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8/13/2019 Seeds of Faith Dec 2013
1/12
WINTER- 2013 QUARTERLY MAGAZINE VOLUME4, ISSUE3
A Publication of Saint Andrews Assyrian Church of the East-Glenview, Illinois
Copyright 2013 by Assyrian Church of the East Page 1
Patriarchal Epistle
For the Holy feast of the Na-
tivity of our Lord Jesus Christ
For the year 2013
Our beloved brothers, noble
prelates, our spiritual sons electedpriests and pure deacons: sons and
daughters of the Holy Church and
Assyrian national group and all ourChristian brothers and sisters.
Our Prayers and blessings re-
ceive
Today we are celebrating the holyFeast of the Nativity of our Lord Je-
sus Christ. This blessed Feast is
filled with joy, happiness and goodhope of Salvation to all Christians. Itis on this feast that God the father
revealed His divine love and kind-
ness towards mankind. It is our ob-ligation to offer worship, honor and
thanksgiving unto our Holy God for
sending His only begotten Son todwell in the human temple of thevirginal womb and to be born of
His blessed mother without humanfather. By His Nativity enlightened
all creations and all the nations re-
ceived joy and happiness. Let usbelieve in the truthful love of our
heavenly father. The Apostle Paulsays: For there is one God and one
Mediator between God and men,the Man Christ Jesus. (1Timothy
2:5)
The messenger of peace was sentin His humanity and the Savior ofthe World in His divinity. The great
Miracle was seen in Bethlehem on
the day of the nativity of JesusChrist. Nearby the place Lord was
born, there were shepherds keep-
ing watch over their flocks at night.
An angel of the Lord appeared tothem, and the glory of the Lord
shone around them, and they wereterrified. But the angel said to them,
Do not be afraid. I bring you good
news that will cause great joy for allthe people. Because today a Savior
has been born to you; he is the
Messiah, the Lord. And suddenly
there was with the angel a multitude of
the heavenly host praising God andsaying: Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill towardmen! (Luke 2: 8-14)
We pray the same glory of God that
shone upon the Shepherds on the dayof the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ
may enlighten the hearts and minds of
all the Christians so that we all togethermay celebrate the feast of Nativity in
joy and happiness. On this joyful occa-
sion we are saying to all of you, Sonsand daughters of the Holy Church and
our Assyrian national group and to all
fellow Christians:
The feast of the Nativity of our Lord
Jesus Christ be blessed to you all.
We pray, all of you, Sons and daughters
of the Holy Church and our Assyrian
national group and all fellow Christians
that you will celebrate the feast of Na-tivity of our Lord Jesus Christ in joy,
happiness and good health. As broth-ers and sisters and members, united to
one mystical body of Christ is required
of all of you to be in peace and tranquil-ity with one another because you havebeen called to experience such a peace
in the Holy Church. Our Lord Jesus
says: A new commandment I give to
you, that you love one another; as I have
loved you, that you also love one an-
other. By this all will know that you are
My disciples, if you have love for oneanother.(John 13:34-35)
We are pronouncing to all the sons and
daughters of the Holy Church, both theclergy and the laity, we are all respon-
sible to fulfill our obligation towards
the progress of our Holy Church, keep-ing the Canon laws of the Holy Synods,
the rituals and the Sacraments of the
Continue on next page
K. MARDINKHA IV
CATHOLICOS-PATRIARCH OF
THE HOLY
APOSTOLIC CATHOLIC ASSYRIAN
CHURCH OF THE EAST
8/13/2019 Seeds of Faith Dec 2013
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Copyright 2013 by Assyrian Church of the East Page 2
Patriarchal Epistle (continue)
Holy Church. The Lord of the HolyChurch our Lord Jesus Christ re-quests of us to be humble merciful,forgiving, pure in heart, faithful andobedient to one another, so that we
will be able to labor in the vineyard
entrusted to us. In order for us tomake our Lord Jesus Christ happy, let
us work with pure heart in His vine-yard so that it will produce good and
delicious.
