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In the name of the glorious 
Trinity, Father and Son and Holy

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Spirit, forever Amen. 
Glory be to the everlasting 

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mercies which sent you to us. 
O Christ, the light of the world

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and the life of all. 
Give us wisdom by Your law and 

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enlighten our impulses by Your 
knowledge. 

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Sanctify our souls by Your truth
and grant that we may be 

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obedient to Your words and may 
fulfill Your commandments at 

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every hour. 
O You who enlightens the 

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rationale with the knowledge of 
Your greatness, do enlight, O my

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Lord, our thoughts, that we may 
meditate upon Your holy and 

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divine Scriptures at all times. 
O Lord of all, Father and Son 

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and Holy Spirit, forever. 
Amen. 

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A little over two years ago, my 
brother Stephen, my sister 

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Adrino approached me and said, 
Robbie, we should have a podcast

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series called the Oh no, 
actually I chose the word. 

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So I'm not going to let them 
bask in my glory. 

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I said, yeah, it's a great idea.
How how about we call it the 

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double edged sword. 
Marta Day Parish Syrian Church 

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of these podcast ministry and by
the grace of God and the 

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direction of God and the 
blessings of the church, we 

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began these series and here we 
are. 

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This is a special episode which 
is going to be extra blessed 

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double blessings we have with us
today. 

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And it's my utmost pleasure and 
humility to present to you all, 

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my dear, beloved listeners and 
viewers, His Holiness Marawa, 

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the third Catholicos, Patriarch 
of the Holy Apostolic Catholic 

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as Syrian Church of the East, 
and the Bishop still of the 

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Diocese of California. 
Bless me, O Lord, Your Holiness,

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it's an honor to have you on the
episode. 

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Well, thank you Pastor Denard. 
It's my distinct joy to be with 

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all of you. 
I have followed the podcast 

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myself while I was in Albion at 
various intervals and from time 

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to time, so I'm very happy that 
now I'm able to be with all of 

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you in person. 
And God bless your your helpers 

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here as well. 
So they've done a good job. 

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Too. 
No, they say they're the 

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producers. 
Yeah, they're the producers. 

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And it's been with your 
inspiration and direction and 

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the love and zeal you we've, 
we've witnessed in your 

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Holiness, firstly for the Lord 
and then for the church. 

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And I'm sure that is the drive 
behind all those who are through

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different means and mediums, you
know, reaching out to people in 

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particularly in the Syrian 
Church of the East. 

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Your Holiness, we have many 
questions, but I was going to 

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ask you that question actually. 
Actually, your Holiness, have 

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you ever listened to the 
podcast? 

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But you beat me to. 
It I have I have. 

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What are your thoughts, Your 
Holiness? 

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Any recommendations? 
Any suggestions? 

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Any rebuking admonishments you 
have? 

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Well, I'm glad to see that you 
the, the topics are varied. 

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So that's very important. 
And you have guests that come on

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from time to time. 
I don't know if you solicit 

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requests from the listeners with
regard to which topic you'll be 

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discussing. 
I'm sure you do. 

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But that's, that's also 
important to address issues and 

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matters of faith that that the 
listeners, the faithful, those 

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who are interested, those who 
are inquiring would be 

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interested to hear about. 
But obviously this is part of 

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the English ministries of the 
church and that you're engaged 

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with, of course, here in the 
diocese. 

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And I'm very, very happy to, to 
see that it's, it's progressing.

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And I'm sure that there are many
listeners and many viewers as 

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well. 
I mean by the grace of God and 

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your blessings, your Holiness, 
your Holiness. 

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In an age of Facebook, Twitter, 
Instagram, Snapchat, Spotify, 

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Podcasts, Tik Toks which the 
church cannot deny and cannot 

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turn a blind eye on, what is the
church's stance and view on the 

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using or utilization of these 
mediums by the church in all its

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different parts and aspects of 
the church? 

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Well, of course, today in our 
modern age of the Church always 

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makes use of social 
communications, which are 

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varied. 
You mentioned a number of them, 

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and I'm sure that Facebook would
be one of the most well known 

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and most utilized by the 
faithful and by the listeners 

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who are listening to this 
podcast. 

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There are many others, of 
course, but our modern age calls

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for the church to use modern 
instruments for the proclamation

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of the Gospel. 
So when we look at the 

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Scriptures, especially the 
Gospels, we see that the apostle

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of our Lord Jesus Christ 1st and
of course the apostles, they 

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preached the, the, the word of 
God, they proclaimed it by word 

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of mouth because obviously the 
social context that they were in

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was a very oral social context. 
People were were oriented in 

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terms of Speaking, of 
recounting, of telling, so that 

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word of mouth was very 
important. 

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And the scriptures weren't 
written then. 

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The Scriptures were not written.
So maybe less than a generation 

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later, the writing of the 
Scriptures, the New Testament 

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scriptures, became very 
important as the apostles of 

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Christ gradually were martyred 
and they began to leave, leave 

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this world. 
Then that's when the Holy Spirit

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inspired them to to write down 
what they had heard and seen 

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from Christ himself. 
But initially it was the 

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proclamation by word of mouth. 
Christ commanded His apostles 

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and Matthew 28 to go out and to 
proclaim the good news to all 

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people. 
He didn't command them to write 

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anything, but the Holy Spirit 
did direct them and did inspire 

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them to do so. 
So it was a very oral cultural 

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context. 
And of course, we as Assyrians, 

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for us even today, word of mouth
is one of the means whereby we 

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get a word across or some news 
across, sometimes even gossip as

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well, unfortunately. 
But that's part of our culture. 

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So we understand that that's 
very Semitic and that can be a 

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very good thing as well. 
But today's world has fashioned 

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other means through social 
media, the use of the computer, 

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of course, and other technical 
logical advances. 

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And the church has to also be 
updated in the use of these 

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instruments, modern day 
instruments for the proclamation

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of the Gospel, because it's 
easier to spread the word of the

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Gospel through such means today 
than as it was 2000 years ago. 

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By going on foot. 
Saint Paul did he? 

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He travelled much of Asia and 
Europe, you know, through by the

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use of ships and by sailing and 
whatnot. 

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And the Missionaries of the 
Church of the East. 

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The missionaries of the Church, 
they travelled by foot to China 

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and other parts of Asia. 
So today the world has become 

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smaller and the the advances of 
technology are much greater, of 

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course, and so the Church must 
use them for the spreading of 

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the Gospel. 
And of course, in our various 

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dioceses and parishes all across
the world, our hierarchy and our

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clergy are trying to do just 
that. 

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This podcast, for example, is a 
very good example of how the 

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Word of God can be spread 
through the modern use of 

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technology and social 
communications. 

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And by its nature, social 
communications slash social 

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media should have as as its 
foundation the spreading of the 

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truth and of course, the truth 
of God. 

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It's not to be used as often 
times, unfortunately, we see 

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nowadays for means that are 
other than spreading the word of

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God and for other often times 
even evil usages. 

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So we leave all of that aside as
the church. 

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We use it for the good, and that
good is the spreading of the 

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gospel. 
And I encourage all of our 

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parishes. 
We have that even in the Middle 

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East. 
So the world has become very 

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small, and we're using all of 
these technological means in 

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order to spread the gospel. 
Of course, other churches are 

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using them as well. 
And that's really at the 

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foundation of what social 
communications is all about. 

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It's not about spreading evil. 
It's not about spreading slander

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or gossip. 
It's not about politicizing 

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issues for us as Christians, as 
believers. 

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It's about spreading the word of
the gospel, the good news of our

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Lord Jesus Christ, that in Him 
there is salvation for all men. 

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I mean saying James writes in 
his epistle that a fountain 

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cannot produce sweet and bitter 
water at the same time. 

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Do you does your Holiness think 
or maybe the church teams may be

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inappropriate for a platform 
that is used for negativity, 

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immorality and what have you. 
And at the same time, we have 

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the preaching of the gospel and 
you know, the the gospel mean 

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Jesus Christ himself. 
Do you see there's some 

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inappropriate element there, 
Your Holiness? 

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Well, I do oftentimes hear from 
our clergy, certain clergy, of 

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course, and they say, oh, I'm 
not engaged in the use of social

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media because it's an evil 
thing. 

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Well, it can be used for evil, 
obviously. 

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Unfortunately, that is the that 
is the possibility that we have 

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to somehow suffer because of 
human freedom. 

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And that's a reality that we we 
live in and that we experience. 

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But as the church, as bishops 
and priests, as those who are 

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proclaiming the Gospel, 
obviously we only use it for the

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good. 
And anyone who is a believer 

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needs to only use social media 
for the good. 

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And we encourage all of those 
who are, who are directing or 

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who are guiding the social 
medias to keep in mind that 

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truth is what should be sought 
after. 

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And your Holiness as you as our 
spiritual Holy Father and those 

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who are listening at the moment,
mainly I think the the young age

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group. 
What is your paternal advice and

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recommendation to those who do 
use these social medias? 

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Because we see, you know, 
calling a spade a spade and 

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realistically speaking, that at 
times even the children of the 

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church use these mediums for 
something that is not 

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appropriate and it does not 
relate to the Christian matter 

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that we have been instructed by 
the Scriptures to leave our life

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according to the Scriptures 
itself. 

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Well, sadly, we see that as 
well, as I mentioned that that's

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a part of our experience. 
But again, one who is a 

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Christian, one who is a faithful
of the church, a son or daughter

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of the church, and therefore a 
son or a daughter of Christ, he 

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or she should utterly avoid the 
use of social media for any 

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purpose. 
That's not wholesome. 

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So social media, of course, 
Facebook and we hear about 

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TikTok and other platforms as 
well. 

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They are not to be used as an 
expression of one's freedom in 

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the sense that I can do or say 
or express myself as I please. 

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So as Christians, as believers, 
there are always parameters for 

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us and our parameter is the 
gospel. 

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So if what I'm saying or posting
or writing or sharing or 

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exchanging with others on any 
platform, if it is not in 

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conformity with the gospel, if 
it's not in conformity with my 

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calling as a Christian, then I 
should not be engaging in that. 

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And of course, this is directed 
towards our youth because our 

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youth, vast majority of them, 
they love the church and that's 

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a beautiful thing. 
But because they're still 

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maturing and they're still 
growing, unfortunately they're 

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also being influenced not only 
by the church, there are other 

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outside influences that are 
taking root in their minds. 

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And so they act on that as well.
So they need to be very careful,

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careful of. 
That I believe Saint Paul write.

