Father Dominique Hanna, rector of the Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn’s Our Lady of Lebanon Cathedral, will be ordained a monsignor on Feb. 12. The honor comes from the Order of Periodeut — an order of the Eastern Churches including Maronite, Syrian, and Orthodox.
Pope Leo XIV’s historic trip to Turkey and Lebanon brought renewed hope for Christian unity as he marked the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, met with Orthodox leaders, and called for peace in a region longing for stability.
Pope Leo XIV has steadfastly voiced his concerns for the Christians living in the Middle East. Putting those words into action, for his first papal trip abroad, he has traveled to the region to meet with political and religious leaders.
On the heels of a successful Catholic-Orthodox pilgrimage to Rome, Constantinople, and Nicaea, Pope Leo XIV continues to express his desire for unity between the two faiths.
In honor of the 1,700-year anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, clergy from the Diocese of Brooklyn and beyond came together on May 20 for a celebration that included psalms and hymns, biblical readings, and commentary about what unites the Catholic and Orthodox Christian communities.
“You have your Lebanon and its dilemma. I have my Lebanon and its beauty.” Those prophetic words were written by Kahlil Gibran in the 1920s, and some believe they may be truer today than ever before.
In a moment signaling the start of a new era for the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church, Most Rev. Saba Isper was enthroned as the metropolitan, the senior spiritual leader, of the Archdiocese of North America at a gathering attended by hundreds of the faithful at St. Nicholas Cathedral in Boerum Hill on May 13.
A hunger crisis was already underway because of the 2020 explosion in the Port of Beirut, but now it is worse because the war in Ukraine has curtailed grain exports to Lebanon.
In the face of widespread evidence of humanity’s dark side, speakers a prayer service Sept. 13 — on the eve of the opening of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly — identified unmistakable signs of hope.
Six months after an explosion ripped through the Port of Beirut, killing more than 200 people, injuring 7,500, and causing $15 billion in property damage, efforts are ongoing to rebuild the Lebanese capital.