Our Lord Jesus Christ instructs us
saying: and whoever wants to be first
must be your slave, just as the Son of
Man did not come to be served, but to
serve, and to give his life as a ransom
for many. (Matthew 20:27-28) He
also says: Let your light so shine be-
fore men, that they may see your good
works and glorify your Father in
heaven. (Matthew 5:16) The light of
a Christian is his good deeds. We
Christians possess such a kind of
light only from our Lord Jesus Christ
because He is the Lord and the
source of the true light. Our Lord Je-
sus Christ says: I am the light of the
world. He who follows Me shall not
walk in darkness, but have the light of
life. (John 8:12)
We will find the light of life in the
Holy Church because the life-giving
words of our Lord Jesus Christ that
are preached to us in the Holy
Church. Our Lord established the
Holy Church on earth and sanctified it
by the Holy Spirit of God. The Holy
Spirit is in the Church and remains
with it forever. The Holy Spirit by the
Mystery of the Divine grace also
sanctifies the faithful Christians so
that they may reach eternal life in the
Kingdom of heaven.
It is in the Holy church that we re-
ceive the Sacrament of the Holy Bap-
tism in the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit. We,
who are part of the Church of Jesus
Christ, are called Christians. As
Christians, we are all born again from
one spiritual mother the Holy Bap-
tism. Therefore we are brothers and
sisters of one another. As members of
one Christian household we need to
have unity, peace, love and honor
among us and especially among the
Christians who are residing in the
Middle Eastern countries. As faithful
Christians, regardless of our ecclesi-
astical differences we must work with
one another in love and harmony as
members of one Christian flock and
as descendants of one National group
because we are not three different
national groups but rather one na-
tional group by blood, history and
language. We, all as one Assyrian
National group are responsible tomaintain our nationality as one Na-
tional group so that we will be recog-
nized and accepted in the constitu-
tions and by laws of the countries of
our residencies in the Middle East as
one National group.
The progress of our National group
brings joy and progress to all of us.
And the opposite affects all of us. This
is the reason that all the sons and
daughters of the Assyrian national
group regardless to their ecclesial
affiliation must be alert to maintain
peace, tranquility and unity of the
Assyrian National group. And espe-
cially those who are engaged in po-
litical parties and National founda-
tions must work together faithfully as
sons and daughters of one Assyrian
National group. They must stay away
from hatred, jealousy, destructive
discussions which impose divisionand hinders the progress of any Na-
tional group.
We ask you all, sons and daughters
of The Holy Church in the country in
which you are a resident or citizens
be faithful, and obedient to the con-
stitution and by-laws of your country
and obedient to the governmental
officials so that you may be respected
and loved by officials of the Country
of your residency and you will live in
joy and peace.
As Christian sons and daughters of
the Assyrian Church of the East, keep
the Faith, liturgy, Sacraments and thedecrees of the Holy Synod of Church
with great care and without change.
In the nation you may reside live a
Christ-like life. Do not be ashamed
nor afraid that you are a Christian
believer.
As an ethnic group, be always proud
that you are an Assyrian. Keep your
Assyrian language, knowledge of
your history, literature; and your love
toward each other must be pure and
true.
In conclusion we are again saying:
The Feast of the Nativity of our
Lord Jesus Christ be blessed to you
all together with The New Year 201
We pray that the New Year will be
filled with blessings, peace, and tran-
quility in the four corners of world;
especially in the Middle Eastern
countries. We also pray for the unity
and understanding of all Christians,
offering prayers for the health and
prosperity of all the sons and daugh-
ters of the Holy Church, and the As-
syrian believing Community.
The grace and Mercies of our Lord
Jesus Christ be with you all foreverand ever. Amen
Written: in our Patriarchal Cell
Khanania Mardinkha IV
by Grace Catholicos PatriarchThe Assyrian Church of the East
Morton Grove, Illinois
December 05, 2013
HOLY APOSTOLIC CATHOLIC ASSYRIAN CHURCH OF THE EAST
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HOLY APOSTOLIC CATHOLIC ASSYRIAN CHURCH OF THE EAST
Page 3
Saint Andrews Committees:
Church Senior Pastor Father George Toma.
Deacons: Norman Israel, Elbron Odisho, Adnan David, Sargon Kesso, Edison Youkhana, George Antar, Yousef Mikhael, Sabir, George Baezo, Thompson Esho,
Alfret Shamoun, Elie Antar.
Committees Chairman (David Arkis).
Building Director/Manager (Interim-David Arkis):Younes Zaia, Namrood Khamis, Louzan Odisho, Rema Shamoun, Elona Bahram, Paul Rehana, Peter Amaden,
Ray Kando, Youkhana Youkhana, Zaya Youkhana.