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Saint Paul writes in his epistle
to the Corinthians, whatever you

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do, you drink, you eat, do for 
the glory of God. 

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I think in Saint Paul was to 
write a letter to the churches 

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today. 
He would say whichever platform 

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you use, use it for the glory of
God. 

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That's very true. 
And I'm sure Saint Paul, who is,

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you know, the majority of the 
New Testament, of course, 

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belongs to his writings and he's
travelled the farthest than any 

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other apostle. 
He's written and preached the 

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most than any other apostle 
according to statistics. 

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And he probably if he were 
living today would use the 

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various social media platforms 
that we have at our exposure and

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disposal. 
So in any case, of course, the 

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00:14:01,440 --> 00:14:05,600
guiding principle, and this is 
very important for our youth is 

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that does what I am posting or 
sharing or expressing. 

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Is it in conformity with the 
gospel? 

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00:14:13,800 --> 00:14:17,920
It's a very simple litmus test, 
yet a very important one. 

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And if it's not in conformity 
with something that that 

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expresses our faith as 
Christians, I don't need to 

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share it. 
I don't need to express it. 

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I don't need to post it. 
So we we should have a moral 

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faith filter on what we're using
and what we're doing. 

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I mean, Your Holiness, would you
have any suggestions for this, 

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for this ministry as in respects
to what topics you'd like the 

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ministry to to present and focus
on? 

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As you know you, Your Holiness 
travels the world and you see 

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what is lacking, what is needing
in all of the diocese. 

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What would you one or two 
topics? 

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What would Your Holiness 
recommend would be the most 

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important topic and issue that 
needs to be covered in in all 

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these ministers that we have, 
especially social media? 

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00:15:13,920 --> 00:15:18,800
Well, I think more firstly, more
broad topics or broader topics 

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such as Christian living, 
morality, and of course I 

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believe we will be discussing 
that in future podcasts and 

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other ways that I can live out 
or that one can live out his or 

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her faith as a Christian in 
today's modern world. 

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So the general principles of our
faith according to the word of 

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Christ, according to the Gospel,
and then those that are more 

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particular to the Assyrian 
Church of the East in terms of 

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our liturgy, the history of our 
church. 

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Maybe have a few podcasts on 
customs of the church. 

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There are often many older 
customs that our parents or 

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grandparents were accustomed to,
or that we've heard from them 

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recount when they were children.
But because of the vicissitudes 

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of time and circumstances of 
culture today, we don't practice

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them or we don't hold on to 
them. 

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The traditions we're referring. 
To the traditions, we were 

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speaking about that earlier. 
So in order to be able to share 

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that, especially with our youth 
today, I think it's a beautiful 

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thing. 
We may not be able to actively 

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bring them back as something 
that's a part of our church life

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today, but it's good to know of 
them. 

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For example, we were speaking 
about a lot of marriage 

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traditions, folk traditions that
we had, but they were still 

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based on some theological or 
biblical concept. 

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And because of the social 
context today, often times, 

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unfortunately, we have sort of 
lost those beautiful traditions.

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And the encouraging thing is 
Your Holiness, that when you 

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educate the youth in particular 
pertaining to marriage, because 

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the youth learning concern about
marriage, they don't want to get

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married. 
And when you present to them the

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traditions like the, the placing
of the ring of the bride by the 

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priest who is actually 
officiating and blessing the 

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bride in the room, the 
encouraging thing is that they 

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they want that. 
And many bride and grooms, Your 

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Holiness has been witness to 
this. 

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I've requested that your 
Holiness or the priest to place 

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the ring on the things. 
That's very encouraging that to 

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see that when the youth hear 
this, they want to bring those 

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traditions back. 
And as we were speaking in 

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holiness, it's not incumbent 
that they will do they need to 

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do this. 
But I think, and this is this 

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was not our argument, our 
discussion, but I think that 

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will be great to bring the 
traditions back because Saint 

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Paul, you know, some people 
frown upon the word tradition. 

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Some people think tradition is a
bad word. 

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But Saint Paul, in his Second 
Epistle to the Thessedalonians, 

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right stand firm on the 
traditions that I have given 

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you, whether in Word or right. 
Of course, that's tradition with

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a capital TT, the Apostolic 
tradition, which is the sort one

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of the sources of revelation. 
And even the Scriptures, even 

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though they're written, are 
indeed a part of the Apostolic 

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tradition. 
But yes, the Church has a lot of

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practices. 
As I mentioned, they're based on

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the theology of the Church. 
So how does the Church express 

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her faith and her theology? 
It's through traditions. 

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It's through. 
They might be even folk 

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traditions, but there's 
something there that has a 

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biblical foundation, and that's 
how our people understood the 

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Scriptures. 
We have to realize and remember 

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that 100 years ago, 150 years 
ago, and this was true not only 

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in the Middle East, but across 
Europe and other parts of the 

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world. 
Not everyone had access to a 

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Bible. 
It was only the the 

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ecclesiastics, and it was also 
people who possibly could read 

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00:18:55,360 --> 00:18:57,280
or could write. 
They had access to the 

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00:18:57,280 --> 00:18:59,800
Scriptures and even centuries 
before that. 

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So the Church, through various 
means, taught them the 

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00:19:03,600 --> 00:19:06,760
theological truths of our faith.
We will do that. 

301
00:19:06,760 --> 00:19:09,760
You're holding us. 
Something that intrigues me is 

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the idioms within the community.
The Assyrian community is when, 

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when the suitors go to ask for 
the hand in marriage, for the 

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00:19:21,880 --> 00:19:25,640
bride's end in marriage, they 
say we will not eat. 

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00:19:25,640 --> 00:19:30,600
We will not drink until we have 
been asked what, what our 

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00:19:30,600 --> 00:19:33,320
purpose is. 
And this is what Abraham's 

307
00:19:33,320 --> 00:19:37,400
servant said when he went to ask
yes for Rachel's and so. 

308
00:19:37,600 --> 00:19:40,320
They're all biblically based. 
So that's that's the beauty of 

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00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:43,200
them. 
And again, because of today's 

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00:19:43,200 --> 00:19:47,760
culture and the increased 
westernization of our faithful, 

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00:19:47,760 --> 00:19:53,640
of our people and because of the
movement out of the Middle East,

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the context unfortunately has 
changed in some regards 

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00:19:56,640 --> 00:20:01,000
unfortunately. 
And so we're not able to to keep

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00:20:01,000 --> 00:20:04,040
those very beautiful traditions 
that we've heard from our 

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00:20:04,040 --> 00:20:06,040
grandparents and such. 
So. 

316
00:20:06,400 --> 00:20:07,920
Well, I think we should work on 
bringing them back. 

317
00:20:08,320 --> 00:20:10,360
That's another story. 
Your Holiness, you mentioned the

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00:20:10,360 --> 00:20:11,880
Middle East. 
I'm not going into the 

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00:20:11,880 --> 00:20:14,400
political, you know, real men 
aspect. 

320
00:20:14,400 --> 00:20:18,320
But what are the challenges, the
spiritual challenges of our 

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00:20:19,360 --> 00:20:21,720
Christian brothers and sisters, 
not only the Assyrians, but 

322
00:20:21,880 --> 00:20:24,080
Christians in general in the 
Middle East? 

323
00:20:24,600 --> 00:20:30,120
Do you see that faith within the
youth is not so much diminishing

324
00:20:30,120 --> 00:20:33,840
but not having a integral part 
of life? 

325
00:20:33,840 --> 00:20:37,440
And what is Your Holiness 
witness these three or four 

326
00:20:37,440 --> 00:20:38,960
years that you've been residing 
there? 

327
00:20:39,720 --> 00:20:42,680
Well, in the Middle East there's
a number of challenges and yes, 

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00:20:43,080 --> 00:20:45,400
not only the Assyrian 
Christians, but other 

329
00:20:47,040 --> 00:20:51,040
Christians, other brothers and 
sisters, even close to our 

330
00:20:51,440 --> 00:20:54,760
nation are undergoing a lot of 
challenges. 

331
00:20:56,280 --> 00:20:59,800
There are obviously socio 
economic challenges, political 

332
00:20:59,800 --> 00:21:05,360
challenges, but in terms of 
practicing the faith because the

333
00:21:05,400 --> 00:21:10,520
Christian population is steadily
decreasing and although it's a 

334
00:21:10,520 --> 00:21:15,240
steady decrease, it is still at 
an alarming rate because there 

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00:21:15,320 --> 00:21:19,120
are no Christians replacing 
those who are leaving Iraq, 

336
00:21:19,120 --> 00:21:25,160
Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey. 
It is a cause of alarm for all 

337
00:21:25,160 --> 00:21:28,680
of the churches. 
And of course, that takes a toll

338
00:21:28,680 --> 00:21:32,600
on many things, on church 
attendance, on the ability to 

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00:21:32,600 --> 00:21:39,240
have various aspects of church 
life simply because you don't 

340
00:21:39,240 --> 00:21:44,200
have the number of faithful. 
And so gradually the church as a

341
00:21:44,200 --> 00:21:50,080
whole is struggling to keep the 
numbers of, of, of Christians 

342
00:21:50,600 --> 00:21:52,760
intact. 
And, and that's nearly 

343
00:21:52,760 --> 00:21:56,680
impossible because on, on the 
daily basis people are leaving, 

344
00:21:56,760 --> 00:22:00,080
unfortunately. 
And I've tried often times in my

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00:22:00,080 --> 00:22:05,520
sermons and in my talks to with 
the faithful to discourage 

346
00:22:06,360 --> 00:22:09,200
they're leaving the country. 
But there are many influences 

347
00:22:09,200 --> 00:22:13,920
that are out of our control, 
which is very sad. 

348
00:22:14,920 --> 00:22:19,920
So for people to attend 
services, for the youth groups 

349
00:22:19,920 --> 00:22:23,920
to be formed and to be 
strengthened, it becomes a 

350
00:22:23,920 --> 00:22:28,560
challenge to find personnel to 
work for the church and, and, 

351
00:22:28,680 --> 00:22:31,840
and carry out various projects 
for the church can be a 

352
00:22:31,840 --> 00:22:36,680
challenge itself. 
So that's in a nutshell. 

353
00:22:36,680 --> 00:22:38,440
That's really what we're going 
through. 

