Near Tyre, a Shiite Maqam Dedicated to Saint Peter
Fady Noun 2024-12-08 10:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
The medieval castle of Chameh, near Tyre, and the “maqam” of Shimon el-Safa that it houses are among the archaeological treasures for which Lebanon requested “enhanced protection” from UNESCO against the risks of war. However, the ground fighting in November between Hezbollah and the Israeli Army overran the request in question. The ...
Is the Ceasefire Owed to the Miraculous Medal?
Fady Noun 2024-11-30 18:50 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Ceasefire Hezbollah Israel Virgin Mary
The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect on November 27, coinciding with the Latin Church’s feast of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. For many, this timing is seen as a divine gift, strengthening their faith that the end of hostilities was heaven-sent. The Chapel of the Miraculous Medal on Rue du Bac in Paris holds a deep ...
Lebanon, the Unloved
Fady Noun 2024-11-24 09:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
As “good” Lebanese, we celebrate our independence amidst chaos and bombs. An entire book could be written about how we became Lebanese, after being fragments of many other identities. I could recount my own journey of rediscovering memory and identity—borrowing the title of an overlooked book by John Paul II—how I stopped ...
Caramel, Candy, and Chocolate: The Spectacle of Barbarism
Fady Noun 2024-11-16 13:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Hezbollah Israel Pope Francis USA
Once again, I find myself watching on television, weary and disheartened, as the rubble of a home targeted by an Israeli strike lies collapsed over its occupants. This time, the scene is in Ain Yaacoub (Akkar) — a modest two-story house, typical of rural areas, its construction unfinished, with parts still bare cement due to a lack of funds. ...
The Potential for a Civilization
Fady Noun 2024-11-09 10:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
“In recent days, there has been much talk of war, civilization and the need to defend it. I am not convinced that one defends civilization by sowing barbarism oneself. Yet, I am certain of this: the very prospect of civilization is at stake in Lebanon. It is about the ability of men and women of different origins and faiths to coexist on the ...
What Naim Qassem Still Hasn’t Grasped
Fady Noun 2024-11-02 15:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Middle East Benjamin Netanyahu Palestine USA
It is a fact: naivety, egocentrism and various underestimations are among the unpredictable elements that shape the course of history. A clear example of this can be seen in the speech delivered this week by the new Secretary General of Hezbollah. What Naim Qassem has yet to grasp is that he is not alone in Lebanon, and many Lebanese do not share ...
The Maronite Church, Prisoner of Its Own Memory
Fady Noun 2024-10-26 13:15 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Damascus Middle East christians druze canonization
For some Lebanese Christians, the 1860 massacres remain an open wound — a persistent thorn in their collective memory. The painful recollection of this brutality resurfaced during the canonization of the Massabki brothers, who were martyred in Damascus on the night of July 9-10, 1860. How did it come to pass that over 20,000 Christians — half ...
Canonization of the Massabki Brothers: A Triumph of Blood Ecumenism
Fady Noun 2024-10-20 19:00 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
Bechara Rai Damascus Pope Francis Church canonization Maronite
Today, October 20, the universal Church has been graced with the addition of 14 new figures of holiness, including eleven martyrs: eight Franciscan religious and three Maronite laymen, the brothers Francis, Abdel Mohti, and Raphael Massabki. All were brutally killed in Damascus during the night of July 9 to 10, 1860, for their refusal to ...
Interfaith Plea to the UN: Save Lebanon
Fady Noun 2024-10-16 21:55 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Lebanese religious communities unanimously appealed to the UN Security Council yesterday, urging it to address the crisis in Lebanon and to rescue the country from Israel’s grip by imposing an immediate ceasefire. This call followed a broad interfaith assembly held in Bkerke, convened at the invitation of the Maronite Patriarch and attended by ...
Between the Possible and the Illusion of the Possible
Fady Noun 2024-10-12 13:40 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
By waging a “low-intensity” war against Israel, Hezbollah’s slain leader Hassan Nasrallah made a grave miscalculation, the consequences of which the entire nation of Lebanon is now bearing. The pressing question is how to convince Hezbollah to accept the failure of its war. For the moment, the group remains in denial, even though, as ...
'Know Thyself, Lebanon!'
