said in a statement.
Leno was expected to attend The Financial Brand conference in Las Vegas Sunday, but organizers said he suffered a “very serious medical emergency” that prevented him from attending.
“His family was not able to provide us very many details, but there was a very serious medical emergency that is preventing Jay from traveling.
“All we know is that he is alive, so our prayers go out to him and his family tonight,” according to an email from organizers.
Leno’s garage is located next to Burbank Airport in Los Angeles County. It’s reported he has 181 classic and rare cars and 160 motorcycles.
“Given the current market values, Jay Leno’s car collection is worth over $52 million,” DuPont Registry wrote in a blog post in July.
Posted by addisethiopia / አዲስ ኢትዮጵያ on September 27, 2022
💭 My Note: We Christians are in sadness these days. And we should be deeply saddened. While we were rejoicing in the victory of distance running stars like Letesenbet Gidey, we should be very sad as well that the suffering mothers and fathers of Letesenbet Gidey and Co. are not able to celebrate the Meskel festival due to the weekly drone fire coming down on them. There is time for everything!
❖ But:
✞✞✞ [Romans 8:18]✞✞✞
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”
The shadow of war hung over Ethiopia’s Meskel festival in Addis Ababa on Tuesday, with high security, low turnout and Orthodox Christian priests calling for peace and forgiveness in their sermons.
The event – usually a joyous affair where huge crowds gather around bonfires – marks the moment when the 4th century Roman Empress St Helena found Christ’s cross in Jerusalem.
As they do year after year, hundreds of priests, musicians and singers clad in white robes came together on the vast expanse of the capital’s Meskel Square.
But the mood was much darker and the clergy kept turning to the conflict raging again in the northern region of Tigray.
“Truly speaking, this year, we Ethiopians are not celebrating the festival in full happiness,” said Archbishop Abuna Markos, resplendent in a white robe with gold trim and embroidered silver crosses and blue floral designs.
“Just like the mothers were crying under the cross, our mothers in the North are also crying. They are suffering. This suffering is common to all of us. It’s our own,” he said, holding a gold cross encrusted with red gems.
The war in Tigray, which broke out in November 2020 and has spilt over into other regions, has killed thousands of people, displaced many more and left an estimated 13 million people in desperate need of food aid.
The conflict has pitted Ethiopia’s federal army, its regional allies and the Eritrean military against forces loyal to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the party that controls Tigray’s regional government.
The central government and its allies accuse the TPLF, which long dominated Ethiopia’s ruling coalition, of seeking to reassert its dominance, while the TPLF accuses the central government of abusing its powers and oppressing Tigray.
Both dismiss each other’s accusations. After months of relative quiet, fighting flared again in August.
“On this day, my prayer for the new year is that God says ‘enough’, because he is the owner of peace and he declared peace through his cross by denouncing hatred,” said deacon Haileyesus Meleku, holding an ornate silver staff.
💭 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. ✞✞✞
👉 UPDATE: Egypt Church Fires Resurface Matters Of Rights, Restrictions And Discrimination Against The Country’s Christian Minority.
“Copts are threatened by many factors including discrimination in many aspects, lack of safety and security and sharia imposed on them in many situations in addition to racism and violence,” the Coptic researcher argued.
💭 Egypt: At Least 41 Christians Dead After Fire at Saint Mercurius Church in Giza
💭 Fires Erupt In More Coptic Orthodox Churches In Egypt As Authorities Still Deny Any Foul Play.
The fires broke out in two churches in southern Egypt and in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria.
Preliminary findings released by the state indicate that both the Alexandria and Minya fires were caused by “electrical faults”.
Fires broke out on Sunday in two churches annexed to monasteries in southern Egypt, with another fire breaking out in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, amid official denial of foul play, state-run Ahram online newspaper reported, citing the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Centre.
The two fires that erupted in the southern Egyptian Asyut and Minya provinces were extinguished with no casualties. the report added. The Asyut fire was put out by firefighters, also with no causalities, Asyut governor Essam Saad said in a statement.
The fire started in a garbage pile near the wall of the monastery’s residential buildings, the governor added.
The fire was under the control of the local fire department Saad noted, and he urged the media not to publish unofficial statements regarding the incident to avoid sparking fears among citizens.
Photos published by local media showed huge flames and smoke around, outside and inside the three churches.
Social media activists shared online videos of the blazes showing huge losses inflicted on the churches.
Later in the day, a fire erupted in a church in Alexandria, leaving one man injured. No further details were immediately available.
Preliminary findings released by the state indicate that both the Alexandria and Minya fires were caused by “electrical faults”.
No official statements have been released so far by the prosecution-general, the interior ministry or the official spokesman of the Coptic Orthodox Church on the new fires.
The fires coincided with the celebrations of the Assumption of Mother Mary to Heaven amid huge gatherings of Copts.
Earlier last week, similar fires erupted in three Egyptian churches, one in Minya and two in Giza province west of Cairo.
The first blaze that broke out in the working class Imbaba neighbourhood in Giza claimed the lives of 41 worshipers, including 15 children and the church priest.
Meanwhile, Bishop Ermia, a member of the Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church, did not rule out foul play in contrast to the authorities’ official narrative.
“[The fires at churches] occurred systematically…..this is an alarm to the state. We need to join forces to be able to surpass this crisis. I don’t talk about the economic crisis and the rising prices. We all suffer in this world,” he said. “But when the country loses its lovers and those who backed it[the Copts], this is a dangerous start of further hazardous issues. This must be stopped. This should be investigated.”
“What I worry about…is the timings when these incidents take place,” the bishop added.
Egyptian Christians are known for being supporters of the regime of Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi. They make up approximately 10 to 15 per cent of the 103 million population of Muslim-majority Egypt; most of them are Coptic Orthodox. They are among the world’s oldest Christian communities.
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