354
00:22:39,880 --> 00:22:43,080
One of the things that I've been
along with our bishops as well 

355
00:22:43,080 --> 00:22:46,880
in the country, I've been trying
to single out young men who 

356
00:22:47,760 --> 00:22:52,080
could be priests and deacons to 
serve in the church, because we 

357
00:22:52,080 --> 00:22:58,440
do have the need for a more 
robust clergy in Iraq and other 

358
00:22:58,440 --> 00:23:01,560
parts of the Middle East. 
We need bishops, we need 

359
00:23:01,560 --> 00:23:05,120
priests, we need deacons. 
So that's one of the points that

360
00:23:05,120 --> 00:23:08,000
I'm trying to concentrate on. 
Of course, now we're in the 

361
00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:10,680
process of building the 
patriarchal seminary in Arbil, 

362
00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:15,640
which is on the, on the, it's 
contained within the patriarchal

363
00:23:15,640 --> 00:23:19,680
complex, if you will. 
And so it is my hope, and I've 

364
00:23:20,200 --> 00:23:24,040
discussed that with our bishops 
and our last Synod last April, 

365
00:23:24,040 --> 00:23:30,360
that it will be not only serving
Erbil or Iraq, but other parts 

366
00:23:30,360 --> 00:23:32,760
of the world as well. 
Because we need our clergy to be

367
00:23:32,760 --> 00:23:37,760
trained in many fields, among 
them, of course, in our history,

368
00:23:37,760 --> 00:23:40,760
liturgy, theology, faith, 
etcetera, so that they can 

369
00:23:41,400 --> 00:23:47,280
properly and correctly hand on 
the faith to to the parishes 

370
00:23:47,280 --> 00:23:49,720
wherever they're living. 
So it is my hope that from 

371
00:23:49,720 --> 00:23:52,880
across the world we'll have 
aspirants to come to the 

372
00:23:52,880 --> 00:23:54,480
patriarchal. 
What has been the response, 

373
00:23:54,480 --> 00:23:55,280
Casey? 
When you? 

374
00:23:56,080 --> 00:24:01,280
When you mentioned the seminary,
is there an expression of 

375
00:24:01,280 --> 00:24:07,880
interest from any of the youth? 
Yes, there has been, there's 

376
00:24:07,880 --> 00:24:10,160
been a lot of interest from the 
clergy as well. 

377
00:24:10,920 --> 00:24:17,360
I think we need a more a more a 
strengthened campaign and 

378
00:24:17,360 --> 00:24:21,400
hopefully we'll be doing that 
soon, not simply to raise funds 

379
00:24:21,400 --> 00:24:24,800
for the continuation of the 
construction, but in order to 

380
00:24:24,800 --> 00:24:29,560
have future aspirants. 
So it's not just for training 

381
00:24:29,560 --> 00:24:31,800
future priests. 
We can have deacons come there. 

382
00:24:32,160 --> 00:24:36,520
It's also called a catechetical 
training center. 

383
00:24:37,440 --> 00:24:42,000
So those who would like to learn
the basics of the faith of the 

384
00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:45,600
Church in order to be able to 
teach at their local parish 

385
00:24:46,040 --> 00:24:48,800
will, God willing, will also be 
a part of that program. 

386
00:24:48,800 --> 00:24:53,040
And of course there will be an 
in person aspect where you have 

387
00:24:53,040 --> 00:24:55,560
to be there personally, 
especially for those who want to

388
00:24:55,560 --> 00:24:58,680
be priests and deacons. 
And then for catechetical 

389
00:24:59,080 --> 00:25:03,160
teachers and catechists will be 
will have online training for 

390
00:25:03,160 --> 00:25:05,600
them as well. 
And currently we have the 

391
00:25:05,720 --> 00:25:08,760
Naseebus Theological College in 
Sydney, Australia. 

392
00:25:10,040 --> 00:25:13,840
And I believe that Your Holiness
was a lecturer and in this 

393
00:25:14,080 --> 00:25:19,280
college. 
Can you tell us a little about 

394
00:25:19,280 --> 00:25:21,760
that college? 
And you've visited the the 

395
00:25:21,800 --> 00:25:23,680
college itself. 
Yes, of course. 

396
00:25:23,680 --> 00:25:27,080
Well, the Serious Theological 
College is predominantly online 

397
00:25:27,840 --> 00:25:33,120
and it is an undergraduate and a
graduate level theological 

398
00:25:33,120 --> 00:25:34,760
institution of the Church of the
East. 

399
00:25:35,240 --> 00:25:38,400
It's run by the Archdiocese of 
Australia and New Zealand. 

400
00:25:39,120 --> 00:25:43,520
And the founder, of course, is 
his, The Attitude, Marmina's 

401
00:25:44,080 --> 00:25:46,600
principal, this is Grace Marvin 
Yaman. 

402
00:25:46,600 --> 00:25:49,680
And of course we have various 
clergy that are teaching the 

403
00:25:49,680 --> 00:25:52,680
courses there. 
As you mentioned, I was teaching

404
00:25:52,680 --> 00:25:54,400
a course at the undergraduate 
level. 

405
00:25:54,400 --> 00:25:58,120
I was teaching sacraments one. 
So the first course on the 

406
00:25:58,120 --> 00:26:04,880
sacraments when they pulled me 
out of the the faculty there as 

407
00:26:04,880 --> 00:26:05,760
it. 
Were I heard you would give him 

408
00:26:05,760 --> 00:26:07,120
too much homework? 
Yes, yes. 

409
00:26:09,360 --> 00:26:13,280
I, I believe in homework, but it
was a, it's a very good 

410
00:26:13,280 --> 00:26:14,800
institution. 
We have, the numbers are 

411
00:26:14,800 --> 00:26:18,120
increasing now from across the 
globe. 

412
00:26:19,440 --> 00:26:23,600
We have aspirants from different
parts of the world. 

413
00:26:24,360 --> 00:26:28,480
And the idea is for the 
patriarchal seminary to be 

414
00:26:29,080 --> 00:26:34,160
joined with Nasebis in terms of 
the, the accreditation and the 

415
00:26:34,160 --> 00:26:38,840
granting of the the degrees 
which come through the the 

416
00:26:39,080 --> 00:26:43,160
College of the Divinity College 
of Sydney or Sydney College of 

417
00:26:43,160 --> 00:26:46,000
Divinity, which will be a 
university soon. 

418
00:26:47,000 --> 00:26:51,920
And although the seminary will 
predominantly be using Arabic 

419
00:26:51,920 --> 00:26:55,240
more as, as the language of 
instruction because Naseebus of 

420
00:26:55,240 --> 00:26:58,840
course teaches in English, but 
we will also have other 

421
00:26:58,960 --> 00:27:03,040
languages available. 
And so we have, we also have the

422
00:27:03,040 --> 00:27:06,080
minor seminary in India, the 
Archdiocese of India. 

423
00:27:06,720 --> 00:27:10,800
And so I've asked that we also 
have that seminary be tied to, 

424
00:27:11,480 --> 00:27:14,840
to Nasiba. 
So His Beatitude Moroghan, our 

425
00:27:14,840 --> 00:27:18,840
metropolitan for the Archdiocese
of India is looking into that. 

426
00:27:18,840 --> 00:27:22,800
So we want to have the three 
sort of be a consortium of 

427
00:27:23,240 --> 00:27:26,840
theological training in the 
Assyrian Church in the future. 

428
00:27:27,560 --> 00:27:32,080
The seminary in Erbil. 
When is it anticipated to be 

429
00:27:32,080 --> 00:27:36,480
opening? 
It's my hope that construction 

430
00:27:36,480 --> 00:27:40,840
will be completed this year. 
It may not be completed this 

431
00:27:40,840 --> 00:27:42,640
year and that all depends on 
funding. 

432
00:27:43,200 --> 00:27:48,360
So we'll have to look at because
obviously during this the winter

433
00:27:48,360 --> 00:27:52,440
months they can't continue their
work hopefully by the spring of 

434
00:27:52,440 --> 00:27:56,800
next year at the latest and then
maybe have the first academic 

435
00:27:56,800 --> 00:28:00,240
year in the fall of 2025. 
It's that's my hope. 

436
00:28:01,080 --> 00:28:06,160
And but we've already spoken 
with Nasibus and so they will be

437
00:28:06,520 --> 00:28:11,520
producing in conjunction with 
the Patriarchal seminary. 

438
00:28:11,960 --> 00:28:16,720
They'll be producing the Arabic 
version of all of the courses 

439
00:28:17,120 --> 00:28:22,000
and the syllabi and everything 
that is being utilized at 

440
00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:25,640
Nasibus now. 
So it's sort of a mirror program

441
00:28:25,640 --> 00:28:28,680
in Arabic. 
We might have courses in modern 

442
00:28:28,680 --> 00:28:33,320
Assyrian as well and possibly 
maybe through Naseeb Assef 

443
00:28:33,320 --> 00:28:37,240
English courses. 
But we have a lot of our people,

444
00:28:37,240 --> 00:28:39,320
not only the Middle East, but 
who have left the Middle East 

445
00:28:39,320 --> 00:28:43,680
and come to the US, to North 
America, Canada, Australia, who 

446
00:28:43,680 --> 00:28:47,120
still because of their their 
elementary school training, 

447
00:28:47,120 --> 00:28:50,800
their high school training are 
more proficient in Arabic. 

448
00:28:52,000 --> 00:28:56,000
And so that will be the main 
language of instruction some 

449
00:28:56,000 --> 00:28:58,920
great. 
Endeavors to be embarking on. 

450
00:28:59,560 --> 00:29:03,320
Indeed, I'm very excited about 
it and the the Patriarchal 

451
00:29:03,320 --> 00:29:08,360
Seminary is a huge building. 
It's 3500 square meters and it's

452
00:29:08,360 --> 00:29:12,360
three floors and it houses, of 
course, a Chapel, a library. 

453
00:29:12,360 --> 00:29:18,560
We have 18 ensuite rooms for the
faculty and future students who 

454
00:29:18,560 --> 00:29:20,680
will be living there. 
This is the seminary. 

455
00:29:20,760 --> 00:29:26,640
This is the seminary and we have
a large event hall which is the 

456
00:29:26,720 --> 00:29:29,920
garden level. 
And so it can be and we have a, 

457
00:29:31,280 --> 00:29:37,960
it'll be a state-of-the-art, a 
modern Conference Center because

458
00:29:37,960 --> 00:29:41,520
we would like to host 
conferences there as well in 

459
00:29:41,520 --> 00:29:45,800
terms of inter church and and 
other events that we have which 

460
00:29:45,800 --> 00:29:48,760
are important to for us. 
To Will you be receiving guests,

461
00:29:48,760 --> 00:29:52,200
Your Holiness? 
Let's say Steven wants to visit 

462
00:29:52,280 --> 00:29:53,760
Arbil. 
Can he stay at the seminary? 