Fady Noun 2024-10-05 10:45 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
“Know thyself.” This timeless Socratic precept, fundamental to any individual in pursuit of wisdom, holds equally true for nations. By disregarding it, Hezbollah’s Secretary-General, Hassan Nasrallah, met his demise. Convinced he had secured full control over the Lebanese state, and by leading Lebanon into a war in support of Hamas on ...
Lebanon's Unity Tested by the 'Unity of Fronts'
Fady Noun 2024-09-21 16:50 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Lebanon has delivered a powerful lesson in humanity and unity to Israel, Iran and Hezbollah through the wave of solidarity, empathy and compassion that followed the Israeli attacks on September 17 and 18. In the face of the horrors of disfigured faces, doctors and nurses worked through the night, pushing themselves to the brink of exhaustion to ...
Cardinal Aghagianian's Remains Moved to Beirut
Fady Noun 2024-09-12 16:27 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
While official statements have been sparse and lacking in detail, the figure of Cardinal Grégoire Pierre XV Aghagianian (1895-1971) is emerging more clearly as the reasons for transferring his remains to Lebanon are now better understood. This solemn transfer, taking place at Martyrs' Square, comes at his own request. Born in Georgia in 1895 and ...
September 8: Nativity of Mary, Wonder of God
Fady Noun 2024-09-07 16:25 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
The birth of Virgin Mary, commemorated on September 8, is, alongside the births of Jesus and John the Baptist, one of only three holy births celebrated by both Eastern and Western Churches. This highlights the central importance of this feast, despite its relative modesty compared to more prominent celebrations like Christmas and Easter, which are ...
August 4: 'A Thunder Day' in the Vatican for Victims' Parents
Fady Noun 2024-08-27 16:01 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
“A thunder day!” Cardiologist Nazih al-Adem is elated with the outcome of his visit to the Vatican, a sentiment echoed by all the parents of the victims of the August 4, 2020, Beirut port explosion. On August 26, Pope Francis and Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, held a lengthy meeting with them. Fueled by a resolve ...
August 4 Victims' Families Head to Vatican
Fady Noun 2024-08-19 12:27 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
A delegation representing the families of the victims of the August 4, 2020, Beirut port explosion is en route to the Vatican, according to informed sources. They will be received on August 26 by Pope Francis and Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin. The group consists of approximately twenty people, including spokespersons for the victims' ...
Envisioning Lebanon Amidst Historical Turmoil
Fady Noun 2024-07-21 10:23 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Is Lebanon's Fate Truly Tragic? Not Necessarily. Certainly battered by history, but condemned? Not if the Lebanese people recognize their role in the current disorder. From the early days of this noble national vocation, initiated by Patriarch Howayek during negotiations with the Third French Republic, he criticized the clientelism and favoritism ...
The Martyrdom of Hussein at Kerbala and the Cult of Sacrifice
Fady Noun 2024-07-14 09:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
On the night of July 16 to 17, Shiites observe Ashura (from the word "achra," meaning ten), commemorating a pivotal event in their community's history: the assassination of Imam Hussein, the Prophet's grandson, in Kerbala, Iraq, in October 680 A.D. (Muharram 61 in the Islamic calendar). Imam Hussein was fleeing Damascus and the Caliph Yazid, with ...
Should Lebanon Be Sacrificed to Win Back Palestine?
Fady Noun 2024-07-08 10:03 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
"The Maronite Patriarch shouldn’t apologize," asserts the Maronite Archbishop Emeritus of Beirut, Boulos Matar. The Shiite duo (Amal-Hezbollah) wants an apology from Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rai for saying in one of his homilies that he refuses to let southern Lebanon become a launching pad for "terrorist" actions. However, Boulos Matar ...
The Re-foundation of Lebanon
Fady Noun 2024-06-30 10:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
The significance of recent events went largely unnoticed. Following a meeting at Bkerké among religious leaders from Lebanon's diverse communities, dual calls for peace prayers were issued—one by the Patriarch and the other by the Mufti of the Republic—emphasizing a collective rejection of the conflict in which Hezbollah has embroiled ...