Co-Chairman (Jack Youna).
Secretary (Ban Youna).
Treasurer Chairman (Gilbert Khosrabowdi):Sargon Yosifi , Mariam Lazar, Najla Mikhail, Bushra yaldaAccountant (Julie Kako).
Fundraising Committee (Vacant): Al Puccinelli, Nadia Warda.
Youth President (George Sulayman)
Ladies Auxiliary Chairwoman (Catrina Khamou):Lucy Sima, Ales Dawood, Shami Audisho, Doreen Haider, Sonia Khammo, Layla Youkhana, Bassima Sorisho,
Magie Zaya, Jane Hana, Jenny, Nada Younan, Mariam.
Choir Chairwoman (Najat Marcos): Saad Yalda, Albert Aessa, Jena Kena.Education-Jennifer Younan, Deacon Adnan David, Souad Timatyos, Deacon George Antar, Nirona Shino, Ashorina Youana, Dr. Michael, Juliana Thomas, Mike
Micho, Adnan David, Youbert Bahram, Helen Yousif, Nwyia Garmos Aramaic, Bronica Amrahi, Josephine Youhana, Mardin Shinoo, Connie Shakro, Kristy An-
drews, Queen Ishay, Raquel Youkhana, Stephanie Andrews, Claudia Shakro, Neeran Shmoel, Regina Younan.
Youth Choir- Rachel Thomas, Jena Kena.
Sports (Vacant).
Public Relations (Vacant).
Ushers Chairman (Michael Michael): Albert Youel, Youkhana Youkhana, Ramzi Odich, George Danyel, Gilbert Gewargis, Abrahim Lazar.
Visitation Chairman (Deacon Norman Israel):Anderious Youkhana.
Special Events Chairperson (Vacant): Nirona Shinoo, Julie Kako, Hewi Adaay, Suzana Yalda, Diala Joseph, Gabi Yawanis, Sargon Yalda, Neeran Shmoel, Aida Jo-
seph, Tanya Khamo, Doreen Haider, Diana Esho.
Maintenance Chairman (Musa Moshy): William Younan, Anderious Youkhana, Ashor Tamo (IT), Manny Yalda (IT), Yalda Kako (IT), Ashor Tamo (IT), Ashor
Khoshaba (Sound System), Tony Atou (Sound System), Mounir Shamoon (Sound System).
Media Chairman (Billy George): Hani Shawel, Robert Thomas, Hewi Adaay, Dani Shamoun, Ramsin George, Amer Kasso, Albert Lazar, Benyamin Odisho.
Copyright 2013 by Assyrian Church of the East
God gave his only begotten Son to pay the price in
full and free to us from the original sin that we have
inherited from Adam and Eve. Gen 3:1-7
Christmas points out to us who Jesus is. He comesas the Almighty: to heal, restore, give us hope, and
more importantly Himself. Its a time to invite our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christinto our hearts to receive the
greatest gift of love, joy,p e a c e , a n d h a p p i -ness...Remember, Jesus is thereason for the season! Rejoice
and Merry Christmas every-
one!
By: Hewi S. Arkis
Joy to the World!
For Many, Christmas is that time of the year to
exchange gifts, decorate Christmas trees and thehouse with lights, mail Christmas cards to familyand friends, and last but not the least; family gath-
ering. Yet, the true meaning of Christmas re-
mains to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Sav-ior Jesus Christ.
"The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will
call him Emmanuel"(which means "God with us")Matthew 1:22-
23.
Christmas is a precious season, we ought to be remindedabout Gods Greatest Love for mankind.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal
lifeJohn 3:16.
Saint Andrews Church Annual Christmas Gift DriveWith full humbleness, I say it is an honor and privilege to me to be part in such spiritually uplifting pro-gram that benefits our Children. I would like to thank our Lord Jesus Christ for giving us the strength tobe able to make such ac- tivities happen to help and serve our community.The generosity of our people is beyond belief for being so giving andmaking our second year Christmas Gift Drive event an amazing success.We received over 90 gifts, some were the actual fulfillment from thekids wish list, and others included gift cards andcash that was also used toward the transporta-
tion of the families back and forth to St. Andrew s chu rch .While the concept that giving to others can make you feelgood about yourself is not revolutionary, there are several more indirect ways that donating
money or time for a cause can benefit your psychological, spiritual and emotional well-being. On behalf of our beloved church and all the volunteers including myself, Aida Josephand Neeran Shmoel would like to thank you all for your generous gifts and God bless.