463
00:29:54,400 --> 00:29:57,240
Free accommodation I'm I'm 
trying to get for you, Steven. 

464
00:29:57,800 --> 00:29:58,880
Yes. 
I don't know if he's going to 

465
00:29:58,880 --> 00:30:01,400
get free accommodation but he's 
more than welcome to come by. 

466
00:30:03,080 --> 00:30:06,480
Your Holiness, you mentioned 
conference and this year will be

467
00:30:06,480 --> 00:30:11,280
one more time blessed with your 
audience anticipating, but you 

468
00:30:11,280 --> 00:30:17,640
have a a route you need to take 
from Canada to Phoenix. 

469
00:30:17,800 --> 00:30:20,920
Yes, I'll be in Canada on Sunday
the 23rd. 

470
00:30:21,800 --> 00:30:24,720
I will be accompanied by his 
very small polls from Chicago 

471
00:30:24,720 --> 00:30:29,320
and then from there I proceed to
to Phoenix, AZ for a week. 

472
00:30:29,320 --> 00:30:33,000
I'll be ordaining 2 new priests 
for that for the Diocese of 

473
00:30:33,000 --> 00:30:35,400
Western USA. 
Shamasha, Andrew. 

474
00:30:35,560 --> 00:30:40,200
Shamasha Andrew Yes, it was very
well known for the OR with the 

475
00:30:40,200 --> 00:30:42,800
youth and Shamasha Ninos as 
well. 

476
00:30:43,640 --> 00:30:48,480
And so they will be serving in, 
in Phoenix and in Gilbert and in

477
00:30:48,480 --> 00:30:53,400
surprise, which is it? 
It was being created as a 

478
00:30:53,400 --> 00:30:55,480
mission, but then it ended up 
being a parish. 

479
00:30:55,480 --> 00:30:58,280
They have a full time priest or 
they will be having a full time 

480
00:30:58,280 --> 00:31:01,240
priest now. 
And so there's quite a bit of 

481
00:31:01,240 --> 00:31:04,240
growth there. 
Of course, here in the Diocese 

482
00:31:04,240 --> 00:31:08,680
of California, we need assistant
priests as well and, and, and 

483
00:31:08,680 --> 00:31:13,760
future parish priests to help. 
So we're still working on that, 

484
00:31:14,720 --> 00:31:20,480
among a lot of other things. 
Once at a time and prioritizing 

485
00:31:20,480 --> 00:31:24,520
obviously holiness and and we 
know that we're trusting God and

486
00:31:24,520 --> 00:31:28,280
we are so confident in your 
leadership that everything will 

487
00:31:28,280 --> 00:31:30,960
come in its place according to 
God's perfect will and grace. 

488
00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:36,800
We pray every time your Holiness
enters a a house honoring a an 

489
00:31:37,560 --> 00:31:40,800
invitation as soon as your 
Holiness sits in the chair. 

490
00:31:40,800 --> 00:31:43,920
The first question is, are you 
used to it? 

491
00:31:43,920 --> 00:31:46,480
How's how's how's the Middle 
East? 

492
00:31:47,000 --> 00:31:50,440
Let's once and for all ask that 
question so that it will not be 

493
00:31:50,520 --> 00:31:53,040
asked. 
I think it still will be after 

494
00:31:53,040 --> 00:31:54,520
the podcast. 
But that's OK. 

495
00:31:54,520 --> 00:31:56,120
Have you settled in your 
holiness? 

496
00:31:56,120 --> 00:31:58,440
Have you adapted? 
I have. 

497
00:31:58,440 --> 00:32:00,960
How difficult was it? 
Or was it just a breeze for 

498
00:32:00,960 --> 00:32:01,680
yourself? 
And. 

499
00:32:02,520 --> 00:32:06,160
Obviously, to begin with it it 
was it was a difficult change. 

500
00:32:06,600 --> 00:32:14,000
I had been to Arbel many times 
previously, but I had visited as

501
00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:15,400
well. 
I had gone as a visitor. 

502
00:32:15,400 --> 00:32:19,320
So it's different when you're a 
visitor than when you arrive 

503
00:32:19,320 --> 00:32:21,080
there to stay and become a 
resident. 

504
00:32:21,640 --> 00:32:24,840
But I think there was a learning
curve for me, which is natural. 

505
00:32:25,520 --> 00:32:27,240
So it took about a year, year 
and a half. 

506
00:32:27,680 --> 00:32:30,280
I'm settled in now because the 
Patriarchate has been built. 

507
00:32:30,280 --> 00:32:34,160
Of course, previously I was in a
home that was rented and the 

508
00:32:34,160 --> 00:32:37,400
cathedral, the new Cathedral of 
the Holy Apostles has also been 

509
00:32:37,400 --> 00:32:40,040
completed. 
We're working on the seminary 

510
00:32:40,040 --> 00:32:44,320
now and, but there's a lot of 
other things we're doing the, 

511
00:32:44,640 --> 00:32:47,560
the, the other could the old 
cathedral, Saint John the 

512
00:32:47,560 --> 00:32:51,600
Baptist, Madiukan and Mamdana, 
you know, we have plans for, 

513
00:32:51,800 --> 00:32:56,160
because that's the, that's the, 
the main parish and Adebid slash

514
00:32:56,160 --> 00:33:00,280
Ankawa, we have a lot of plans 
for that future there. 

515
00:33:00,280 --> 00:33:06,440
And then for other institutions,
there's another project where we

516
00:33:06,440 --> 00:33:10,640
have a building and land, and 
I'd like to turn that into a 

517
00:33:10,680 --> 00:33:13,440
preschool elementary school as 
well. 

518
00:33:13,440 --> 00:33:18,000
So obviously we don't have the 
massive numbers, but it would be

519
00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:20,640
open to all of the Christians 
that are living in the area, 

520
00:33:20,720 --> 00:33:24,760
Syrians, Chaldeans, Syriacs 
without distinction. 

521
00:33:25,480 --> 00:33:29,840
But I think it's important to 
have institutions of learning. 

522
00:33:30,280 --> 00:33:33,800
That's that's very important. 
And there's other projects for 

523
00:33:33,800 --> 00:33:39,000
development for the future, some
near some far further future, 

524
00:33:39,960 --> 00:33:42,040
but there's a lot of work that 
needs to be done. 

525
00:33:42,440 --> 00:33:45,600
Then we have the villages. 
We have the village of Diana, 

526
00:33:45,600 --> 00:33:47,560
which is not a village anymore. 
Really. 

527
00:33:47,560 --> 00:33:50,800
It's more of a town how D and 
there's some projects for 

528
00:33:50,800 --> 00:33:55,040
development there in terms of 
having a social Center for each 

529
00:33:55,360 --> 00:33:58,800
each of the the villages there 
for people to gather and have 

530
00:33:58,800 --> 00:34:03,400
activities. 
As I mentioned, I'm busy with 

531
00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:07,880
the training of clergy locally, 
the clergy for the patriarchal 

532
00:34:07,880 --> 00:34:11,400
diocese. 
And so we have a number of young

533
00:34:11,400 --> 00:34:15,960
men who are studying now and 
some of them are deke have 

534
00:34:15,960 --> 00:34:20,600
recently been made deacons, some
sub deacons and we're scouting 

535
00:34:21,320 --> 00:34:25,760
the young men that can be 
potential clergy for the church 

536
00:34:25,760 --> 00:34:28,960
there, which is not easy. 
Often times it's much more 

537
00:34:28,960 --> 00:34:31,639
difficult, but here in the US 
there is difficulty. 

538
00:34:31,639 --> 00:34:34,080
As well, there's always a 
challenge and I believe every 

539
00:34:34,080 --> 00:34:36,360
church is going through that 
challenge and the difficulty. 

540
00:34:36,360 --> 00:34:41,320
Indeed there is worldwide, there
is a crisis in vocations across 

541
00:34:41,320 --> 00:34:48,360
the globe and that is really a 
result of globalization. 

542
00:34:48,480 --> 00:34:54,719
It's a result of the changes in 
socio economic structures that 

543
00:34:54,719 --> 00:35:00,640
we have in the world today. 
Maybe the faith is lessening as 

544
00:35:00,640 --> 00:35:04,160
well. 
Christ says in the gospels when 

545
00:35:04,160 --> 00:35:07,320
the Son of Man comes, will he 
find faith on faith on the face 

546
00:35:07,320 --> 00:35:10,800
of the earth? 
That's also an aspect, yes. 

547
00:35:11,680 --> 00:35:15,080
Now he didn't mean he will not 
find faith, but it's a 

548
00:35:15,080 --> 00:35:18,520
rhetorical question. 
And how much faith will there 

549
00:35:18,520 --> 00:35:21,920
be? 
And the quality of faith and of 

550
00:35:21,920 --> 00:35:26,880
course many other factors are 
also playing a role in the lives

551
00:35:26,880 --> 00:35:31,040
of young men, of course, and 
their ability to hear the call 

552
00:35:31,600 --> 00:35:34,640
of God to come and serve the 
Church as ordained clergy. 

553
00:35:37,360 --> 00:35:40,320
Now I'm going to ask you 
questions that I'm constantly 

554
00:35:40,320 --> 00:35:44,240
asked for by the youth and 
different people about your 

555
00:35:44,240 --> 00:35:47,920
Holiness and we'd like to catch 
a tap into your not so much your

556
00:35:47,920 --> 00:35:50,520
private affairs. 
No, we won't do that because but

557
00:35:50,520 --> 00:35:56,880
your upbringing and how was 
experience in Rome? 

558
00:35:57,600 --> 00:36:00,000
Your Holiness spent six years. 
Was it your? 

559
00:36:00,560 --> 00:36:04,560
Yes, I was recently ordained a 
priest, just one month. 

560
00:36:06,480 --> 00:36:12,040
So I was made a priest in May of
1999, and by the end of June 

561
00:36:12,040 --> 00:36:19,080
1999 I was sent to Rome for 
higher theological studies and I

562
00:36:19,080 --> 00:36:20,720
was there for a total of 6 
years. 

563
00:36:21,640 --> 00:36:25,840
But before going into the 
university, I had a crash course

564
00:36:25,840 --> 00:36:28,360
in Italian. 
For three months during the 

565
00:36:28,360 --> 00:36:31,440
summer. 
I was almost abandoned and not 

566
00:36:31,440 --> 00:36:35,440
abandoned, but I felt like I was
abandoned in the village and. 

