Last night, the Community of Sant'Egidio welcomed the Patriarch of the Eastern Assyrian Church, Mar Gevargis Sliwa, together with a delegation of bishops from his Church, who had in turn also met Pope Francis the day before.
The patriarch visited the school of Italian language and culture that was established by the Community of Sant'Egidio. In this place, he met with some of his Church's believers and he even talked to several refugees who arrived in Italy thanks to the humanitarian corridors.
Later in the day, he encountered Andrea Riccardi, who is the founder of the Community of Sant'Egidio, and other friends of the Community. In particular, in recent years, the friends of Sant’Egidio have launched several initiatives in support of Iraqi Christians, who are suffering from the difficult situation that is caused by the conflict in Syria and Iraq.
Afterward, Mar Gewargis participated in the evening prayer of the Community of Sant'Egidio by even greeting Andrea Riccardi. During this moment, the founder of the Community recalled the plight of the Assyrian Christians by saying "We feel the painful path you are going through, but the unity and love among Christians is a great relief" and he continued by expressing "esteem for your church because it evangelized Asia, China, and India and we bow in front of your history, your sufferings, and your current reality".
By commenting on the Gospel of the Beatitudes, the patriarch asked to pray for the Iraqi and Syrian Christians who suffer because they are "waiting for the beatitudes of the Lord". Moreover, he requested to continue calling for peace. He concluded by saying that "this image of fraternity is a source of hope for our people".
The Assyrian Church (also known as the Nestorian Church), which was born in Mesopotamia, is one of the oldest churches in the East. This encouraged its missionaries to go to India and China. Nowadays, Assyrian Christians live in the territories of northern Iraq, which is not far from the borders of Iran, Syria, and Turkey.
In 1940, the seat of the patriarchate had been moved to Chicago (United States). However, the church synod decided to return it to Erbil, Iraq, following the election of Patriarch Gewargis III.
The history of friendship with the Community of Sant'Egidio dates back to the prayer for peace in Bari that occurred in 1990 and the one in Milan that happened in 1993. This relationship has continued with a series of solidarity actions, which strengthened in 2014 thanks to the assistance of Christians in Mosul and Erbil who were forced to flee the war.
