Seeds of Faith Dec 2013

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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

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K. MARDINKHA IV

CATHOLICOS-PATRIARCH OF

THE HOLY

APOSTOLIC CATHOLIC ASSYRIAN

CHURCH OF THE EAST


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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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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


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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.

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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.



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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



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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/


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/


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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



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Articles reflect point of view of

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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.


Commemoration of the four Evangel-

ists. The Holy Mass will be celebrated

at 6:30 PM.


Commemoration of Saint Steven the

protomartyr. The Holy Mass will be

celebrated at 6:30 PM.

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Seeds of Faith Dec 2013