Merry Christmas - Suzana Yalda
8/13/2019 Seeds of Faith Dec 2013
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Page 4
Speech pre-sented at A
Joint EasternChurches Bene-fit for Noursat in
Chicago
By H. G. Mar
Paulus Ben-
yamin
Bishop of Chicago, and Diocese of
the Eastern United States
Friday, August 26, 2011
Greetings,
Your eminence and Excellency
bishops, reverenced priests, my
brothers and sisters in Our Lord
Jesus Christ.
Im honored to be granted this op-
portunity to share with you some
information in reference to massmedia in the service of evangeliza-
tion.
When I was a student in 2001 at theGregorian Pontifical University inRome, our professors of Pauline
letter talked about Apostle Pauls
missions of preaching the Gospel
as he traveled over the sea and onthe land. One of the questions
asked by the professors
was, if St. Paul was living today,
would he not have taken the advan-tage of utilizing mass media to
preach the Bible? Tonight we are
gathered here to share our experi-ences regarding media and evan-
gelization.
Jesus Said, A new command I
give you: Love one another. As I
have loved you, so you must loveone another. By this everyone will
know that you are my disciples, if
you love one another.(John13:34-35) Regarding this verse, Humans
by nature are social. As such, this
characteristic reveals the tran-scendence dimension of a personthat cannot be explored outside of
relationships. This relationship is
helping us to understand the con-cept of social communication. To-
days world is built on mass me-
dia. Many changes in political,economical and cultural experi-
ences are fruit of mass media. For
example, satellite, Internet, face
book etc. contributed to thechanges that we are witnessing to-
day in some Middle Eastern coun-
tries and in others for that matter.Egypts political changes are in-
debted to the mass media and the
same for other countries whose
people are risen and demandingfor a change; thus, mass media
was the catalyst to unify the peopleinternally and externally to reach
their goals.
According to Marshall McLuhan,
mass media reduced geographi-
cally the world to global village.Accordingly, in this global village,
Some Media of today is used to
propagate wars, destruction, ter-
rorism and other kinds of activitiesthat are against the human social
values. This unconstructive broad-
casting is not helping to promoteglobal peace and human develop-ment. For this reason, Christian
media has to counteract that by
utilizing mass media to nurture
humanity so that it may develop in
different dimensions.
As the Apostolic Catholic Assyrian
Church of the East, when one talksabout evangelization, eventuallyhe at the same time must take into
consideration the ecclesiological
dimension in his preachingthrough mass media. So the ques-
tion is what should a priest take
into consideration when he is
preaching for his global parish
Audience. They are as follow:
1. A priest is to promote love,peace and charity. Church was
founded by Christ to bear salvation
for humanity. As such, the church
by nature is obliged to preach the
Gospel; therefore the message of
gospel is based on the command-
ment of our Lord Jesus Christ thatis love. Jesus demonstrated His
eternal love to human kind by hisimmense sacrifice on the cross. He
died to save his church. So if we
are his followers, we must sacri-
fice for the benefit of others. In ad-dition, when Jesus said, love your
neighbor as yourself. Then,
love without sacrifice will
render meaningless. So love is thebasic foundation for peace and jus-
tice; however, we know that peace
cannot exist without justice andjustice without forgiveness. Thus,
a Christian is a living testimony ofDevine love and forgiveness. In
one of the most reassuring pas-
sages in the Bible, we learn that no
power on earth or heaven can come
between us and God's love, no per-son, no spiritual power, and not
even death itself. (Roman 8:38-39)
2. A priest is to promote Christian
unity. In John 17-21, it says, thatall of them may be one, Father,
just as you are in Me and I am in
You. May they also be in Us so thatthe world may believe that Youhave sent Me. Jesus Christ
founded one Holy Apostolic Catho-
lic Church according to the NiceneCreed. But the difference of theo-
logical interpretations divided the
apostolic church using many dif-ferent linguistic and cultural ele-
ments. Since the 80s or prior,
many works in relations to unitywere initiated for the purpose of
unifying the Church. Even yet, the
Christian Churches have notreached full communion, but ourprayer to Jesus Christ is that He
works among us to bring full com-
munion to pass. Hence, the massmedia has an imperative role to
instruct people to live and to enjoy
the fruit of full communion.