567
00:36:35,720 --> 00:36:38,080
And who could not, who could not
speak English? 

568
00:36:38,080 --> 00:36:40,880
There was no word of English. 
The majority of them could not 

569
00:36:40,880 --> 00:36:44,520
and there were other students 
from different different 

570
00:36:44,520 --> 00:36:47,480
countries and so it was an 
interesting experience. 

571
00:36:47,480 --> 00:36:51,480
It was my first experience 
outside of the US, but by the 

572
00:36:51,480 --> 00:36:56,160
end of that summer period, I had
learned Italian well and I had 

573
00:36:56,160 --> 00:37:00,240
grown accustomed to the new 
environment, and so I enjoyed 

574
00:37:00,240 --> 00:37:02,200
it. 
But I was there for six years 

575
00:37:02,200 --> 00:37:07,560
and I completed my master's and 
my doctorate after having left. 

576
00:37:07,560 --> 00:37:11,960
And I was assigned as a parish 
priest and as an assistant 

577
00:37:11,960 --> 00:37:15,320
priest in Los Angeles for a 
year, then as parish priest in 

578
00:37:15,320 --> 00:37:18,000
San Jose for about two years and
1/2. 

579
00:37:19,040 --> 00:37:22,040
And so I completed my doctorate 
in 2007. 

580
00:37:23,040 --> 00:37:29,480
And it was a difficult period 
because having taken on the role

581
00:37:29,480 --> 00:37:33,120
of a parish priest during 
circumstances were that were not

582
00:37:33,960 --> 00:37:37,920
very stable and and very 
pleasurable, unfortunately 

583
00:37:37,920 --> 00:37:43,040
during those those years in the 
San Jose area. 

584
00:37:43,840 --> 00:37:46,920
But with the grace and help of 
God, of course, I was able to 

585
00:37:46,920 --> 00:37:51,960
complete my doctorate. 
And so that was a growth 

586
00:37:51,960 --> 00:37:54,840
experience that really helped 
me, I think. 

587
00:37:55,800 --> 00:37:58,640
The Holiness you and I have 
served as deacons in one of the 

588
00:37:58,640 --> 00:38:01,160
services in Margaret's Cathedral
in Chicago. 

589
00:38:02,400 --> 00:38:05,800
Back then you were you were 
young and a little bit reserved 

590
00:38:06,040 --> 00:38:09,640
and. 
In the 90s sometimes so for some

591
00:38:09,640 --> 00:38:13,840
reason I don't remember it but 
but I'm sure it happens. 

592
00:38:14,880 --> 00:38:21,280
And back then, if you were to 
ask Shamasha, David or myself, 

593
00:38:22,320 --> 00:38:25,720
or if one Deacon would have 
approached me and said, see that

594
00:38:25,720 --> 00:38:29,080
Shamasha, one day he will be 
leading the Church of God, the 

595
00:38:29,080 --> 00:38:31,600
same Church of these. 
It was just it was just not 

596
00:38:31,600 --> 00:38:35,320
there. 
So very briefly, Your Holiness, 

597
00:38:35,640 --> 00:38:41,640
walk us through that journey 
from your childhood. 

598
00:38:41,640 --> 00:38:45,640
I believe and let me let me 
share something and and with 

599
00:38:45,640 --> 00:38:52,880
your permission, the late your 
Auntie Julie, God rest his soul 

600
00:38:54,440 --> 00:38:59,560
and I and she said that David, 
allow me your your Holiness. 

601
00:38:59,560 --> 00:39:07,440
David would have a couch. 
Was it a couch that you admired?

602
00:39:07,480 --> 00:39:12,360
And and one day, and I'm trying 
to remember this, it was sold by

603
00:39:12,360 --> 00:39:17,000
your parents and you had come 
and asked where the couch was 

604
00:39:17,000 --> 00:39:19,080
and they had told you that we 
sold it. 

605
00:39:19,080 --> 00:39:21,800
You said no, but I've seen Jesus
sit on that couch. 

606
00:39:21,800 --> 00:39:24,440
Do you recall that? 
It was just a make believe. 

607
00:39:27,720 --> 00:39:29,720
You have too good of a memory 
that's dangerous. 

608
00:39:32,520 --> 00:39:36,280
I do recall having a dream of 
our Lord when I was about 5:00 

609
00:39:36,280 --> 00:39:39,080
or so, and it was a couch that 
we had. 

610
00:39:39,080 --> 00:39:41,440
We were living in an apartment, 
Chicago. 

611
00:39:41,680 --> 00:39:45,480
It was a couch, it was a throne.
It was a gold yellowish colored 

612
00:39:45,480 --> 00:39:50,440
couch. 
But I'm sure those who grew up 

613
00:39:50,440 --> 00:39:52,920
in the church, many of them have
some sort of an experience. 

614
00:39:53,400 --> 00:39:56,840
And I did go through the system 
of the church's institution. 

615
00:39:56,840 --> 00:40:00,800
So through Sunday school, the 
youth group, at one point I was 

616
00:40:00,800 --> 00:40:04,160
president of our youth group at 
Marguerite Saint George. 

617
00:40:04,640 --> 00:40:08,280
Cathedral in Chicago. 
Didn't attend the celebrity or 

618
00:40:08,280 --> 00:40:10,840
the the celebrations of the 
youth. 

619
00:40:10,840 --> 00:40:13,520
You just attended the Bible 
studies and you were in a hotel 

620
00:40:13,520 --> 00:40:17,040
by yourself in the room and the 
ladies holiness was in another 

621
00:40:17,040 --> 00:40:18,560
room. 
And that was actually my first 

622
00:40:18,560 --> 00:40:19,800
conference. 
I'm revealing too much. 

623
00:40:20,240 --> 00:40:23,920
I think so. 1992, I was 
president of the youth group. 

624
00:40:24,840 --> 00:40:30,720
I was just 17 at the time and 
that was a very good experience,

625
00:40:30,720 --> 00:40:34,880
I think because the late 
Patriarch Martin the 4th was 

626
00:40:34,880 --> 00:40:37,520
also visiting. 
It was in Connecticut, so he was

627
00:40:37,520 --> 00:40:41,480
visiting Saint Thomas Parish. 
And of course I had come with 

628
00:40:41,480 --> 00:40:44,200
the Chicago Youth and we were 
all staying in the same hotel. 

629
00:40:45,800 --> 00:40:50,040
And so I think they had some 
sort of a party or some event 

630
00:40:50,720 --> 00:40:54,160
and, and I didn't attend, but I 
thought it was better to stay 

631
00:40:54,160 --> 00:40:56,920
with the patriarch at the hotel.
So we spend an hour or two 

632
00:40:57,440 --> 00:41:02,760
together chatting and so. 
And this just this just shows 

633
00:41:02,760 --> 00:41:05,680
why you're so learned of the 
history of the church. 

634
00:41:05,680 --> 00:41:08,040
And I believe that his audience 
would share a lot of history of 

635
00:41:08,040 --> 00:41:11,400
the church. 
And because when we met, your 

636
00:41:11,400 --> 00:41:16,360
Holiness, you're you were a 
priest two, 2006 was the first 

637
00:41:16,360 --> 00:41:18,120
time we met, and we were both. 
Priests. 

638
00:41:18,840 --> 00:41:22,080
And I was astonished at how so 
much you were learned of the 

639
00:41:22,080 --> 00:41:25,800
history and the places and the 
villages and and then as time 

640
00:41:25,800 --> 00:41:27,760
went by, I put two and two 
together and I thought, oh, 

641
00:41:27,760 --> 00:41:30,440
that's why there it is. 
And and he's Holiness would have

642
00:41:30,440 --> 00:41:34,600
received it from Anechnosha 
Marios of Metropolitan. 

643
00:41:37,080 --> 00:41:39,040
And his own experiences. 
His own experience. 

644
00:41:39,040 --> 00:41:45,920
I mean, what at what period of 
your life you, Your Holiness 

645
00:41:45,920 --> 00:41:52,240
knew or became aware or start to
desire that this is going to be 

646
00:41:52,240 --> 00:41:56,480
my path? 
Did you feel a specific calling 

647
00:41:57,080 --> 00:42:00,120
like the, the, I'm going to call
it the throne now, not the 

648
00:42:00,120 --> 00:42:02,040
chair? 
Did you feel that? 

649
00:42:02,600 --> 00:42:06,400
Was it a mindset? 
If I may share your Holiness, 

650
00:42:06,400 --> 00:42:09,560
when I was being ordained 
Deacon, from that point I knew I

651
00:42:09,560 --> 00:42:13,320
was going to be one day by the 
grace of God only maybe I 

652
00:42:13,320 --> 00:42:16,720
desired it and put it in my mind
and God determined the 

653
00:42:16,720 --> 00:42:20,720
footsteps, but I knew that I had
this thing that I will enter the

654
00:42:20,720 --> 00:42:23,720
priesthood one day. 
Did you have such an experience?

655
00:42:25,680 --> 00:42:29,280
I did. 
So there were no harps or angels

656
00:42:29,280 --> 00:42:33,680
singing or that sort of the 
opening of the heavens, but I 

657
00:42:33,680 --> 00:42:36,920
think it was a gradual process 
that began in childhood. 

658
00:42:36,960 --> 00:42:40,920
And of course, I'm very thankful
to God for having given me 

659
00:42:41,400 --> 00:42:44,760
parents who were really God 
fearing. 

660
00:42:45,480 --> 00:42:48,680
And I learned to pray and to 
fast and to go to church from 

661
00:42:48,680 --> 00:42:51,880
them at an early age. 
So that's very essential. 

662
00:42:51,880 --> 00:42:54,880
And I was mentioned that the 
role that parents have in the 

663
00:42:54,880 --> 00:42:59,200
lives of their children is not 
simply to satisfy or supply 

664
00:42:59,200 --> 00:43:02,840
their bodily needs, their 
corporeal needs, their spiritual

665
00:43:02,840 --> 00:43:09,000
needs, which is even greater. 
So I'm grateful for having had 

666
00:43:09,000 --> 00:43:14,160
parents that were keen on that. 
And as I mentioned, so I entered

667
00:43:14,160 --> 00:43:18,360
through the various levels of 
the church's institutions from 

668
00:43:18,360 --> 00:43:23,160
Sunday school, the youth group 
as well, and then until I was 

669
00:43:23,160 --> 00:43:26,160
made a Deacon. 
But I always, it was something 

670
00:43:26,160 --> 00:43:30,640
that I always felt inside. 
And of course, I must say that 

671
00:43:31,280 --> 00:43:35,120
my mother, God rest her soul, 
was very, very supportive of my 

672
00:43:35,120 --> 00:43:40,200
vocation whenever I would 
mention that I, I desire to be a

673
00:43:40,200 --> 00:43:44,520
priest. 
And she really enjoyed that my 

674
00:43:44,520 --> 00:43:48,160
father learned to to appreciate 
that after I became a. 

