Last week, the ‘Renewal Sunday of the Church’ ceremony was held in the Syriac Catholic Bishop of Iskenderun. The celebration was led by the Syriac Metropolitan Bishop of Adıyaman, Melki Ürek. Catholic priests Fr. Franco Pirisi and Dariusz Dogondke also attended the celebration.
Metropolitan Melki Ürek emphasized the importance of renewal in his sermon: “Corruption, non-Christian lifestyles and trends strike people with surprise and ends with frustration. As they pursue each other, we perceive their fervor with the desire of renewal effort. Jesus wanted to renew the Jews. They needed a renewal. In their routine marches of faith, the Jews were old, outdated and no longer recognized the Lord God, their shepherd. The same people understood everything for their temporal and earthly interests, but when it came to Spirituality and the glory of God, in favor of the glory of His name, they didn’t recognize Him and didn’t accept Him. The knowledge of belief is not gained through human resources. It is, at best, through the inner eyes of a person in the spirit focusing on the central point of life. With this focus, we say words of wisdom among mature people, but this wisdom is neither the wisdom of the present age, nor the wisdom of the temporary leaders of this age. We are mysteriously talking about God’s hidden wisdom. None of the leaders of this age understood this wisdom that God set for our glory before the dawn of time. If they had understood, they would not have crucified the Almighty Lord (1 Cor . 2: 6-8) (the truth of Zechariah and Renewal). Honest people are realistic, genuine and sincere. Unfortunately, this is a difficult feature to find. The problem is that all human interactions are superficial. We perceive others with our own visual sense. To be honest and reliable is a rare value. We live in a world full of fake ambitions, media exaggeration, virtual personalities and personal brands, and everyone wants what he can’t have. As if everything is for use, extremism can shoot people without making itself felt.”
The Christian citizens of Iskenderun participated in the cocktail in the church garden at the end of the ceremony where Metropolitan Melki Ürek met with members of the community. (SAT-7 Türk / İlyas Edip TERBİYELİ-İskenderun)
