Chapter 8
Good Monday Morning to this week 8 of 2023
A prayer for Antioch – God be present in these times of suffering and show your comfort.
Seventeen ancient cities in Turkey were named Antioch, but only two are remembered by any but scholars today. One is Antakya (the ancient Antioch in Syria) and the other is Antioch in Pisidia, Asia Minor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Antakya’s collapsed church revives hope after T\u00fcrkiye quake.
The church foundation board’s chairperson, Fadi Hurigil, recently shared a message regarding the church’s current status.
Paul\u2019s first missionary journey began in Antioch. You may notice that maps of the ancient world often have two cities labelled Antioch. They\u2019re both named after Antiochus, father of Seleucid I. The Antioch in Acts 13 was the third largest city in ancient Rome and capital of the province of Syria. Today, it\u2019s part of southern Turkey. The other Antioch was part of Pisidia, an ancient region which is also now part of Turkey. Your Bible likely refers to it as Pisidian Antioch or Antioch of Pisidia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Antakya was not an ordinary city. It is an ancient city whose history and cultural heritage dating back to 300 B.C. is still alive today. It is the queen of the east. The place where Saint Peter and Saint Paul wrote the teachings of Jesus. A holy city where believers were first given the name ‘Christian,'” he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“This city of peace, friendship and brotherhood, where people from three divine religions live together, sets an example for all humanity. It is also the city where three of the region’s four largest earthquakes hit the hardest. About 260,000 people lost their lives in a 7.5 magnitude earthquake in A.D. 115. Another 250,000 people died in A.D. 525. One-third of Antakya was destroyed in the last great earthquake in 1872,” he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Unfortunately, our Greek Orthodox Church, one of the most prominent 10 churches in our country, was destroyed once again. The historical city, which suffered from devastating earthquakes dozens of times in history, was rebuilt each time. Just as our ancestors rebuilt this holy city and our church in the past, we shall do the same, rising from our ashes. Antakya will rise again,” he said.
Now ruins, \u201cAntioch-on-the-Orontes,\u201d which was in ancient Syria, is near Antakya, a city in southeast Turkey, just 12 miles from the Syrian border. The ruins of Antioch\u2014the ancient city walls\u2014are not only near Antakya, but are buried beneath modern Antakya as well. Antakya is home to \u201cthe Cave Church of St. Peter,\u201d also known as the Grotto of St. Peter, which may well be the oldest church in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Sts Peter and Paul parish church in Antakya, one of the few buildings spared so far by the earthquake (because it is lower and stronger), is in taking displaced people. \u201cThere is no electricity, no internet in the city; phone services are poor,\u201d said Fr Francis Dondu, the parish priest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEarly reports suggest that the main quake razed the old quarter to the ground; many buildings have collapsed and many fires are raging.\u201d The church “has opened its doors to Catholics, Orthodox, Muslims,” he added. Now the goal is “to figure out how to proceed, because it is cold, we are in the middle of winter, and shelter is needed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAntakya is one the most isolated centres in Turkey,\u201d Zambon noted; \u201cat present, it is hard to reach by land because the roads are damaged, if not wiped out, and many people are still missing, under the rubble. Even the airport is unusable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The synagogue that stood near the church also collapsed. Together, they created \u201can ecumenical and inter-religious mosaic” that the quake directly hammered.
In this corner of the world, \u201cin the 1st and 2nd centuries, we witnessed the elaboration of Christian theology with Luke, Paul and Barnabas,\u201d said the vicar of Anatolia. \u201cOpen to the nations, it is deemed a point of reference even in the Acts of the Apostles.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Malalas wrote that in 526, \u201cPregnant women \u2026 gave birth under the earth and came out with their infants unharmed,\u201d echoing the survival of a baby girl who was born in Antakya on Feb. 6, 2023, under the collapsed rubble of her home, and has been named Aya, an Arabic word that loosely translates as a sign from God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The city\u2019s history, though, is one of transition and rebirth, and I believe there is hope amid the wreckage write Fadi Hurigil on the 14th of February.
Praying for the rebirth of this city and comfort for all that have lost loved ones. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Philemon <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Chapter 8 Good Monday Morning to this week 8 of 2023 A prayer for Antioch – God be present in these times of suffering and show your comfort. Seventeen ancient cities in Turkey were named Antioch, but only two are remembered by any but scholars today. One is Antakya (the ancient Antioch in Syria) and … <\/p>\n