675
00:43:48,160 --> 00:43:50,120
Because he was being surprised 
every time. 

676
00:43:51,240 --> 00:43:54,920
Yes. 
Not that he was against my being

677
00:43:54,920 --> 00:43:59,000
a priest, but having seen many 
things in the old country, as 

678
00:43:59,000 --> 00:44:02,600
they say, and some of the 
sufferings maybe that certain 

679
00:44:02,600 --> 00:44:06,160
priests or bishops have gone 
through, he thought to himself, 

680
00:44:06,160 --> 00:44:08,240
well, I don't want my son to go 
through that. 

681
00:44:08,240 --> 00:44:12,280
And that is something that I 
think every father obviously 

682
00:44:13,120 --> 00:44:16,000
would appreciate, can rightly 
so, yes. 

683
00:44:16,000 --> 00:44:19,400
I remember when I was, well, my,
when my parents were informed 

684
00:44:19,400 --> 00:44:23,360
that I was being made a priest. 
We were in the basement of Saint

685
00:44:23,360 --> 00:44:25,440
George Mario Ergue Cathedral in 
Chicago. 

686
00:44:26,160 --> 00:44:29,080
And I had served, I was a Deacon
at the time, and I served the 

687
00:44:29,080 --> 00:44:30,480
liturgy with His Holiness the 
Late. 

688
00:44:31,480 --> 00:44:34,160
So he came down to the basement 
of the church, as was his 

689
00:44:34,160 --> 00:44:37,280
custom, and greet all of the 
people after Holy Kurban. 

690
00:44:37,280 --> 00:44:42,120
And he saw my father and my 
mother and my aunts, and he 

691
00:44:42,400 --> 00:44:44,920
turned to my father and said, 
oh, by the way, next month we're

692
00:44:44,920 --> 00:44:48,760
making Shamasha a priest. 
And my father was astonished 

693
00:44:48,760 --> 00:44:54,640
because I had I had heard about 
it, but I didn't say anything. 

694
00:44:55,760 --> 00:44:58,800
And so the patriarch sort of 
just really shocked him at the 

695
00:44:58,800 --> 00:45:00,920
moment. 
And he said, but oh, your 

696
00:45:00,920 --> 00:45:03,480
holiness, he's too young. 
And he said, no, no, no, no, 

697
00:45:03,480 --> 00:45:05,840
he's not young. 
He said, next month we're going 

698
00:45:05,840 --> 00:45:09,040
to make him a priest. 
And so that's what happened. 

699
00:45:10,040 --> 00:45:13,480
But he, he learned to accept it 
and he was very, very happy 

700
00:45:13,480 --> 00:45:17,000
afterwards. 
He saw, I could see that he was 

701
00:45:17,000 --> 00:45:20,920
very joyful, as I mentioned, 
because I had heard many of the 

702
00:45:20,920 --> 00:45:24,760
stories and the troubles that 
the church had, especially in 

703
00:45:24,920 --> 00:45:27,200
the 50s and the 60s in the old 
country. 

704
00:45:27,200 --> 00:45:30,000
He was a witness to a lot of 
that. 

705
00:45:30,640 --> 00:45:33,400
So he did not want his son to go
through that suffering. 

706
00:45:33,680 --> 00:45:39,640
Your Holiness, what is your 
advice or your encouraging words

707
00:45:39,640 --> 00:45:44,320
for those parents whose sons are
being called and they are a 

708
00:45:44,320 --> 00:45:48,680
little reluctant because of the 
fact of the suffering and the 

709
00:45:50,000 --> 00:45:54,120
the heartache? 
What would your suggestion, 

710
00:45:54,120 --> 00:45:56,480
recommendation, instruction be 
to those parents? 

711
00:45:58,000 --> 00:46:01,880
Well, of course, many of our 
parents today are really God 

712
00:46:01,880 --> 00:46:05,960
fearing. 
And it's possible that they 

713
00:46:05,960 --> 00:46:09,600
don't want their sons to enter 
the ordained ministry. 

714
00:46:10,040 --> 00:46:14,040
Not because they they don't love
the priesthood or the diaconate,

715
00:46:14,600 --> 00:46:19,560
or it's because of a lack of 
faith on their part, but because

716
00:46:19,560 --> 00:46:25,720
they they see that in today's 
world, maybe the clergy or 

717
00:46:25,720 --> 00:46:29,840
priests are not as appreciated 
as they ought to be. 

718
00:46:31,000 --> 00:46:33,640
Or as I mentioned, they don't 
want their children to suffer in

719
00:46:33,640 --> 00:46:38,040
any fashion, so they might not 
encourage them to enter the 

720
00:46:38,040 --> 00:46:41,400
priesthood. 
And Saint John Chrysostom, of 

721
00:46:41,400 --> 00:46:46,000
course, he, he speaks a lot 
about the priesthood. 

722
00:46:46,000 --> 00:46:47,720
He has writings on the 
priesthood. 

723
00:46:48,000 --> 00:46:49,880
He has two books that he's 
written on the priesthood. 

724
00:46:50,920 --> 00:46:57,040
And so he encourages by saying 
that there really is no greater 

725
00:46:57,040 --> 00:47:02,080
vocation on earth than the 
priesthood because everything 

726
00:47:02,080 --> 00:47:06,880
else that one engages in, a 
career or a job, yes, you can 

727
00:47:06,960 --> 00:47:11,920
have a very good job, you can 
make a lot of money, you can 

728
00:47:12,320 --> 00:47:17,840
have all of the comforts in 
life, but really that doesn't go

729
00:47:17,840 --> 00:47:22,960
beyond this world. 
But what the priesthood offers 

730
00:47:23,800 --> 00:47:29,160
for anyone, for a believer, of 
course, is not only good for 

731
00:47:29,160 --> 00:47:33,880
this world, but for the next. 
So it's through the priesthood 

732
00:47:33,880 --> 00:47:38,440
that we have the sacraments, 
that we are taught the gospel, 

733
00:47:38,480 --> 00:47:42,920
that we become united to Christ.
These all take place through the

734
00:47:42,920 --> 00:47:46,560
ministry of the priesthood. 
And if we didn't have the 

735
00:47:46,560 --> 00:47:50,080
priesthood, we couldn't have all
of these things. 

736
00:47:50,560 --> 00:47:54,760
So these are not only good for 
us as we live on earth, but they

737
00:47:54,760 --> 00:47:57,640
are essential for our salvation,
for our life After Earth. 

738
00:47:58,880 --> 00:48:03,240
And any other job that one 
engages in will not have that 

739
00:48:03,240 --> 00:48:07,440
two fold aspect, no matter how 
successful one is. 

740
00:48:08,280 --> 00:48:10,760
So it's, it's a great calling, 
it's a holy calling. 

741
00:48:10,760 --> 00:48:12,680
It's a vocation indeed from God 
himself. 

742
00:48:13,320 --> 00:48:16,800
So that's why I would encourage 
parents to encourage their sons,

743
00:48:18,160 --> 00:48:22,520
of course, just the sons. 
So no daughters in this scenario

744
00:48:23,600 --> 00:48:32,320
to, if they have an inward 
calling or an inclination to 

745
00:48:32,320 --> 00:48:37,600
serve God, to encourage that and
to foster, that's very 

746
00:48:37,600 --> 00:48:40,760
important. 
And another thing is really, 

747
00:48:40,760 --> 00:48:44,800
we've seen that families where 
there's been a priest or a 

748
00:48:44,800 --> 00:48:49,360
Bishop or of course, or a Deacon
serving, you'll see that God's 

749
00:48:49,360 --> 00:48:54,360
blessings extend to that family 
as well in many different ways. 

750
00:48:54,920 --> 00:48:58,280
It doesn't mean they're going to
become richer, but they will be 

751
00:48:58,280 --> 00:49:01,760
enriched spiritually through the
blessings of God. 

752
00:49:02,640 --> 00:49:05,320
So so parents need to encourage 
their young boys. 

753
00:49:05,520 --> 00:49:09,320
I mean we when we bless or we 
congratulate the the candidate 

754
00:49:09,320 --> 00:49:12,200
who has been ordained, we also 
bless and congratulate the 

755
00:49:12,200 --> 00:49:16,640
family. 
And I like the term, May your 

756
00:49:16,640 --> 00:49:20,600
holy order that has entered your
home be blessed upon. 

757
00:49:20,600 --> 00:49:22,680
You. 
It's a joy and a blessing that 

758
00:49:22,680 --> 00:49:27,800
yes, the whole everyone who's 
associated with that newly 

759
00:49:27,800 --> 00:49:30,880
ordained priest receives that 
blessing. 

760
00:49:31,600 --> 00:49:34,880
And even when, as you know, in 
the in the ritual of the 

761
00:49:34,880 --> 00:49:38,240
blessing of matrimony, one of 
the blessings that the priest 

762
00:49:38,240 --> 00:49:42,600
recites upon the the groom is 
may priests come forth from your

763
00:49:42,600 --> 00:49:46,880
loins, from your descendants. 
And so. 

764
00:49:47,280 --> 00:49:52,680
Resonates with a few people. 
Yes, you're holding us. 

765
00:49:53,560 --> 00:49:57,440
That's the parents. 
And and last episode we had our 

766
00:49:57,440 --> 00:50:00,880
brother, Deacon Colin, who 
received the holy orders at your

767
00:50:00,880 --> 00:50:05,120
right hand. 
Who It was a good interview and 

768
00:50:05,120 --> 00:50:07,040
I think a lot of people were 
encouraged by it. 

769
00:50:07,040 --> 00:50:08,800
I did see it in in great part, 
yes. 

770
00:50:09,040 --> 00:50:14,400
Yeah, he's a good speaker. 
What would your suggestion and 

771
00:50:14,400 --> 00:50:18,400
your encouraging words be to 
those who are anticipating? 

