News from the Orient – October 25, 2024

This week’s News from the Orient:

11 Martyrs of Damascus Canonized

On Sunday, October 20, Pope Francis canonized the 11 Martyrs of Damascus, who fell victim to a massacre in the Syrian capital in 1860.

These Christians, murdered by Druze in hatred of the Christian faith, were beatified nearly a century ago by Pope Pius XI.

Among them were eight Franciscans and three Maronite laypeople, killed during the night of July 9-10, 1860, in a monastery in the Christian quarter of Damascus.

The tragic event led to a French expedition to Lebanon and marked the beginning of the exodus of Eastern Christians to Europe.

Orthodox Divisions in Ukraine

Violence has erupted in Cherkasy, Ukraine, over control of St. Michael’s Cathedral.

The Orthodox Church of Ukraine, independent from the Moscow Patriarchate since 2019, has taken control of the building. It was previously affiliated with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church supported by the Moscow Patriarchate.

The arrival of a Ukrainian military chaplain, who announced plans to transform the cathedral into a “garrison church,” sparked clashes with parishioners barricaded inside, resulting in 14 people injured.

The tensions follow this summer’s ban of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church aligned with the Moscow Patriarchate, accusing it of being under Russian influence.

Mar Toma Church in Mosul to regain its bells

The bell of the Syriac Orthodox Mar Toma Church will soon ring again in the streets of Mosul.

Destroyed during the city's occupation by ISIS, the bell will soon return following its fabrication in Villedieu-les-Poêles, in western France.

Measuring 60 cm in diameter and 55 cm in height, the bronze bell is adorned with designs and inscriptions, including the verse “The truth will set you free,” from the Gospel of John.

One side depicts the silhouette of Mar Toma, and the other bears the crest of the Syriac Orthodox Church.

The bells are expected to be shipped to Mosul in December and ring out in March 2025.