It was also you who urged us to pray for the Assyrian (Nestorian) Christians of Iraq who were being persecuted.
[quote author=Melchoir link=topic=7619.msg100070#msg100070 date=1234027476] Nineveh is in the air: Islamists are driving Iraqi Christians out of Nineveh -- let's show our solidarity with our Christian brothers and pray for them.
First, I would like to apologize for not being able to recognize your proper name. Secondly, if you would allow me, I prefer not to us the name "Father" over the Internet -- as I tend to use it only for the Almighty God, our Father. I hope you will understand and pardon me for that.
I never said that we don't have to pray for those who are ready to cause severe injustices towards Christians unknowingly. I was sad then for not being able to read a single solidarity post on behalf of the persecuted Christians in Nineveh.
I think, we pray for the misfortuned, that God helps, and shows them the righteousness in life. Yet, I don't believe that we have to pray for those enemies of God who act on behalf of Lucifer. To the contrary, we need to fight them spiritually, we need to hold our Cross and sing the Psalms of David aloud, whenever those evil spirits challenge us, and attempt to darken our mind so that it can stray from God.
If the enemies of God, the unbelievers come to us in need of help, of course, we need/have to help them, otherwise, the Bible teaches us, it is wrong for believers to join – be it in friendship or other form of union – with the wicked and profane, with those who betrayed our Christian God and Church.
On another note, please allow me to ask the following from a statement made by Bishop Bishoi: “The Egyptian church cannot have dialogue with the Jews, as there is bilateral and multilateral dialogue known as the religious dialogue. We cannot have dialogue with them because all the national churches in the Arab world reject it. We would if the Muslims agreed.” What did he mean by "We would if the Muslims agreed"? Does the Church need a permission from the Muslims?
"The patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Church was briefly taken to a hospital this week due to complication arising from his high blood pressure and diabetes. Informed sources in Eritrea report that he was “treated” and sent back to his house arrest.
Abune Antonios, as he is endearingly known by his people, was deposed as a patriarch because of his firm stand against the flagrant interference of the government of Eritrea in the affairs of the church, the closing of certain churches and his demand that the number of clergy that were imprisoned without trial either be given their day in court or released. He was subsequently put under the most severe house-arrest in an undisclosed location. No one has had access to him since.
The 83 year-old Pontiff is known to suffer from hypertension and diabetes, and has been denied medical attention. A highly respected figure, his uncanonical removal has remained a rallying cry to all Eritreans irrespective of religion."
please continue to pray for our brothers and sisters thank you, may God be with you.
Mark 9:39-41 (New King James Version) 39 But Jesus said, “Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me. 40 For he who is not against us is on our side. 41 For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.
Matthew 5 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
I'll pray for ALL who are persecuted for the sake of the Lord.
from 'releaseinternational.org' a uk organisation working on behalf of persecuted Christians everywhere.
"On January 15 [2010] CEO Andy Dipper and patron Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali presented our 43,000-signature petition to the Eritrean Embassy in London, with a copy also given to 10 Downing Street.
'This petition expresses concern for the Christians who are being kept in prison, in underground cells and shipping containers in the heat of the day and the cold of the night. It seems inhuman and barbaric,' said Bishop Michael, who resigned his post as Bishop of Rochester to campaign for persecuted Christians.
'43,000 is a lot of people. The Eritrean Government must take note of what all these people are saying. Christians pose no threat to their country,' he added.
If you signed the petition, or collected signatures, thank you for your support."
bishop michael is an anglican bishop who is originally from pakistan, and has been contraversial in his defense of Biblical principles such as the virgin birth of our Saviour and Jesus Christ as the only Saviour. in the uk, some traditional Christians preach that Christianity is just about being 'nice', but bishop michael explains the Bible well in these situations.
the suffering of Christians in eritrea continues, let us join our prayers with theirs as we also remember our suffering brothers and sisters in egypt.
I am glad to have found out that there is no religious oppression of any form in Eritrea as dubios organizations want to make us believe .The Eritrean Orthodox Church and its government have ascertained that the pentecostal charlatans who walk in sheeps skin are expelled for life from their country. The wild wolves are now invading the Ethiopian Orthodox church and its adherents and I hope the church wakes up to face and eliminate this dangerous reality.