772
00:50:18,400 --> 00:50:23,760
Maybe we say show desiring to 
approach, but there's something 

773
00:50:23,760 --> 00:50:25,920
that's holding them back. 
And you know, we always say that

774
00:50:26,360 --> 00:50:29,920
I'm not worthy. 
I mean, I, my reply is who is 

775
00:50:29,920 --> 00:50:31,520
worthy? 
We are not worthy. 

776
00:50:31,520 --> 00:50:33,920
That's why we say in the 
liturgy, indeed, Lord, we are 

777
00:50:33,920 --> 00:50:36,520
not worthy. 
But what would your what would 

778
00:50:36,520 --> 00:50:41,720
your encouraging and driving 
words would be for those who are

779
00:50:42,120 --> 00:50:45,400
maybe even just anticipating and
maybe feeling that spark in 

780
00:50:45,400 --> 00:50:48,320
their heart that I want to 
approach the Holy Orders of the 

781
00:50:48,320 --> 00:50:51,960
Church? 
Well, of course, worthiness is 

782
00:50:53,400 --> 00:50:57,440
something that we already know. 
We serve and we're called to 

783
00:50:57,440 --> 00:51:01,240
serve by God despite our 
unworthiness. 

784
00:51:02,520 --> 00:51:04,240
God already knows that we're 
unworthy. 

785
00:51:04,240 --> 00:51:07,440
We don't need to tell him that 
we're not telling him anything 

786
00:51:07,440 --> 00:51:10,680
new. 
So we we need to get beyond 

787
00:51:10,680 --> 00:51:13,120
that. 
But when one desires that, well,

788
00:51:13,120 --> 00:51:16,800
Saint Paul of course says he who
desires the presbyterate, who 

789
00:51:16,800 --> 00:51:20,320
desires the diaconate, desireth 
a good thing. 

790
00:51:21,360 --> 00:51:25,520
And, and of course he gives the 
various criteria for how a 

791
00:51:25,520 --> 00:51:28,960
presbyter and a Deacon should 
live and how they should behave 

792
00:51:28,960 --> 00:51:32,040
and how they should be an 
example to the flock of Christ. 

793
00:51:32,040 --> 00:51:36,960
So that is really, it's 
something very blessed if one 

794
00:51:36,960 --> 00:51:40,200
has that desire. 
Now we believe that that desire 

795
00:51:40,200 --> 00:51:45,600
doesn't simply come from one's 
mind, but we often say that God 

796
00:51:45,600 --> 00:51:48,880
is calling one to serve. 
So it is a calling from the 

797
00:51:48,880 --> 00:51:50,240
Lord. 
It is a vocation. 

798
00:51:50,760 --> 00:51:56,120
And what you have to do is have 
your spiritual ears open and 

799
00:51:56,120 --> 00:52:00,120
listening to the voice of God. 
So you don't need to wait for 

800
00:52:00,120 --> 00:52:03,080
that. 
The angelic and the harp and the

801
00:52:03,080 --> 00:52:05,800
opening of the heavens moment, 
it may not come. 

802
00:52:05,800 --> 00:52:08,080
You may not have that 
experience, you don't need to. 

803
00:52:08,720 --> 00:52:10,360
Why? 
Because we're already people of 

804
00:52:10,360 --> 00:52:12,760
faith. 
God uses the faith you already 

805
00:52:12,760 --> 00:52:17,760
have, but he builds on it, He 
blesses it, He allows you to 

806
00:52:17,760 --> 00:52:20,760
grow on that. 
So we need to have our spiritual

807
00:52:20,760 --> 00:52:27,320
ears tuned to the voice of God. 
And often times, you know, we 

808
00:52:27,320 --> 00:52:29,360
don't. 
And young men miss their 

809
00:52:29,360 --> 00:52:34,240
vocations because of the various
noises that we have around us, 

810
00:52:34,240 --> 00:52:37,120
distractions and they act as 
distractions. 

811
00:52:37,560 --> 00:52:40,280
So these earphones now are noise
cancelling. 

812
00:52:40,280 --> 00:52:42,520
So I can't hear anything else 
for the most part. 

813
00:52:43,000 --> 00:52:45,960
And that's how our spiritual 
ears should be. 

814
00:52:45,960 --> 00:52:51,840
They should cancel the noise of 
the world around us and be 

815
00:52:51,840 --> 00:52:53,800
fine-tuned to hear the voice of 
God. 

816
00:52:53,920 --> 00:52:57,440
That's going to be my next pose,
the spiritual noise counselor 

817
00:52:57,440 --> 00:53:00,240
canceling headphones. 
That's right. 

818
00:53:00,240 --> 00:53:03,600
As a God spoke, God speaks in a 
whisper, we read in the Old 

819
00:53:04,080 --> 00:53:06,040
Testament. 
Well, how did call would God 

820
00:53:06,040 --> 00:53:09,840
call the prophet Samuel? 
He whispered his name, I mean, 

821
00:53:10,960 --> 00:53:16,640
and so, so he was listening. 
He was able to perceive that and

822
00:53:16,640 --> 00:53:18,400
and that's very important. 
And then he's listening with the

823
00:53:18,400 --> 00:53:20,280
heart and the mind, not just the
ears. 

824
00:53:21,440 --> 00:53:28,480
I promise you a holiness last 
question, challenges and hurdles

825
00:53:28,480 --> 00:53:38,600
and stumbling blocks from the 
from your Bishop ears. 

826
00:53:38,600 --> 00:53:42,840
And now to the patriarch, you 
know when you were a Bishop you 

827
00:53:42,840 --> 00:53:47,520
only had to worry about the 
Diocese of California, but now 

828
00:53:47,840 --> 00:53:54,000
the entire church is looking up 
to your Holiness and you must 

829
00:53:54,000 --> 00:53:58,840
attend to all the issues and and
requirements of the church. 

830
00:53:59,560 --> 00:54:04,240
What are some of the the main 
challenges your Holiness from 

831
00:54:04,240 --> 00:54:08,600
your Bishop time to patriarchy? 
You know, it's been my 

832
00:54:08,600 --> 00:54:12,680
experience, especially from 
those around me, that when one 

833
00:54:13,560 --> 00:54:17,920
is called from the diaconate to 
the priesthood after within the 

834
00:54:17,920 --> 00:54:20,400
first year says why? 
Why did I become a priest? 

835
00:54:20,400 --> 00:54:21,800
I was very comfortable as a 
Deacon. 

836
00:54:23,000 --> 00:54:26,160
And then when he's called to be 
a Bishop, one says, well, why 

837
00:54:26,160 --> 00:54:28,080
did I become a Bishop? 
I was very comfortable as a 

838
00:54:28,080 --> 00:54:35,360
priest and so on. 
There has to be a challenge or a

839
00:54:35,360 --> 00:54:41,280
difficulty in our ministry. 
I do not know of one patriarch 

840
00:54:41,280 --> 00:54:45,440
within the history of the church
or Bishop or priest who has not 

841
00:54:45,440 --> 00:54:53,160
had hurdles or challenges, and I
think they're very important for

842
00:54:53,160 --> 00:54:56,360
our ministry. 
Obviously we want everything to 

843
00:54:56,360 --> 00:55:01,000
be very clean and cut and 
comfortable and the way it 

844
00:55:01,000 --> 00:55:03,520
should be and day in and day 
out. 

845
00:55:04,120 --> 00:55:07,080
But life is not like that. 
Human experience is not like 

846
00:55:07,080 --> 00:55:09,320
that. 
We we live in a fallen world. 

847
00:55:09,960 --> 00:55:12,120
There will be mistakes. 
People make mistakes. 

848
00:55:12,120 --> 00:55:13,760
Sometimes we might make 
mistakes. 

849
00:55:14,480 --> 00:55:18,480
But when we're serving faithful,
we know that Christ is faithful 

850
00:55:19,200 --> 00:55:21,200
and he will pick us up when we 
fall. 

851
00:55:21,920 --> 00:55:25,240
There's an anecdote that someone
approached the monk, of course, 

852
00:55:25,240 --> 00:55:26,720
this is written many centuries 
ago. 

853
00:55:27,240 --> 00:55:29,200
And he said, well, what do you 
folks do in the in the 

854
00:55:29,200 --> 00:55:32,240
monastery? 
You know, your monastery is way 

855
00:55:32,240 --> 00:55:33,560
up on the mountain. 
What do you do there? 

856
00:55:34,440 --> 00:55:38,480
He said, well, we fall and get 
up and fall and get up and fall 

857
00:55:38,480 --> 00:55:41,600
and get up. 
And of course he was referring 

858
00:55:41,600 --> 00:55:46,440
to their spiritual battle. 
So now a priest who is serving 

859
00:55:46,440 --> 00:55:50,720
in the world and a Bishop who is
a monk serving in the world 

860
00:55:51,480 --> 00:55:55,080
pastorally, etcetera. 
Often times we might fall in it,

861
00:55:55,080 --> 00:55:58,040
but we need to get up through 
the grace of Christ. 

862
00:55:58,040 --> 00:56:00,600
So we, we have to have those 
challenges. 

863
00:56:01,800 --> 00:56:04,520
They're uncomfortable. 
We would rather not have them. 

864
00:56:05,160 --> 00:56:08,720
But I think they really help us 
to grow. 

865
00:56:09,600 --> 00:56:11,680
They help us to be better 
pastors. 

866
00:56:12,240 --> 00:56:18,320
They help us to understand that 
we should never, ever count on 

867
00:56:18,320 --> 00:56:21,640
our own abilities and our own 
strengths. 

868
00:56:23,280 --> 00:56:28,200
And they will remind us that any
good that we have that exists in

869
00:56:28,200 --> 00:56:30,960
US is due to the grace of 
Christ. 

870
00:56:31,600 --> 00:56:33,360
Everything else is our own 
doing. 

871
00:56:35,480 --> 00:56:38,520
So yes, I've had my own fair 
share of those as well. 

872
00:56:38,520 --> 00:56:43,520
And looking back years later, 
only then will you realize the 

873
00:56:43,520 --> 00:56:47,400
role that that difficult 
situation, that difficult 

874
00:56:47,400 --> 00:56:51,200
person, that unpleasant 
experience. 

875
00:56:51,520 --> 00:56:55,960
Later you will realize the 
importance of that that 

876
00:56:55,960 --> 00:56:58,240
happening. 
Trust in the law then do not 

877
00:56:58,240 --> 00:57:00,680
lean on your own understanding 
in all your ways. 

