Syriac Orthodox Patriarch Consecrates Altar and Holy Myron in Warburg, Germany, in First Such Rite in Europe

The Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch is marking the 1,500th Jubilee Year of Mor Jacob de Serugh (521+), also known as St Jacob of Serugh. The church said that, in response to a call from His Holiness Moran Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and all the East and Supreme Head of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church, Syriac Orthodox communities worldwide continued to learn about the saint and poet despite restrictions imposed by COVID-19 and its variants. Their activities included online sessions, translations of his poems into several languages, television programs, books, brochures and booklets, and YouTube videos on his life.

The source gives an example from Perth, Australia. For the Jubilee, the local community featured the saint’s image on its 2021 calendar and published a brochure and a booklet. The booklet included an analysis by V. Rev. Fr. Boutros Touma Issa of one of the saint’s poems about Habib, a Syriac Orthodox deacon and martyr. On 28 November, the church in Perth distributed to its faithful a framed image of the saint, with explanatory notes on its history, as a blessing for their homes. A personalized stamp bearing the saint’s image was issued more recently.

The main celebrations took place from 27 to 28 November, around the feast of St Jacob of Serugh on 29 November. The author describes them as a once-in-a-lifetime experience and says they should be counted among the great historical events in the life of the Syriac Orthodox Church, especially in the diaspora. On 27 November, the altar of Mor Jacob of Serugh was consecrated at the Mor Jacob of Serugh Monastery in Warburg, Germany. The Patriarch was assisted by several bishops, archpriests, priests, monks and deacons, and a limited number of faithful from Germany and elsewhere witnessed the rite. Afterward, the Patriarch blessed the faithful with relics of the saint, which had been brought from St Mary Church in (Amad) Diyarbakir, in the land of Mesopotamia. The relics now have a place beside the consecrated altar in Germany.

On 28 November, the Patriarch, assisted by clergy from Germany and around the world, consecrated the Holy Myron according to the rite of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch. The source describes this as one of the major rites of the church and links it to events of the apostolic era, citing Acts 8:17 and 19:6. According to the author, this was the first time such an important Syriac Orthodox rite had been carried out in Europe. Members of sister churches in Germany attended. The author credits the organization of the events to H.E. Mor Philoxinous Mattias Nayesh, the Patriarchal Vicar of Germany, together with the Syriac clergy, deacons and Syriac benevolent associations of the vicarate. About 22 archbishops from around the world also took part.

The author also describes the occasion as bittersweet. While listening to the Patriarch’s homilies, the author said, the hurt in his voice was evident as he assured the faithful that the church continues to make every effort to keep pace with members who have left their homeland. The source attributes their departure to uncertain circumstances in the Middle East, including ongoing discrimination and persecution, and says that large numbers of Syriacs have moved to Europe, the Americas and Australia in search of safer lives. The author states that the Patriarch, supported by the Syriac Orthodox Holy Synod, other clergy and benevolent associations, has faced and will continue to face these challenges, so that those leaving their homeland are served in the same manner and remain within the fold of the church (Matthew 25:35).

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