Concerend Ethiopians have set up this page to highlight the eminent danger that befalls the Ethiopian Orthodox church; http://www.saveethiopians.net/.
Moreover, the clip below shows how fanatic protestants describe themselves as liberators and the extent to which they are infilterating and destroying the ancient victorious Ethiopian Orthodox church .It is this kind of clowns that have been legally banned from entering,ministering and causing havoc in Eritrea. As a result of it all, organizations like Release International , fanatic penetcostal churchs, NGO's owned by members of parliament and their sympathisers with vested interest and close business ties are on record for fabricating lies about non existant persecution and shedding crocodile tears on a daily basis.
Release International et al had never called for a day of prayer for persecuted christians throughout the middle east.The reason is simple and as obvious as the glaring Sun;most of the persecuted are orthodox christians and therefore not appealing to their interests.If anything ,we should all pray for our Orthodox brothers and sisters who have been hoodwinked and fallen into the trap of the hyenas.
We should be wary of any information that is disseminated by political organizations and non-Orthodox churchs that certainly do not have the suffering of other people at heart.In case of doubt, we should always consult our trusted and wise Abounas and they will guide us.
May God protect his own Church ,the true Orthodox faith from the devil and his followers who are hell bent in destroying it.
I held a prayer meeting for Eritrea at which Eritrean Orthodox attended and described the oppression and persecution all Christians face in Eritrea.
I do not know where you get your information that there is no repression of the Orthodox, but I have heard about it for Eritrean Orthodox Christians whose own families have been affected. Orthodox Christians are being locked in freight containers in the burning sun, if this is not worthy of prayer then I am not sure what is.
Also the elderly Patriarch has been arrested and is held in secret, and the funds of the Church are being stolen by the godless state.
I urge all of us to remember Eritrea, it is in great need of prayer.
Father bless, I am not against prayer in any form as long as I know what I am praying for.
I have gained a little bit of knowledge about Eritrea and other countries in the area from my recent travel . I and my school friends arranged a group travel to Greece,Egypt,Sudan, Ethiopia,Eritrea and kenya in 2006/2007. We returned with a life changing experience that partly impacted our future plans.I have also met and known and know a number of Eritreans elsewhere.I also visit the local Eritrean Orthodox church when opportunity arises.
Contrary to baseless reports spread by the media and NGO's groups that the country mercilessly expelled for violating cultural sensitivities and norms (as they are used to do in other parts of africa), I am pleased to tell you that it was in Eritrea that we saw stability and peace that is not normally seen anywhere throughout the african continent.The cities and towns are renowned for their crime-free environment.The people revere their 'godless state' and stand behind their 'dictator president' solidly.It is this extraordinary phenomena , coupled with the vision of self-reliance,the belief of african solution to african problems,the utter rejection of outside help,the will power and strong desire to build their country from scratch all by themselves, in their own ways and system that has been intriguing and frustrating the powers that are used to quite different treatment elsewhere on the corrupted african continent.I know what I am talking about and I do keep abreast of major political, economic, social developments ,specially around the horn of africa for a good reason.
To come back to the point, in my view, to think and expect that a UK based political organisation such as release international is really concerned about the suffering of poor defenseless people elsewhere on the planet seems totally absurd to me. I see no reason why they should do that, unless there is something profitable in the endeavor.
Orthodox Christians are being locked in freight containers in the burning sun, if this is not worthy of prayer then I am not sure what is.
With all due respect,this info is not correct.It is possible that members of the banned pentecostal churchs are being subject to such punishments,but not the adherents of the orthodox church. This can not happen for a very simple political reason;the government can not afford to deny the right of worship to its 60 % population that is the backbone of its nation building. During my stay, I discovered that Orthodox traditional values are deeply ingrained in their culture and is basically a way of life. No government can undo that. Further,only four religious groups are officially sanctioned in the country - The Orthodox Tewahdo church of Eritrea, Roman Catholic, Islam and the Evangelical(Lutheran) Church of Eritrea.The Eritrean Government in collaboration with the Eritrea Orthodox church had banned new foreign denominations which enter the country with NGO's and through other various venues to disrupt its functioning by preaching and proselytising the citizens, who happen to be mainly Orthodox.To achieve their goals,the Pentecostal church masters use dirty tricks .They heir a local pastor, choose and settle in impoverished area under the guise of distributing aid to the country ,throw few bucks to the deceive and convert the poor to their version of christianity. Father peter, it is this evil act that should be condemned and in need of prayers.