Parolin in Beirut Sunday: A Pastoral Visit with Diplomatic Undertones
Fady Noun 2024-06-22 12:28 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
At the initial invitation of the president of the Lebanese Association of the Knights of the Order of Malta, Marwan Sehnaoui, an interfaith summit has been scheduled at Bkerkeh on Tuesday for Pope Francis' main collaborator, Pietro Parolin, who is expected in Beirut on Sunday. Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, is expected to ...
Zahle: Bicentennial of a “Eucharistic City”
Fady Noun 2024-06-01 09:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
For the Christians of Lebanon and for Lebanon as a whole, the presidential vacancy is "worse than the plague." It jeopardizes the future of the Lebanese "political entity," stated the Greek-Catholic Archbishop of Zahle, Ibrahim Ibrahim, during the Feast of Corpus Christi, which the city has faithfully commemorated since 1825, nearly two centuries ...
From Mount Hermon's Slopes to Naqoura, the “Sacred Cause” of Reconstruction
Fady Noun 2024-05-21 19:59 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Nawraj sets up a crisis cell comprising architects and agronomists, led by Jean Chamoun. In the absence of any clear prospect for an end to hostilities in southern Lebanon, the Nawraj association, led by Fouad Abounader, has decided to take action and start assessing the losses and needs of the localities subjected to Israeli bombardments. In a ...
Will Love Marriages Save Lebanon?
Fady Noun 2024-05-18 13:06 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
What if, for a Maronite, being Lebanese was simply a way of being Christian? And what if, for a Muslim or a Druze from Lebanon, being Lebanese was just a unique way of being Muslim? Not by abandoning their faith, but by infusing it with a spirit of peaceful, friendly, and inclusive benevolence. This is the impression conveyed by the photo of ...
Patriarch Sfeir’s Pertinent Call: 'Lebanon First, Lebanon Sovereign'
Fady Noun 2024-05-12 16:38 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
“Every patriarch persistently restates and renews the role that the Maronite Church must fulfill as the backbone of the Lebanese nation." These words by Patriarch Bechara Rai, as recounted by Isabelle Dillman in her book Au Coeur du chaos (In the Heart of Chaos), capture perfectly the enduring duty and fervor that defined the life of Patriarch ...
Mseitbeh 1970: A Missed Encounter with the Virgin Mary
Fady Noun 2024-05-11 15:04 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
April 8, 1970. Young Thérèse Abdallah is doing her homework in the study hall of the Syriac Orthodox school in Mseitbeh, a predominantly Sunni neighborhood in Beirut. She is the eldest in her family, and her father is the steward of the local bishop, Athanassios Ephrem Barsoum. In Mseitbeh, Muslims and Christians live side by side, but it is ...
Holy Fire of Jerusalem: Orthodox Easter’s Recurring Marvel
Fady Noun 2024-05-04 08:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Today, on Holy Saturday, the Orthodox world will celebrate with joy the appearance of the Holy Fire, also known as the Holy Flame. This mysterious physical phenomenon is characterized by the sudden appearance of a light-density fire on the tombstone where Christ’s lifeless body was placed after his crucifixion. This fire rapidly spreads and does ...
Jerusalem, Through Peace, Not by the Sword
Fady Noun 2024-04-27 10:33 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
In the "low-intensity war" it has been waging since October 8 against Israel in support of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah has officially mourned the deaths of 273 of its men. But up until now, these sacrifices have not earned the party any gains, and their impact on what is happening in Gaza is almost nil. On the other hand, they have resulted ...
The Looming Presence of April 13
Fady Noun 2024-04-13 11:31 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Machiavelli said it, yet any sailboat owner will confirm it: “One can initiate a war (or set sail) at will, but concluding it whenever desired is not always within reach,” nor is returning to port. The Lebanese Civil War, ignited on April 13, 1975, evidently lingers unresolved. Following the incidents in Tayouneh (October 14, 2021) and ...
The Royal Road of Citizenship, a Book by Tarek Mitri
Fady Noun 2024-04-06 10:58 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
How to live honorably as Christians in the Arab-Muslim world. This is the central question posed in the book "Christians in Arab Politics, Reclaiming the Pact of Citizenship," a short essay by Tarek Mitri (128 pages), former Minister, former Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Libya, and current Dean of Saint George University in ...