New Chaldean patriarch enthroned, pledges to 'update our liturgy'

[Zekariya]

Thanks, griego catolico, for pointing this out!

Axios! Axios! Axios!

Chaldean Catholic Patriarch of Babylon, Mar Louis Raphaël I Sako:

http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/422975_127259667445374_1777017443_n.jpg

See: news.va/en/news/vatican-abp-louis-sako-elected-patriarch-of-the-ch

 

[Chaldean_Rite]

kaldu.org/joomla/index.php/news/529-the-chaldean-church-has-a-new-patriarch

 

[jwinch2]

catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=17237

Amid heavy security, Patriarch Louis Raphaël I Sako was solemnly enthroned in Baghdad as head of the Chaldean Catholic Church on March 6, five weeks after his election by a synod of Chaldean prelates meeting in Rome.

The new Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans, who leads an Eastern Catholic church with 419,000 members, told La Croix that his priorities are the reorganization of the patriarchal curia, the appointment of bishops to vacant sees, and the updating of liturgical books.

“Liturgical reform has never occurred in our church,” he said. “We celebrate the Mass according to an ancient missal, and each diocese has its own missal. We need to update our liturgy so that it speaks to man today, so that it gives meaning and much hope.”

Born in 1948, the patriarch was ordained a priest of the Eparchy of Mosul in 1974 and Archbishop of Kirkuk in 2003.

The church, which is in full communion with the Holy See, has eparchies (dioceses) in Iraq, Iran, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Australia, Canada, and the United States.

How do our Eastern Catholic brothers and sisters feel about this idea? Updating the liturgy is not something I think of when I consider Eastern Christianity. I suppose much depends on what exactly he means by the statement.

Thoughts?

 

[chaldobyzantine]

How do our Eastern Catholic brothers and sisters feel about this idea? Updating the liturgy is not something I think of when I consider Eastern Christianity. I suppose much depends on what exactly he means by the statement.

Thoughts?

I guess as the resident Chaldean, I’ll answer your questions. Throughout the the years of Chaldean communion with Rome, Latinizations were introduced, and especially after Vatican II, plenty of Novus Ordo “reforms” changed many aspects of the Chaldean liturgy.

In the past couple decades, an effort started by +Patriarch Raphael Bidawid was to have a delatinized Chaldean liturgy, almost identical to that of the Assyrian Church of the East, with a uniform text throughout all dioceses. This reform was well underway to being implemented, and was approved by the Vatican in 2006. However, some bishops of the Holy Synod felt that some reforms were either too delatinizing, meaning they wanted to keep some latinizations, or that they were somewhat Nestorian. Nonetheless, the implementation of the Reformed Chaldean Mass was to start in all dioceses on January 6, 2007.

Disagreements among the bishops ensued one month before, as Bishop Sarhad of San Diego celebrated the Reformed Mass ahead of the date. His diocese is currently the only one completely using the reforms, but other dioceses did decide to use the translations adapting them to the post-Vatican II text. Some didn’t change anything at all. Patriarch Emeritus Emmanuel Delly didn’t make it too much of a priority, possibly to keep the peace. So the reforms were not completely implemented as intended.

Now with the newly enthroned Patriarch Louis-Raphael, the reformed liturgy has become a primary concern once again. Please pray for the Patriarch and the Chaldean Synod to come up with a solution for agreeing on one delatinized liturgy and a restoration of our holy traditions.

God Bless.

 

[aemcpa]

“Liturgical reform has never occurred in our church,” he said. “We celebrate the Mass according to an ancient missal, and each diocese has its own missal."

"We need to update our liturgy so that it speaks to man today, so that it gives meaning and much hope.”

 

[jwinch2]

I guess as the resident Chaldean, I’ll answer your questions. Throughout the the years of Chaldean communion with Rome, Latinizations were introduced, and especially after Vatican II, plenty of Novus Ordo “reforms” changed many aspects of the Chaldean liturgy.

In the past couple decades, an effort started by +Patriarch Raphael Bidawid was to have a delatinized Chaldean liturgy, almost identical to that of the Assyrian Church of the East, with a uniform text throughout all dioceses. This reform was well underway to being implemented, and was approved by the Vatican in 2006. However, some bishops of the Holy Synod felt that some reforms were either too delatinizing, meaning they wanted to keep some latinizations, or that they were somewhat Nestorian. Nonetheless, the implementation of the Reformed Chaldean Mass was to start in all dioceses on January 6, 2007.

Disagreements among the bishops ensued one month before, as Bishop Sarhad of San Diego celebrated the Reformed Mass ahead of the date. His diocese is currently the only one completely using the reforms, but other dioceses did decide to use the translations adapting them to the post-Vatican II text. Some didn’t change anything at all. Patriarch Emeritus Emmanuel Delly didn’t make it too much of a priority, possibly to keep the peace. So the reforms were not completely implemented as intended.

Now with the newly enthroned Patriarch Louis-Raphael, the reformed liturgy has become a primary concern once again. Please pray for the Patriarch and the Chaldean Synod to come up with a solution for agreeing on one delatinized liturgy and a restoration of our holy traditions.

God Bless.

Very interesting. Thanks for that.

When you say that the Synod did not want to let go of some of the Latinizations, are you referring to Eastern Bishops there, or Latin ones?

Peace,

 

[SyroMalankara]

The Eastern bishops. It’s usually the Eastern bishops and/or priests who want to keep the latinizations, despite repeated corrections from multiple Popes and the Oriental Congregation. The vast majority of Latin prelates don’t know or could care less.

 

[jwinch2]

The Eastern bishops. It’s usually the Eastern bishops and/or priests who want to keep the latinizations, despite repeated corrections from multiple Popes and the Oriental Congregation. The vast majority of Latin prelates don’t know or could care less.

Thanks for the clarification.

It sounds as if his reform is a needed one. I hope it goes well,

Peace,

 

[malphono]

Thanks for the clarification.

It sounds as if his reform is a needed one. I hope it goes well,

The Chaldean restoration * has come a long way, but it does need to be completed and finalized.

• It’s better, I think to say “restoration” than s"reform" in this case, since the intent is de-latinization and the word “reform” has other connotations. One need only look at the Maronites to see where the so-called “reform” has led to an ongoing and unending stream of Novus Ordo-inspired neo-latinizations which will, unfortunately, ulitmately be our death-knell, but I digress.

 

[jwinch2]

The Chaldean restoration * has come a long way, but it does need to be completed and finalized.

It’s better, I think to say “restoration” than s"reform" in this case, since the intent is de-latinization and the word “reform” has other connotations.

Fair enough. Or, we could stick with the words chosen by the Patriarch and just say “update”.

 

[malphono]

Fair enough. Or, we could stick with the words chosen by the Patriarch and just say “update”.

Personally, I find the word “update” to be rather problematic, and I won’t use it. In my long (and often bitter) experience, an “update” is essentially he same as a “reform” or “revision” and, unfortunately, those imply exactly what was in my footnote. We’ve had more than enough of that. It’s time to clear-out the Novus Ordo-inspired neo-latinizations and do some true restoration of the things that we have lost (or, in some cases, things that were taken away from us).

 

[griego_catolico]

Video of His Beatitude’s enthronement: youtube.com/watch?v=Dm46iqukd9w

 

[jwinch2]

Personally, I find the word “update” to be rather problematic, and I won’t use it. In my long (and often bitter) experience, an “update” is essentially he same as a “reform” or “revision” and, unfortunately, those imply exactly what was in my footnote. We’ve had more than enough of that. It’s time to clear-out the Novus Ordo-inspired neo-latinizations and do some true restoration of the things that we have lost (or, in some cases, things that were taken away from us).

Assuming he was quoted accurately, I guess you’ll have to take that one up with the Patriarch.

I do understand your sentiments though, completely.

 

[malphono]

Assuming he was quoted accurately, I guess you’ll have to take that one up with the Patriarch.

I have my own problems and enough to worry about with Maronite Patriarch & Synod, so I’ll leave this one to chaldobyzantine, who is our resident Chaldean.

I do understand your sentiments though, completely.

 

[griego_catolico]

In the past couple decades, an effort started by +Patriarch Raphael Bidawid was to have a delatinized Chaldean liturgy, almost identical to that of the Assyrian Church of the East, with a uniform text throughout all dioceses. This reform was well underway to being implemented, and was approved by the Vatican in 2006. However, some bishops of the Holy Synod felt that some reforms were either too delatinizing, meaning they wanted to keep some latinizations, or that they were somewhat Nestorian. Nonetheless, the implementation of the Reformed Chaldean Mass was to start in all dioceses on January 6, 2007.