To put it into perspective,the following new cults that began operating in the country around the mid 1990's, are legally banned:
1) The Word of Life church 2) Hallelujah Church / Hallelujah Pentecostal Church 3) The Spritualists 4)Christ is the Foundation church 5) Full Gospel church 6) New Covenant Church 7) Philadelphia Church 8)Rema / Rhema
All these churchs have no place in a country where Orthodox christianity prevailed since the 3rd century. Regarding the issue of the Eritrean Patriarch, my information is that his problems started when these cults managed to infilterate and proselytise inside traditional Orthodox churchs , but this is entirely a different matter.My point is,problems within the Eritrean Holy Synod does not mean that the ordinary Orthodox worshipper are being persecuted for their faith. I have not seen any evidence on the ground that supports this finger pointing.
I held a prayer meeting for Eritrea at which Eritrean Orthodox attended and described the oppression and persecution all Christians face in Eritrea
I would not like to speculate here,but it is not unusual for some people to take advantage of a given opportunity to polish or support their immigration application or status by telling untruth.
I agree with Father Peter. We cannot let hurt and anger cloud our thoughts and become the same barbarians we claim to dislike! Do we really dislike their actions if we resort to the same acts?? We have to fight our 'human nature' and rise to the occasion and be CHRIST like. CHRIST teaches love for our enemies. Prayer for those who persecute us. This is our weapon, as Orthodox Christians especially! We pray for All! Even the Holy Scriptures state that we "heap coals on the heads" of our enemies when we pray for them. Our sincere prayers defeat the enemy! I understand we need to speak out against persecutions on all levels in humanity. It is our duty.
Comments
[quote author=Melchoir link=topic=7619.msg100070#msg100070 date=1234027476]
Nineveh is in the air: Islamists are driving Iraqi Christians out of Nineveh -- let's show our solidarity with our Christian brothers and pray for them.
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=83780
Yet these are not part of our Orthodox Church and are condemned as heretics by H.E. Bishoy.
How can you urge us to pray for the one group of Christians and yet suggest it is evil to pray for those in Eritrea?
Father Peter
First, I would like to apologize for not being able to recognize your proper name. Secondly, if you would allow me, I prefer not to us the name "Father" over the Internet -- as I tend to use it only for the Almighty God, our Father. I hope you will understand and pardon me for that.
I never said that we don't have to pray for those who are ready to cause severe injustices towards Christians unknowingly. I was sad then for not being able to read a single solidarity post on behalf of the persecuted Christians in Nineveh.
I think, we pray for the misfortuned, that God helps, and shows them the righteousness in life. Yet, I don't believe that we have to pray for those enemies of God who act on behalf of Lucifer. To the contrary, we need to fight them spiritually, we need to hold our Cross and sing the Psalms of David aloud, whenever those evil spirits challenge us, and attempt to darken our mind so that it can stray from God.
If the enemies of God, the unbelievers come to us in need of help, of course, we need/have to help them, otherwise, the Bible teaches us, it is wrong for believers to join – be it in friendship or other form of union – with the wicked and profane, with those who betrayed our Christian God and Church.
On another note, please allow me to ask the following from a statement made by Bishop Bishoi: “The Egyptian church cannot have dialogue with the Jews, as there is bilateral and multilateral dialogue known as the religious dialogue. We cannot have dialogue with them because all the national churches in the Arab world reject it. We would if the Muslims agreed.” What did he mean by "We would if the Muslims agreed"? Does the Church need a permission from the Muslims?
Thanks in advance!
