Raymond George, Ph.D. Speech
gave on Saturday at the Diocese Banquet night Oct 20, 2007

 

His Grace Mar Sarhad Jammo - Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of St. Peter for Chaldean &Assyrians.

His Grace Mar Bawi Soro - Bishop of the Church of the East.

 

Brothers & Sisters.

 

I am honored and privileged to stand here on behalf of my colleagues members of St. Peter Advisory Council representing San Jose, Los Angeles, Modesto and Turlock to congratulate the entire Diocese and particularly our dear Bishop Mar Sarhad for the great work it has been done to our church.

 

Five years ago, on May 21^st 2002, we were very thrilled and happy when his Holiness the late Pope John Paul II gave his blessings to establish this new Diocese and on July 25^th of the same year, our beloved Mar Sarhad was installed Bishop of this Diocese overseeing  (19) states that included California, Arizona and Nevada.

Since that day and the Diocese is achieving a remarkable progress in reaching the Bishop’s new vision of unity. Unity within the church and unity with other churches.

 

I was listening and watching the video of Bishop Mar Sarhad lecture that he gave here in San Diego as part of the Diocese Theology course in early of this month and he said and I like to quote him:

“We are really, literally the children of the founders of human Civilization and we are the best connection to Christ and his church“.

 

What a true statement, it is really true because we, Assyrians & Chaldeans, members of this church, are the inhabitants of Mesopotamia (Bet-Nahrian/Land between the two rivers) and are the founders of human civilization. 

So how proud and privileged we Chaldeans & Assyrians should be because we are the wealth of this church.

 

At Mass when we recite the Creed of Faith, we say “We believe in one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church “.

In it we are pledging our allegiance of faith to the church founded by the Apostle St. Peter, the disciple that upon him our Lord Jesus Christ founded his church.

The Holy Father Pope Benedict 16 is the successor of that hierarchy of Christianity established by Shimon Keepa (Apostle St. Peter), and it is a great joy and pride that our Patriarch Mar Emmanuel III Delly is the successor of that dynasty of Patriarchs of the church of the East that concluded full communion with the Pope of Rome in 1830 during the reign of Patriarch Mar Youhana Hermiz.

Claiming and valuing the primacy of St.Peter the Apostle by any church has no option but to seek full communion of the Catholic Church of Rome.

 

We here in the Catholic Diocese of St. Peter for Chaldeans and Assyrians are proud to be part of this genuine hierarchy of  the successors of the Apostle St. Peter and at the same time to be the cornerstone and the continuation of the original Church of the East.

His Grace Mar Sarhad is on a mission in restoring the church to its original roots and foundation and we all are anxiously following Saydna’s teachings in this field and we have the duty and the responsibility to be part in brining back this unity to the church.

 

We are all on a call to restore the ones of the church of the East to its origin and to fulfill the pledge that we are taking everyday that of one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.

The ones of the church of the east is the first  step in bringing unity within our people.

 

We wish our Bishop Mar Sarhad the best of success in reaching this unity with the help of his brothers the bishops and priests of the entire church of East.

May God bless you all.Thank you.

 

Raymond George, Ph.D.

St. Peter Catholic Diocese Advisory Council - California