The Assembly of the Catholic Hierarchy in Syria Meeting at Aleppo 15-17 November 2010 |
The Assembly of the Catholic Hierarchy in Syria met at Aleppo under the presidency of Patriarch Gregorios III of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, to discuss matters arising from the recent Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops in Rome.
The Assembly was first concerned with the problems of Caritas trying to deal with the difficulties of Iraqi refugees in Syria.
It went on to consider the matter of the personal statute in legislation.
The Assembly also discussed the Syrian President's initiative to hold an international Christian-Muslim Congress in December 2010 to examine the impact of the Synod's recommendations on Middle Eastern countries.
The Assembly also discussed the date of Pascha, when next year (as this year) once again Eastern and Western calendars coincide. There was a desire among the participants to continue to work, in order to have in future unified Christian witness in the Middle East's predominantly Muslim countries.
On the final day, the Synod was attended by representatives of other Churches, including the Greek Orthodox, the Syriac Orthodox, and the Armenian Orthodox Churches and Protestant Churches. They also support the unification of the date for celebrating Pascha.
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