Here is another press release by ICFC on some new developments about Christians in Eritrea. Their situation is going from gray to black and they need our support, remembrance and prayer.
http://www.inchainsforchrist.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=84:shocking-news-of-christian-prisoners-at-assab-eritrea&catid=40:press-releases&Itemid=59
“Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself. Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies.” Hebrews 13:3
In Christ
Theophilus
this is the original source:
http://inchainsforchrist.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=83:h-h-patriarch-antonios-of-eritrea-was-briefly-hospitalized&catid=40:press-releases&Itemid=59
"The patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Church was briefly taken to a hospital this week due to complication arising from his high blood pressure and diabetes. Informed sources in Eritrea report that he was “treated” and sent back to his house arrest.
Abune Antonios, as he is endearingly known by his people, was deposed as a patriarch because of his firm stand against the flagrant interference of the government of Eritrea in the affairs of the church, the closing of certain churches and his demand that the number of clergy that were imprisoned without trial either be given their day in court or released. He was subsequently put under the most severe house-arrest in an undisclosed location. No one has had access to him since.
The 83 year-old Pontiff is known to suffer from hypertension and diabetes, and has been denied medical attention. A highly respected figure, his uncanonical removal has remained a rallying cry to all Eritreans irrespective of religion."
please continue to pray for our brothers and sisters
thank you, may God be with you.
39 But Jesus said, “Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me. 40 For he who is not against us is on our side. 41 For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.
Matthew 5
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
I'll pray for ALL who are persecuted for the sake of the Lord.
GBU
mabsoota
God bless you and all your family mabsoota.
from 'releaseinternational.org' a uk organisation working on behalf of persecuted Christians everywhere.
"On January 15 [2010] CEO Andy Dipper and patron Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali presented our 43,000-signature petition to the Eritrean Embassy in London, with a copy also given to 10 Downing Street.
'This petition expresses concern for the Christians who are being kept in prison, in underground cells and shipping containers in the heat of the day and the cold of the night. It seems inhuman and barbaric,' said Bishop Michael, who resigned his post as Bishop of Rochester to campaign for persecuted Christians.
'43,000 is a lot of people. The Eritrean Government must take note of what all these people are saying. Christians pose no threat to their country,' he added.
If you signed the petition, or collected signatures, thank you for your support."
bishop michael is an anglican bishop who is originally from pakistan, and has been contraversial in his defense of Biblical principles such as the virgin birth of our Saviour and Jesus Christ as the only Saviour. in the uk, some traditional Christians preach that Christianity is just about being 'nice', but bishop michael explains the Bible well in these situations.
the suffering of Christians in eritrea continues, let us join our prayers with theirs as we also remember our suffering brothers and sisters in egypt.
Concerend Ethiopians have set up this page to highlight the eminent danger that befalls the Ethiopian Orthodox church; http://www.saveethiopians.net/.
Moreover, the clip below shows how fanatic protestants describe themselves as liberators and the extent to which they are infilterating and destroying the ancient victorious Ethiopian Orthodox church .It is this kind of clowns that have been legally banned from entering,ministering and causing havoc in Eritrea. As a result of it all, organizations like Release International , fanatic penetcostal churchs, NGO's owned by members of parliament and their sympathisers with vested interest and close business ties are on record for fabricating lies about non existant persecution and shedding crocodile tears on a daily basis.
Watch this distressing video:Todd Bentley & Fresh Fire Ministries Invades ETHIOPIA!
Release International et al had never called for a day of prayer for persecuted christians throughout the middle east.The reason is simple and as obvious as the glaring Sun;most of the persecuted are orthodox christians and therefore not appealing to their interests.If anything ,we should all pray for our Orthodox brothers and sisters who have been hoodwinked and fallen into the trap of the hyenas.
We should be wary of any information that is disseminated by political organizations and non-Orthodox churchs that certainly do not have the suffering of other people at heart.In case of doubt, we should always consult our trusted and wise Abounas and they will guide us.
May God protect his own Church ,the true Orthodox faith from the devil and his followers who are hell bent in destroying it.
hezekiel
I held a prayer meeting for Eritrea at which Eritrean Orthodox attended and described the oppression and persecution all Christians face in Eritrea.
I do not know where you get your information that there is no repression of the Orthodox, but I have heard about it for Eritrean Orthodox Christians whose own families have been affected. Orthodox Christians are being locked in freight containers in the burning sun, if this is not worthy of prayer then I am not sure what is.
