Patriarchal Vicar of the Syriac Catholic Church in Turkey Chorbishop Mgr. Orhan Çanlı, the Chairman of the Istanbul Syriac Catholic Foundation Zeki Başatemir and the Assyrians coming from Istanbul spent the weekend in İskenderun, a district of Antioch. They also attended the Holy Mass held in Iskenderun Syriac Catholic Church.
Also Iskenderun Mayor Seyfi Dingil, Iskenderun St. Nicholas Orthodox Church Foundation President Can Teymur and Christian faithful living in Iskenderun attended the Holy Mass.
“You will love your neighbor as yourself”
In his sermon Mgr. Orhan Çanlı said: “You will not commit adultery, you will not kill, you will not steal, you will not covet your neighbor’s goods. You have listened to these commandments; You will love your neighbor like yourself. Because a loving person doesn’t harm his neighbor. For this reason, love means fulfilling the sacred law. When you read the Bible in fact, you see that Jesus wants to give us this mission ‘I’m giving you a new order, you’ll love each other’ ‘This is the summary of the whole Bible. This principle of love tells us the basis of the whole law.
The golden rule of Christian morality is: “Do to others as you would have them do to you.”
If we really apply this rule there would be no need for religion, there would be no need for state laws, and if someone can really apply it, he would be equal to angels. This rule is the principle of heaven. If one day we will have the pleasure of living in heaven, then we will see that this law is lived there.”
A modest cocktail was held in the garden of the Syriac Catholic Church of Iskenderun after the Holy Mass.