3. A priest is to help promote inter-ecclesial and interreligious dia-
logue. When we are talking about
dialogue and ecumenism, we dont
mean for the dialogue to be be-
tween Christian churches only, but
between people of all faiths or be-
liefs.
Continue on next page
HOLY APOSTOLIC CATHOLIC ASSYRIAN CHURCH OF THE EAST
Copyright 2013 by Assyrian Church of the East
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HOLY APOSTOLIC CATHOLIC ASSYRIAN CHURCH OF THE EAST
Page 5
The mission.
Honor and glorify God the father, the Son and the Holy
Spirit and make Him known. Preach His word (The
Gospel) through the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian
Church of the East, established by the teachings of our
Lords Disciples and the Churchs Saints, Patriarchs,Bishops and Priests, as the source of the good news.
Teach the Assyrian Language (Neo-Aramaic), one of
our Lords main Languages, to our Children and educate
them on the importance of speaking and preserving it.
Saint Andrews Church Committee
...Continue His Grace Mar Paulus Benyamin
to be between Christian churches only, but between people of all faiths or beliefs. We are certain that Jesus
salvation is the perfect one and it can only be found in His Church (as said in Latin extra ecclesiam nulla est
salus.) Accordingly, the pastoral work is helping other believes or faiths to come to an understating of the
truth of the message of our Lord Jesus Christ. Thomas said to Him, Lord, we dont know where You are
going, so how can we know the way? Jesus responded by saying, I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you really know Me, you will know My Father as well.
From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him. (John 14:5-6) Through Christian mass media, the inter-religious dialogue should help the conscious of the people who have not yet understood Christ and His mes-
sage.
4. A priest should promote moral and social values. In the past three decades, the exodus of the Christians
from the historic lands in the Middle East to Western countries has forced us to live in Diaspora. Todays im-
migration created pluralistic societies. The elements of pluralistic are ethnical, linguistic, cultural and reli-
gious sense; however, the new pluralistic society has its own moral and social values, which help people togrow a pluralistic spirit, respecting each other and protecting each other. Mass media can help convey themessage of high ethical and moral values to this new pluralistic society to live in peace, harmony, respect
and reciprocal interchange. We can prove to Samuel P. Huntington, that it is doable to prevent clashes be-
tween civilizations. This prove can be contributed to Christian or pro-moral and pro-peace of mass media.
5. A priest is to promote the value of human dignity. Human dignity consists of relationship between man
and God. Because God created us in His image, He provides us the highest level of his creation. As such, the
full revelation of God consists in Jesus Christ as perfect man and perfect God. So the humanity of Jesus
Christ is part of our humanity. Man is made of spirit and flesh. Thus, the most important part is the spirit of
God that is dwelling in us. Jesus said, I am the true and living way. (John 14:6) As such, we are obliged to
defend human dignity and life, but this cannot be attained or acquired outside of human being or is not
based on any human quality, legal mandate, or individual merit or accomplishments.
In conclusion, if mass media has reduced our world to a village, at the same time it has increased the dimen-
sion of a parish to a world. Accordingly, we will utilize, as the Apostolic Churches, mass media in the ser-vice of evangelization, in hope that the commandment of our Lord Jesus Christ would be carried out along
with the teachings of our church and the Apostolic Traditions, which are built up as three resources of
evangelization of the Apostolic Churches.
Again, thank you for this opportunity and God bless.
Copyright 2013 by Assyrian Church of the East
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HOLY APOSTOLIC CATHOLIC ASSYRIAN CHURCH OF THE EAST
Page 7
When God Looks for Kings
The war was won by a baby boy. I was singing along to this song on the radio by For King and Country. It goes on
to say, heavens reply was a baby boy, a king without a crown, an un -expected majesty. Its the first Christmas song
that made me think that the Lord uses children, and in the case for Christmas a baby, to save the world. God used two
humble, and unknown individuals, Mary and Joseph, to bring Christ into this world. A baby by all accounts but al-
ready feared by many, as we will see with the slaughter of male babies in Bethlehem, and already worshiped by few
such as the wise men and shepherds. What war did this baby boy win? Can a baby or a child really save the world?
