July 24, 2015
At the recent 18th All-American Council of the Orthodox Church in America held in Atlanta and the currently on-going 52nd Convention of the Antiochian Archdiocese being held in Boston two separate videos were shown highlighting the plight of suffering Syrian Christians, calling on all who are able to to help.
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As reported at oca.org:
After the celebration of the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy early Thursday morning, July 23, 2015, and during the AAC’s fifth Plenary Session, delegates to the 18th All-American Council adopted a resolution expressing the Orthodox Church in America’s solidarity with Christians suffering persecution in the Middle East and calling on governments to do everything possible to ensure their safety.
Presented by Dr. Paul Meyendorff and adopted by acclamation, the text of the resolution reads as follows.
“Whereas recent developments in the Middle East have caused great suffering to Christians in the area, leading to numerous deaths, desperate living conditions and mass movement of refugees, we, gathered at the 18th All-American Council in Atlanta, Georgia, express our solidarity and support for all suffering peoples in the area, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ, and we call on our respective governments to take vigorously all possible political and humanitarian measures to ensure their safety and the survival of Christianity in the lands where it first took hold.”
In a video produced by International Orthodox Christian Charities, introduced by Rada Tierney, the plight of the three million refugees and persons displaced from Syria and the measures being taken by the Patriarchate of Antioch and IOCC to alleviate their suffering were highlighted. In response to a recommendation by Archpriest John Zdinak, delegates spontaneously donated nearly $12,000.00 to assist IOCC in its ongoing ministry in the Middle East.
The video can be viewed here.
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At the July 23 morning General Assembly of the Antiochian Archdiocesan Convention, the following film was viewed:
