News from the Orient – April 9, 2025

This week's News from the Eastern Churches:

Louvre museum hosts conference on icons 

From the 7th to the 9th April, the Louvre Museum in Paris held an international symposium entitled ‘In flesh and gold. Perspectives on Icons’. The event coincided with the arrival at the museum of the prestigious Abou Adal collection, assembled in Lebanon and comprising 272 icons from Eastern Europe and the Levant. Two artists from Aleppo, invited to Paris for the occasion, shared their experience of restoring icons damaged during the war in Syria, as well as their work in the chapel dedicated to Eastern Christians in Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris.

Continued bombing of Ukraine 

His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, has reacted to the continuing Russian bombardment of several Ukrainian towns, despite talks of a ceasefire. He condemned the deadly attack on Kharkiv, Soumy and Kryvyï Rih, where a ballistic missile killed 19 civilians, including 9 children. He warned against the gap between diplomatic overtures and the reality of war on the ground. Finally, the Archbishop called for spiritual vigilance and stressed the importance of prayer for justice and peace.

Fifth Sunday of Byzantine Lent

This Sunday, the Byzantine Churches commemorated Mary of Egypt, a former prostitute who became a saint. Hers became a path of grace, with the influence of silence, the desert and prayer. This Sunday is a reminder that God's mercy transcends the past and that sincere repentance always opens the way to holiness. With Palm Sunday just a week away, the Church invites the faithful to return to God with a humble heart, confident in his love.