Yes we know Christ was a man when he gave himself up for the world, saving us from the fires of hell and
redeeming us of our sins, but why did God use a baby? In Genesis 14: 18-20 King Melchizedek was the Priest of God
Most High. Most scholars agree that Melchizedek was The Christ who met Abraham that evening for bread and wine.
So why didnt God just bring Christ in the form of a grown man like Melchizedek? If the Pharisees and Sadducees did
not know where he came from genealogically and geographically (also like Melchizedek) wouldnt this have saved
God a lot of hard work? So who was another king that God chose as a child?
Christ is also called, Son of David, so that was the first place to look. In 1 Samuel 16 we see Samuel being told by God that heshall find his next king in the house of Jesse. After visiting the house he looks upon the first son Eliab and said Surely the Lords anointed
stands here before the Lord. But the Lord replied to Samuel, Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejec ted him. The
Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. Jesse brought forth
seven of his sons for Samuel but they all were not the chosen ones. Samuel still knew that none of these sons were chosen by the Lord.
He asked one last time if Jesse had any other sons, and Jesse replied that his youngest was still out tending the sheep, his name was David.
David was a king and didnt even know it. He was never supposed to just be a shepherd. Samuel did not know that God was
looking for a child. That when God looks for kings he looks for children. The Lord told Samuel that when he chooses the anointed he
looks at the heart, and if Matthew 18:3 is correct then the heart of a child is what we are to strive for. The heart of David was ready to be-
come king, it did not matter his age or stature. When the world looks for kings they look for those who have already arrived. We look for
those with titles, those with wealth, fame, and family lineage, but we forget that the Lord uses the simple, the young to create kings and
queens. The story of Esther is another example of how a young Jewish girl became queen over all Persia.
God looks for kings in children because God knows that within every child is a king and queen. The Lord knows before anyone
what we are to become, but children need a person like Samuel to tell them of their mission and the Lords will in their life . Mothers and
fathers believe that your children are great, and have the potential to become kings and queens in anything they do. We are adopted sonsand daughters of the king of the world why not tell children of the inheritance they can possess and the unlimited bounds we have to change
the world, because the kingdom of heaven is within all of us. The same power that arose Lazarus from the grave is not only in adults but in
ALL children.
Children, never forget the kings and queens that are within you. That David was not supposed to be a shepherd forever, and that
the Lord has many plans for you to come. These plans will only happen if like David you hear the message and follow. God used a baby
boy to save the world to show us that he does not need us to achieve anything. That even through a baby he can bring light i nto the world,
that even through a baby he can redeem his children. Who are we to think that its up to adults to progress the mission of Christ, lets open
our doors for children, and our future kings and queens to spread the word of God to every corner of the world. During this Christmas re-
member that Christ first and foremost is king of the most high. Teach your children to fall on their knees and worship him. Let everyone
know a king is coming soon. An unexpected majesty, born in a lowly manger, a baby who will eventually wear a crown of thorns , a baby
who will be rejected by his own, a baby who will take away the sins of the world. By-Juliana Thomas
Copyright 2013 by Assyrian Church of the East
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Page 8
The Cradle of Civiliza-
tion
What do you know
about your heritage?
The Assyrian empire existed
in Mesopotamia (between therivers) in the northern regionof modern day Iraq between1100 B.C.- 612 B.C. it reached
its prime time during the Sar-gonids period under King Sargon II
and his successors Sennacherib,
Esarhaddon and Assurbanipal. It
stretched from the Persian Gulf eastto Egypt west forming the largest em-pire the world had yet seen.
The Assyrians worshiped many gods
however, Assur was their chief god.Kings bowed for him and he was hon-
ored in their New Year festivities.
They believed that gods could wreakhavoc with their empire through dif-
ferent natural disasters. Other gods
included Ninurta (god of war andhunt) and Ishtar (goddess of love).
Assyria had a fierce and well organ-
ized army, with the king as its com-mander in chief. Their worriers werestrongly trained through hard cam-
paigns. Their wars had certain mo-
tives such as protecting and expand-ing their land and empire, and a reli-
gious one which was to protect their
god and their king from their ene-mies. In the meantime, wealthy menwere allowed to pay in lieu of serving
or have a slave serve on their behalf.When war arose the army was rein-
forced by troops gathered from the
Assyrian provinces on their way to
the battle field. They also built tem-porary bridges and constructed
roads through mountains to ensure
faster movement toward their aim.The Assyrians were also famous for
their stone relief towers techniques
used during warfare which were lateremulated by others.
Compared to other societies of its
time, Assyria was greatly urbanized
with towns dwelling tens of thousandsof people and palaces and temples
built to worship their gods. The As-
syrians created a civil
services branch that
devoted their effortsto keep record ofcensus of towns and
villages and facilitatefast and effective mo-
bilization of work-
force necessary todig canals or build
cities. They were alsogreat farmers whobuilt aqueducts to
take water to their cities. King Sen-
nacherib had 6 miles canals cut fromthe mountains to Nineveh to supply
the city with water.
The Assyrians were also famous for
their high quality art which focused
on documenting specific individualhistoric events as they took place.
Assyrian artisans turned out exquisite
metal, bronze, silver and gold plates,drinking vessels and ornaments. Artand wall sculpture reached its golden
age during the Sargonid period. Notuntil the Roman Empire we find such
quality art come again to existence!
The Aramaeans tribes that inhabited
the Syrian deserts slowly expandedinto Mesopotamia. Their influence
grew in the region and they attacked
Assyria in 1000 BCE and moved into
the land. Gradually the Aramaic lan-guage replaced the Akkadian and
cuneiform used at that time, espe-cially after the fall of the Assyrian em-pire for their simple alphabets to take
over.
In 612 and after the death of King As-surbanipal; the Babylonians in col-
laboration with the Medes from the
east destroyed Nineveh putting anend to the Assyrian empire.
Source: Nardo, D. (1998). The Assyr-
ian Empire.
By Mariam Amro
MEANING OF THE ASSYRIAN FLAG
At the center of the Assyrian flag is a
golden circle, representing the sun.
Symbolically, it generates heat and
light to sustain the earth and all living
things. The star surrounding the sun
stands for the land, its light blue color
representing tranquility.
The three major rivers of our home-
land are represented by the wavystripes that extend from the center of
the flag to its four corners. The dark
blue is for the Euphrates river, which
stands for the Assyrian word peruta
meaning abundance. The red stripes
symbolize the Tigris river, its crimson
color honoring courage, glory, and
pride. The white lines between the
two represent Zawa, as tranquility
and peace. Many view the three
stripes as roads that will lead the dis-persed Assyrian people back to their
homeland.
Above the blue star, at the top of the
flag, sits the ancient Assyrian God
Ashur, who guards the people the
flag represents. It is an ancient sym-
bol.
On top of the flagstaff is the standard
of King Sargon I, who established thefirst Assyrian empire. During the an-
cient times this insignia stood by theking's side to let everyone know hiswhereabouts.
Source:
http://www.ninevehlives.com/history/one-nation-one-flag/
HOLY APOSTOLIC CATHOLIC ASSYRIAN CHURCH OF THE EAST
Copyright 2013 by Assyrian Church of the East
http://www.ninevehlives.com/history/one-nation-one-flag/http://www.ninevehlives.com/history/one-nation-one-flag/http://www.ninevehlives.com/history/one-nation-one-flag/http://www.ninevehlives.com/history/one-nation-one-flag/http://www.ninevehlives.com/history/one-nation-one-flag/8/13/2019 Seeds of Faith Dec 2013
9/12
HOLY APOSTOLIC CATHOLIC ASSYRIAN CHURCH OF THE EAST
Page 9
Nationalism in Relation to the Assyrians
When society fails, the nation appears as the ultimate guaranteeMiroslav Hroch
Nationalism, a concept conceived originally in Europe during the nineteenth cen-tury, greatly influenced the theory of statehood for the globe. Nationalism in essence is the
idea of one collective group identifying themselves as being different from another group.
As a stateless people it is important to know that nationalism can exist without the creationof a physical state. Assyrians, although stateless, remain hopeful for the creation of an As-
syrian state as a viable solution in preserving an ancient and Christian heritage in the Mid-dle East.
