Damascus Partnership – Archbishop Nassar from Syria

Archbishop Samir Nassar, the Maronite Archbishop of Damascus, will share about the current situation in Syria and ways he finds hope in this Jubilee year. Join us for this powerful event and learn more about the Archdiocesan Partnership with the Maronite Archeparch of Damascus, Syria.

In the Teresa of Calcutta Hall:

• 5:30PM – Gather & Food
• 6:00PM – Program Starts

Register

More about the Damascus Partnership: In the fall of 2016, U.S. Bishops expressed profound concern for the increasingly difficult situation of Christians living in the Middle East. Civil and religious strife in the homelands of our Christian faith led to human suffering on a vast scale. As an unprecedented humanitarian disaster unfolded, Archbishop Hebda and others determined that our brothers and sisters in the Middle East would not face it alone. A conversation was initiated through the Archdiocese’s Center for Mission to identify a partner diocese in the Middle East open to accompanying us in a journey of faith through the challenges of our times, particularly experienced by those who are displaced by war, famine, social unrest and religious persecution. Our conversations put us on the road to Damascus.

On January 25^th, 2017, the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul (the patronal feast Day of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis) we formalized our partnership with the Maronite Archeparchy of Damascus. The Church named after St. Paul is returning to the Church in Damascus – the faith community that received and baptized St. Paul and sent him forth as Apostle to the Gentiles.

Since its inception, some of the initiatives of the Damascus Partnership have included: the commissioning of an icon depicting the baptism of St. Paul, copies of which now hang in both cathedrals; providing financial support to families in Damascus suffering from the economic turmoil caused by war; and educational forums designed to raise awareness about the Maronite Church and the current situation in Syria. Archeparch Samir Nassar of the Maronite Archeparchy of Damascus has visited the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis twice, sharing his story and the stories of his parishioners with parish, school, and Archdiocesan staff, and many faith communities in the Twin Cities.

The Damascus Partnership offers a unique opportunity for us to be received, converted and sent forth, like St. Paul, as witnesses of Good News in our own day. Through a relationship of mutuality and solidarity across national and cultural boundaries, we are called to learn from one another; to be inspired and consoled by one another; and to discover, in our midst, the presence of Christ.

Bio for Archbishop Samir Nassar:

Archbishop Samir Nassar was born in Nabay, Lebanon in 1950 and ordained a priest of the Maronite Rite in 1980 in Beruit. He served as a parish priest in Beruit in various ways for over 26 years including home visits, vocation director, catechetical director for schools and organizing summer camps for under-privileged children. In 2006, he was consecrated a bishop and made Archbishop of Damascus, Syria. He has lived through wars in Lebanon and now in Syria. He has studied the impact of war on communities; especially the effects on youth.

The Church in Damascus is as ancient as the Church herself. Damascus was the place that Paul experienced his conversion. Over its history, Damascus has suffered much for its faith. And today, the Church faces tremendous upheaval and loss due to ongoing civil war.

Archbishop Nassar reports that after eight years of war, the main victims have been families, young people and the life of this ancient Church.

He says, “The basic unit of Syrian society, (the family), that had previously saved the country in crisis, has lost its identity.” Families are fragmented and live deprived of resources and shelter. They live in grief, ravaged by disease, while the old are increasingly isolated and find no assistance whatsoever.”

Young people, Archbishop Nassar says are “divided between battlefield fronts of war and prolonged military service evasion….  Great quantities of young people leave the country, leaving a huge emptiness behind.” Their absence has also weakened economic activity due to labor shortages and providing any kind of livelihood.

The decline of family life and the loss of the young has taken a heavy toll on Church life and practice. Archbishop Nassar says, “The Church structures are slowly disintegrating:  in 2017 there were only 10 marriages rather than 30; 7 baptisms rather than 40.” He says that priests have departed due to the loss of anyone to serve.  It is very discouraging. The Archbishop wonders, “Are we beginning a new chapter in the life of the Church?”

Despite the pain of so many losses, Archbishop Nassar maintains an uncompromising faith in the presence of the Lord. He said, “We carry on nevertheless, aware that we are in God’s hands.  He says to each of us ‘Do not fear little flock.” (Lk 12:22).