Disagreements among the bishops ensued one month before, as Bishop Sarhad of San Diego celebrated the Reformed Mass ahead of the date. His diocese is currently the only one completely using the reforms, but other dioceses did decide to use the translations adapting them to the post-Vatican II text. Some didn’t change anything at all. Patriarch Emeritus Emmanuel Delly didn’t make it too much of a priority, possibly to keep the peace. So the reforms were not completely implemented as intended.

Ah, that explains why when looking at this video youtube.com/watch?v=Z_jWGzPzga4, I was surprised to see that the liturgy was celebrated facing the people and not toward “liturgical East” as the Reformed Chaldean Mass.

I live on the west coast of the USA so my experience of the Chaldean liturgy has been the Reformed Chaldean Mass. I did not realize that the Chaldean Eparchy of Saint Thomas on the other side of the USA does not use the Reformed Chaldean Mass.

BTW, notice in the video that Bishop Ibrihim is wearing a Syro-Malabar mitre.

 

[malphono]

I’m watching it now … I see HB Ignatious Yousef (SCC) and HB Gerogious II (Melkite) and a representative of the Maronites (not sure who it was) in attendance in choir. I also what appears to be at least one Greek Orthodox, one Armenian Orthodox, and at least one kosita (I think 2), so I have to assume that at least one ACoE bishop was present in choir. I haven’t noticed a koub’ono, so I don’t know if a representative of the SOC was there.

Unless I’m mistaken, I think I recognize Mar Youhannan Zora (Chaldean bishop from Toronto) who seems to have a major part in the proceedings.

Some of the chant is remarkable (the processional was wonderful), some (mainly that not in Syriac) less so, but personally I’m not thrilled with the organ accompaniment. The typically Mesopotamian violins are better, but still a little untraditional, as are the flutes. There seems to be more Arabic than I would care to hear, but I suppose that’s an accommodation to the non-Christian dignitaries present (e.g. I notice the Nouri al-Malaki but am not sure if I saw Jalal Talabani or not).

All in all, however, I am thrilled with being able to see this. Much more agreeable to me than was the enthronement of my own Patriarch.

 

[YoungTradCath]

“Reform” and “update”…

shiver Those words have awful connotations for me.

 

[chaldobyzantine]

Ah, that explains why when looking at this video youtube.com/watch?v=Z_jWGzPzga4, I was surprised to see that the liturgy was celebrated facing the people and not toward “liturgical East” as the Reformed Chaldean Mass.

I live on the west coast of the USA so my experience of the Chaldean liturgy has been the Reformed Chaldean Mass. I did not realize that the Chaldean Eparchy of Saint Thomas on the other side of the USA does not use the Reformed Chaldean Mass.

BTW, notice in the video that Bishop Ibrihim is wearing a Syro-Malabar mitre.

Yes, really it’s a bit of a shame that the rubrics and texts are different in every diocese. I’ve commented with our friend malphono about this not too long ago. The Southfield eparchy kept the status quo Vatican II rubrics, the San Diego eparchy uses the Reformed (that’s the official title for now) rubrics and translation, the Toronto eparchy uses some of the translation and some of rubrics of the Reformed Mass such as celebrating ad orientum. So in reality, it’s quite a mess at the moment. Our synod hasn’t met often enough to address this. The current Patriarch wants that mess to be fixed and to continue on with the track that ended in 2006.

And yes, Mar Ibrahim not too long ago decided to use the Syro-Malabar mitre. The current English pew books have the Syro-Malabar cross on them, and the central cross at Holy Martyrs parish is also a carving of the Syro-Malabar cross. I’m not sure why he did that though.

God Bless

 

[malphono]

And yes, Mar Ibrahim not too long ago decided to use the Syro-Malabar mitre. The current English pew books have the Syro-Malabar cross on them, and the central cross at Holy Martyrs parish is also a carving of the Syro-Malabar cross. I’m not sure why he did that though.

Maybe just to spite Mar Sarhad?

 

[chaldobyzantine]

Maybe just to spite Mar Sarhad?