The idea of a nation is related to components like the economy, politics, territory
and language. The equation nation = state = people is developed as the encompassing
idea of nationality. Interestingly, for France the idea of acquiring French citizenship onlythrough the knowledge of the French language during its nation-building phase can be related to the Assyrians ofthe Ottoman Empire. Although the Assyrians spoke Turkish during the reign of the Ottomans along with their own
language, they were regarded as part of a separate class, distinct from the Ottoman Muslim majority. What occurred
in Europe was the creation of states, which then aimed at creating the appropriate subject, or citizen. Often, and es-pecially when referring to the modern Middle East, the borders of a state were outlined haphazardly by Europeans,
thus leading to newfound identities and nationalities. This becomes linked to the American identity; a sense of
American nationalism had not existed prior to the United States sovereignty from the British crown. On the otherhand, the Assyrian identity existed well before and after the emergence of modern Middle Eastern states. This truth
became one of the main motives in the persecution of Assyrians by their non-Assyrian neighbors.
The idea of creating nations for a select group of people is linked to the Assyrians. Aiming for statehood, but
mostly survival, as the Ottoman Empire declined, Assyrians yearned as other minorities under the Empire to re-ceive territory representative of their ancestral homeland. They no longer intended to be part of an Empire that had
been subsequently harming their people. Fellow Ottoman minorities, Armenians, Greeks and Jews, were effective
in forming states.
The involvement of citizens within the political sphere during the nineteenth century became common and
further developed. Such acts were non-existent to Ottoman minorities, who were essentially excluded from holdingpolitical office and engaging in diplomatic affairs. The early twentieth century also brought about the census, which
documented the languages spoken by peoples within a state as a means of identifying a nations populace. Dis-
agreements erupted between individuals who were conflicted in identifying themselves. Citizens of newfoundstates found it problematic to identify themselves with the language spoken in the home or the language spoken inthe public, which often differed.
Nationalism became linked to a group of peoples social consciousness and agency. It emerged as a result
of the fall of previously established empires. Newly created states were built upon old empires, like that of the Turk-ish state which was established upon the ideals of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire aimed, like other em-
pires, to create a homogenous population, predominately one that was associated with Islam and the Turkish iden-
tity. The Assyrians, who experienced hardships, genocide, and survived assaults by their neighbors, like the Jewishcommunity under the Nazis, did not receive international endorsements in the creation of an Assyrian state as
prevalent with the creation of Israel. The question then remains, why were the demands of the Assyrians disre-
garded?
The creation of an Assyrian state becomes a means of sustaining an ancient culture, language, and religion.
The main purpose for an Assyrian state is fixed within the prospect of being politically active in a given territory aswell as having its citizens communicate in a shared language. The lack of political activity by the Assyrians in the
Ottoman Empire and later contemporary Middle Eastern states is an important actuality in realizing why a minoritygroup was constantly not provided the tools necessary to gain political momentum. Political involvement, after all, is
the means to which states are formed. Minorities like the Assyrians, aimed at achieving autonomy due to their mis-
treatment. The lack of an Assyrian state can be further studied to underscore the actuality that historical basis alonewill not grant a community a state or land rights, nor will it gain international support.
By: Ramsen Shamon
Copyright 2013 by Assyrian Church of the East
8/13/2019 Seeds of Faith Dec 2013
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8/13/2019 Seeds of Faith Dec 2013
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HOLY APOSTOLIC CATHOLIC ASSYRIAN CHURCH OF THE EAST
Copyright 2013 by Assyrian Church of the East
8/13/2019 Seeds of Faith Dec 2013
12/12
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Saint Andrews Church
Spiritual Services for month of
January
Monday January 6, 2014. It is the
Feast of the Epiphany of our Lord. Our
Lord was baptized by John the Baptist
in Jordan River in the year 336 of the
Greeks. Morning Mass will be cele-
brated at 9:00 A.M and Evening Mass
at 6:30 PM. Morning Mass will be
followed by Baptism.Friday January 10, 2014. It is the
Commemoration of Saint John the
Baptist the Holy Mass will be cele-
brated at 6:30 PM.
Friday January 17, 2014. It is the
Commemoration of Saints Peter and
Paul. The Holy Mass will be cele-
brated at 6:30 PM.
Friday January 24, 2014. It is the
Commemoration of the four Evangel-
ists. The Holy Mass will be celebrated
at 6:30 PM.
Friday January 31, 2014. It is the
Commemoration of Saint Steven the
protomartyr. The Holy Mass will be
celebrated at 6:30 PM.
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