878
00:57:00,680 --> 00:57:04,200
Acknowledging I said last 
question, I promise you, 

879
00:57:04,200 --> 00:57:05,920
Holiness. 
I'll hold you to it. 

880
00:57:05,920 --> 00:57:07,520
This is the very last question 
now. 

881
00:57:08,760 --> 00:57:13,680
Those times, has there ever been
times where as King David did 

882
00:57:14,160 --> 00:57:16,880
the crying out to the Lord, How 
long, Oh Lord? 

883
00:57:16,960 --> 00:57:21,960
How long is there ever been 
times where your Holiness as a, 

884
00:57:23,000 --> 00:57:26,400
as a patriarch, the Holy Father 
of the Church, but as a human 

885
00:57:26,400 --> 00:57:30,440
being where there has been a 
time because many people do and,

886
00:57:30,440 --> 00:57:33,880
and they probably think, oh, it 
must be my faith and I don't 

887
00:57:33,880 --> 00:57:35,680
have faith. 
Oh, God's not listening to me. 

888
00:57:36,200 --> 00:57:38,200
Has there been time we've cried 
out to the Lord? 

889
00:57:38,200 --> 00:57:40,120
You know, what do I do? 
How long? 

890
00:57:40,560 --> 00:57:47,400
Why aren't you answering me? 
One of the the most important 

891
00:57:47,400 --> 00:57:51,600
lessons I learned after becoming
a Bishop, and much of that 

892
00:57:51,600 --> 00:57:57,080
experience begins at that stage 
for me as a patriarch now, was 

893
00:57:57,080 --> 00:58:03,640
to learn to trust in God. 
No matter what happens or what 

894
00:58:03,720 --> 00:58:05,320
doesn't happen that should 
happen. 

895
00:58:06,040 --> 00:58:09,600
I leave it to the Lord. 
There have been times of 

896
00:58:09,600 --> 00:58:12,800
frustration, yes, there have 
been times where I've thrown my 

897
00:58:12,800 --> 00:58:16,400
hands up and said, well, I don't
understand what's happening, but

898
00:58:17,560 --> 00:58:20,640
maybe it's the grace of God. 
I haven't had that crying out 

899
00:58:20,640 --> 00:58:22,360
moment yet. 
Not like King David. 

900
00:58:22,840 --> 00:58:25,200
Not like King David. 
It may come, I don't know. 

901
00:58:25,200 --> 00:58:30,120
God only knows that, but I've 
learned to say, well, I don't 

902
00:58:30,120 --> 00:58:33,400
understand. 
I may not agree, I don't like 

903
00:58:33,400 --> 00:58:35,360
it, it's not the way it should 
be. 

904
00:58:35,920 --> 00:58:41,000
But Lord, this is your church, 
and I'm your servant, and I 

905
00:58:41,000 --> 00:58:45,880
leave it in your hands. 
Who was that Pope that went to 

906
00:58:45,880 --> 00:58:48,200
sleep and said I've done 
everything, now it's yours? 

907
00:58:48,200 --> 00:58:52,440
What was that? 
They say it was John the 23rd. 

908
00:58:53,240 --> 00:58:55,760
Before going to bed and turning 
off the lights, he used to say, 

909
00:58:55,760 --> 00:58:58,680
good Lord, oh good night Lord, 
I'm going to bed. 

910
00:58:58,680 --> 00:59:01,040
The church is yours doesn't 
belong to me. 

911
00:59:01,240 --> 00:59:03,960
I'll see you in the morning. 
I like that. 

912
00:59:04,080 --> 00:59:09,800
I like that the Holiness I did 
promise I will not allow. 

913
00:59:09,840 --> 00:59:14,320
But if Your Holiness has any 
closing comments, remarks, 

914
00:59:14,360 --> 00:59:17,640
suggestions, encouraging words 
of blessing and instruction, 

915
00:59:18,160 --> 00:59:22,240
please bless us with those. 
And we'd like you to also bless 

916
00:59:22,240 --> 00:59:24,880
this ministry. 
Thank you to all those who reach

917
00:59:24,880 --> 00:59:26,720
out. 
We've had a lot of comments. 

918
00:59:26,720 --> 00:59:29,440
We've had a lot of both negative
and positive feedback. 

919
00:59:29,440 --> 00:59:31,640
We love them both because we're 
not perfect. 

920
00:59:31,640 --> 00:59:35,840
We, we always expect negative 
feedback so that we can turn 

921
00:59:35,840 --> 00:59:38,440
those into positives for the 
glory of God and the salvation 

922
00:59:38,440 --> 00:59:40,320
of souls. 
Thank you for your support. 

923
00:59:40,320 --> 00:59:43,360
Please do share and like and 
subscribe and whatever you need 

924
00:59:43,360 --> 00:59:47,360
to do, you do. 
And hopefully the next hundredth

925
00:59:47,440 --> 00:59:49,560
episode will have His Holiness 
with us again. 

926
00:59:49,920 --> 00:59:54,560
But I will now, Your Holiness, 
if you'd like to close with your

927
00:59:54,560 --> 00:59:56,880
comments and bless this 
ministry. 

928
00:59:57,080 --> 00:59:58,680
With your prayers. 
Well, thank you very much, 

929
00:59:58,680 --> 01:00:00,480
Father. 
And I thank your elves in the 

930
01:00:00,480 --> 01:00:02,920
background. 
Maybe you should have them on 

931
01:00:03,080 --> 01:00:06,400
on. 
On the podcast, as guests on 

932
01:00:06,400 --> 01:00:08,720
this side of the microphone. 
No, no, let's keep them on the 

933
01:00:08,720 --> 01:00:10,800
other side from there. 
No, they're they're more than 

934
01:00:10,800 --> 01:00:12,880
welcome anytime. 
Well, God bless them both. 

935
01:00:14,080 --> 01:00:16,160
God bless you Stephen and 
Audrina. 

936
01:00:16,160 --> 01:00:19,960
I'm very happy that they're able
to help you in in this ministry.

937
01:00:19,960 --> 01:00:21,800
And it is a very important 
ministry. 

938
01:00:22,320 --> 01:00:27,040
I know that there are many, many
English speaking faithful of the

939
01:00:27,040 --> 01:00:30,720
church and maybe guests and not 
members, non members of the 

940
01:00:30,720 --> 01:00:32,240
Church of the East who are 
interested. 

941
01:00:32,840 --> 01:00:35,800
And I did see a few comments 
from other Christians who were 

942
01:00:35,800 --> 01:00:38,960
listening in on various episodes
of the podcast. 

943
01:00:38,960 --> 01:00:43,280
So that's that's a a blessed 
fruit of this ministry. 

944
01:00:43,280 --> 01:00:45,960
And of course, I will keep you 
all in my prayers and thank you 

945
01:00:46,200 --> 01:00:50,120
continue the excellent work that
you're doing and and I'll see 

946
01:00:50,120 --> 01:00:53,520
you in another 100 episodes. 
God willing not 100 is I forgot.

947
01:00:53,520 --> 01:00:55,160
No less than 100. 
I'm holiest. 

948
01:00:55,200 --> 01:00:59,480
I, I must apologize to Holiness 
when the producers did approach 

949
01:00:59,480 --> 01:01:02,400
me regarding the ministry and I 
thought it was a great idea. 

950
01:01:02,760 --> 01:01:07,440
Obviously the permission was 
sought and your Holiness was a 

951
01:01:07,440 --> 01:01:12,520
patriarch, yes, gladly and 
joyfully blessed and said go 

952
01:01:12,520 --> 01:01:14,640
ahead, it's a good ministry. 
So thank you so much for your 

953
01:01:14,640 --> 01:01:17,120
blessed. 
Indeed, and I'm sure it's it's 

954
01:01:17,120 --> 01:01:20,120
producing much spiritual fruit. 
So God bless you all. 

955
01:01:20,200 --> 01:01:23,800
Glory to God, please bless us 
with a concluding prayer. 

956
01:01:25,160 --> 01:01:27,680
The name of the Father, and of 
the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

957
01:01:28,040 --> 01:01:32,160
I mean, may the grace and 
benediction of God the Father of

958
01:01:32,160 --> 01:01:35,800
the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, 
and the communion of the Holy 

959
01:01:35,800 --> 01:01:40,120
Spirit be with us all now, 
always and forever and ever. 

960
01:01:40,320 --> 01:01:41,080
Amen. 
Amen. 

961
01:01:41,520 --> 01:01:42,920
God bless you all. 
Thank you, Holiness. 

962
01:01:42,920 --> 01:01:45,640
We will have His Holiness back 
one more time. 

963
01:01:45,960 --> 01:01:50,160
We will be interviewing His 
Holiness and discussing the 

964
01:01:50,600 --> 01:01:53,760
declaration and the statement 
that was recently released. 

965
01:01:53,880 --> 01:01:56,360
I I forgot the title of the 
statement, the Holiness. 

966
01:01:56,480 --> 01:02:00,400
Yes, it's the synodal or 
synodical statement on Christian

967
01:02:00,400 --> 01:02:03,160
marriage and issues of human 
sexuality. 

968
01:02:03,160 --> 01:02:10,320
I mean a very anticipated 
episode, a very temperamental, 

969
01:02:11,680 --> 01:02:15,160
what is a sensitive issue? 
But it is only fair for the 

970
01:02:15,160 --> 01:02:20,040
children of the church just to 
know and be educated as to where

971
01:02:20,040 --> 01:02:22,200
the church stands on these 
issues. 

972
01:02:22,440 --> 01:02:25,480
So be waiting for our next 
episode. 

973
01:02:25,480 --> 01:02:28,560
God willing, we will be blessed 
one more time with the presence 

974
01:02:28,560 --> 01:02:31,320
of His Holiness. 
But Mario Holiness, thank you so

975
01:02:31,320 --> 01:02:32,920
much and we appreciate it. 
Thank you 

976
01:02:59,000 --> 01:03:01,160
the we hope you enjoyed this 
week's message. 

977
01:03:01,200 --> 01:03:04,400
Please don't forget to rate and 
review this podcast and share 

978
01:03:04,400 --> 01:03:07,160
with your friends and family. 
For any future topics, 

979
01:03:07,160 --> 01:03:10,320
suggestions or to give us 
detailed feedback, please visit 

980
01:03:10,320 --> 01:03:15,600
our link in the show notes. 
Linktr dot EE forward slash 

981
01:03:15,680 --> 01:03:18,560
double edged sword. 
Until next time, God bless you 

982
01:03:18,600 --> 01:03:18,840
all.