Also the elderly Patriarch has been arrested and is held in secret, and the funds of the Church are being stolen by the godless state.
I urge all of us to remember Eritrea, it is in great need of prayer.
Father Peter
I am not against prayer in any form as long as I know what I am praying for.
I have gained a little bit of knowledge about Eritrea and other countries in the area from my recent travel . I and my school friends arranged a group travel to Greece,Egypt,Sudan, Ethiopia,Eritrea and kenya in 2006/2007. We returned with a life changing experience that partly impacted our future plans.I have also met and known and know a number of Eritreans elsewhere.I also visit the local Eritrean Orthodox church when opportunity arises.
Contrary to baseless reports spread by the media and NGO's groups that the country mercilessly expelled for violating cultural sensitivities and norms (as they are used to do in other parts of africa), I am pleased to tell you that it was in Eritrea that we saw stability and peace that is not normally seen anywhere throughout the african continent.The cities and towns are renowned for their crime-free environment.The people revere their 'godless state' and stand behind their 'dictator president' solidly.It is this extraordinary phenomena , coupled with the vision of self-reliance,the belief of african solution to african problems,the utter rejection of outside help,the will power and strong desire to build their country from scratch all by themselves, in their own ways and system that has been intriguing and frustrating the powers that are used to quite different treatment elsewhere on the corrupted african continent.I know what I am talking about and I do keep abreast of major political, economic, social developments ,specially around the horn of africa for a good reason.
To come back to the point, in my view, to think and expect that a UK based political organisation such as release international is really concerned about the suffering of poor defenseless people elsewhere on the planet seems totally absurd to me. I see no reason why they should do that, unless there is something profitable in the endeavor. With all due respect,this info is not correct.It is possible that members of the banned pentecostal churchs are being subject to such punishments,but not the adherents of the orthodox church. This can not happen for a very simple political reason;the government can not afford to deny the right of worship to its 60 % population that is the backbone of its nation building. During my stay, I discovered that Orthodox traditional values are deeply ingrained in their culture and is basically a way of life. No government can undo that. Further,only four religious groups are officially sanctioned in the country - The Orthodox Tewahdo church of Eritrea, Roman Catholic, Islam and the Evangelical(Lutheran) Church of Eritrea.The Eritrean Government in collaboration with the Eritrea Orthodox church had banned new foreign denominations which enter the country with NGO's and through other various venues to disrupt its functioning by preaching and proselytising the citizens, who happen to be mainly Orthodox.To achieve their goals,the Pentecostal church masters use dirty tricks .They heir a local pastor, choose and settle in impoverished area under the guise of distributing aid to the country ,throw few bucks to the deceive and convert the poor to their version of christianity. Father peter, it is this evil act that should be condemned and in need of prayers.
To put it into perspective,the following new cults that began operating in the country around the mid 1990's, are legally banned:
1) The Word of Life church
2) Hallelujah Church / Hallelujah Pentecostal Church
3) The Spritualists
4)Christ is the Foundation church
5) Full Gospel church
6) New Covenant Church
7) Philadelphia Church
8)Rema / Rhema
All these churchs have no place in a country where Orthodox christianity prevailed since the 3rd century.
Regarding the issue of the Eritrean Patriarch, my information is that his problems started when these cults managed to infilterate and proselytise inside traditional Orthodox churchs , but this is entirely a different matter.My point is,problems within the Eritrean Holy Synod does not mean that the ordinary Orthodox worshipper are being persecuted for their faith. I have not seen any evidence on the ground that supports this finger pointing. I would not like to speculate here,but it is not unusual for some people to take advantage of a given opportunity to polish or support their immigration application or status by telling untruth.
I agree with Father Peter.
We cannot let hurt and anger cloud our thoughts and become the same barbarians we claim to dislike! Do we really dislike their actions if we resort to the same acts??
We have to fight our 'human nature' and rise to the occasion and be CHRIST like. CHRIST teaches love for our enemies. Prayer for those who persecute us. This is our weapon, as Orthodox Christians especially! We pray for All!
Even the Holy Scriptures state that we "heap coals on the heads" of our enemies when we pray for them. Our sincere prayers defeat the enemy!
I understand we need to speak out against persecutions on all levels in humanity. It is our duty.