NOTIZIE INTORNO ALLA VITA QUOTIDIANA DELLA NOSTRA CHIESA

30 Giugno 2022 NEWSFLASH ANTIOCH: June 2022 This month is the last of the pastoral year 2022 and many ‘appointments’ await us. The main one is the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul on 28th-29th June. After the pandemic, we expect to celebrate it in a big way, especially in dialogue and prayer with the Orthodox Church. It will be a moment of prayer and reflection on our identity as "disciples of Christ" in bearing witness to him in unity and love. June 2nd. A French lady, Christiane, who lives on the Aegean coast, donates 3 Russian icons to our church. We hang them high up so as not to lead anyone into temptation ... of course some bad guys! I attach her letter translated into English ... Hello Father, I am a French woman living in Turkey near Bodrum. A few years ago I visited Antakya and had the opportunity to meet you. You invited me to attend mass, an invitation that I accepted. I have never forgotten that moment full of emotion, simplicity, human warmth. I remember being overwhelmed and I came out with tears in my eyes. What a joy to cry for joy! These days my partner and I have decided to fix our house and stop cluttering it up with a lot of stuff. We came across an unopened package at the back of a closet. It contained 3 Russian icons which were a gift from a company my partner worked with in the 1980’s. These icons are in perfect condition. He brought them from Germany when he moved to Turkey. In fact, he had never dared to get rid of them as he might have an ordinary object. Our Christian roots are strongly anchored despite appearances. So he offered them to me and I immediately thought of this little church in Antakya where they could find their place ... Christiane Pfeifer” June 3rd. The Greek Orthodox bishop of Lattakya (Syria), Mons Atanasius, on a visit to some parishes of Hatay (Samandag and Altinozu), expressed the hope that Christians will come to agreement as soon as possible on a single date for Easter ... This is the first time hearing it from an Orthodox bishop. June 5th. We remember the twelfth anniversary of the killing of Mons Luigi Padovese ... June 10th. The French ambassador to Turkey, Herve Magro, and his wife visit our church. June 11th. Today we welcome two groups of pilgrims. The first from Puerto Rico (44) with a priest and all very joyful. The second, Spanish (26), much calmer, with a priest and his sister who is a nun. The groups celebrate separately. June 15th. Fr. Francis returns from Trebizond and Samsun after an absence of two weeks. He was sent by our bishop to involve the two communities in the Synod of the Catholic Church in 2023 in Rome. In Trabzon there are 8 sisters who are preparing for the mission in Turkey (Trabzon, Izmir and Iskenderun). They are from a new Argentinian congregation. June 16th. A Korean group is preparing a documentary on Antakya. They ask me for a short interview. They were surprised to have found so much respect and cooperation in this city. June 17th. A Mexican group with 2 priests and a nun. June 18th. 5 Imams from the Black Sea region visit our church. They ask a lot of questions especially about my life as a friar and priest! June 19th. Today is the exam for Turkish university entrance: out of over 3 million candidates, only 400,000 will be accepted! June 20th. Capuchin theology students from Northern Italy visit our church. Their guide is Hanry Leylek. June 25th. The marriage between two young Catholics Pio Erdinç and Rose Mari Gamze, both baptized a month ago. Before dinner with family and friends, they participate in the evening Mass. Let us pray that they will be a fruitful seed of the Catholic Church of Antioch! June 27th. Some agent from the Pope John XXIII Community of Rimini, Antonio De Filippis, Stefano Fecchi and Elia Vargu visited the Catholic Church of Antioch, taking an interest in its situation, accompanied by Giulia from Caritas of Anatolia. • Also visiting our church to make a prayer, since they have already celebrated Mass in Tarsus, is a group from Naples accompanied by Fr Angelo. June 28th. We begin the celebrations in honour of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in Antakya. In the morning the Apostolic Nuncio of Turkey, Mons Marek Solczynski and the councillor Mons Walter Erbi arrive. At 7 pm we participate in the solemn liturgy at the Orthodox Church. The envoy of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch S.B.Yuahnna X, Mons Kostantin Kayyel with the 7 priests of the area and accompanied by Archimandrite Eftimos Fakes. June 29th. At 10 we have an ecumenical celebration in front of St. Peter's Grotto. This is certainly an event that helps Christians to walk together in the name of Jesus and the two great apostles. It is a very simple, moving celebration. Fr Francis introduces the various moments and it is enlivened by the young people of the Vicariate of Anatolia who are meeting in Iskenderun for a few days and participate in the celebration. It ends inside the Grotto with the blessing and distribution of the loaves, a sign of unity and fraternity. *At 12.30 in a restaurant run by Christians (Melek), Catholics and Orthodox share the same lunch. * Finally at 4 pm in the courtyard of the Catholic Church, Mass which the Orthodox still attend with local Christians, from Mersin, Iskenderun and Adana (over 200). Thus end the celebrations with hugs and farewells till next year! June 30th. On 29th June, Fr Domenico, after 35 years, ends his service as parish priest of the Catholic Church of Antioch. Last May his request to be replaced on account of his age was accepted. Now he is a “patriarch emeritus”! Deo gratias! Thanks be to God! Antakya Katolİk Kİlİsesİ Kurtuluş Cad. Ataman Demir Sokak N.6 31002 ANTAKYA (TR) Tel. 0090 326 21 567 03 Fax 21 41 851 e.mail: domenicobertogli@hotmail.com http://www.antiochiachiesacattolica.org Antakya May 8, 2022 Rev. Fr Lorenzo Motti Provincial Minister of the Capuchins of Emilia-Romagna In 1987 I was sent by the Superiors to Antioch and appointed pastor of the only Catholic church in the city by Mons Pierre Dubois, Apostolic Vicar of Istanbul. In August of the same year I began my service to this small community and to the many pilgrims from 5 continents. After 35 years, for reason of my age, I have already turned 86!, I ask to conclude my service as parish priest and to pass this service to others at the end of the current pastoral year which will end with the feast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul next 29th June 2022. This said, I am of course always available to make my contribution in the obedience to the Order and the Church. I thank the Lord for my long stay in this city and for what has been achieved: it was solely through Him and I trust in His mercy for what not done, or done badly, because of my weakness. I thank the various superiors of the Order, the Bishops and Nuncios with whom I have collaborated, always finding in them trust, understanding, encouragement and support. I have tried to carry out this service by always evangelizing in dialogue and respect for the other, seeing them as a brothers to love, help and guide, to become a man of faith and peace. In this task, both personal and above all pastoral, "the school of Christian formation" (St. John-Paul II), the Neocatechumenal Way with its initiators (Kiko Arguello, Carmen and Fr Mario, and the several itinerants of Turkey was a precious help. The Church in Turkey continues its journey and I am truly happy and proud to have given it my modest contribution as parish priest for 55 years, 20 of which were in the parish of St. Helena in Izmir. Peace and Love! Father Domenico Bertogli Cc: Fr Pawel, provincial delegate Msgr Paolo Bizzeti, Vicar Ap. of Anatolia