In Arabic:
بالعربية
عزيزي المهاجر - رفيقي اللاجئ بالعربية
Our migrant friend,
Our refugee friend,
In this land of ours you will find a treasure which for 2000 years is being
given away freely, with no discriminations, to all who truly desire to acquire
it. This treasure is called “a personal
relationship with God”, which we would like to share with you, as it is the
most valuable treasure that we have.
God fashioned us out of love. Every single day He grants life to the world
that He created, without asking for anything in return; He rejoices, when we have
a loving relationship with Him. 2000
years ago, our Creator condescended to be born in the flesh as a human; He
walked among us and with His exemplary holy life showed us how He wants mankind
to live and to become perfect, like He is.
We came to know Him with the name “Jesus Christ”.
Jesus was born in the flesh through the power of the Holy Spirit, in the
small town of Bethlehem and His earthly Mother was a virgin, named Maria. The God of the heavens had likewise become a
migrant – on Earth – so that we could become acquainted with Him. He remained among us for 33 years, until He
was put to death on a Cross, because we humans often do not realize what we are
doing.
During His sojourn on Earth, He revealed to us that God is Love, and that
the One and Only God consists of three inseparable Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. When Jesus, the Son of God, rose from the dead and returned to the Father,
he sent us the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit guides us to the loving relationship that exists between
the three Persons of Godhood, and also unites us with them, as adopted children
of God. This relationship is a personal one, between God and mankind. And this is the teaching of the Orthodox
Christian Church, which Jesus Christ Himself had founded.
We are free to be like God
God has given us the right to live the way we desire – either to willingly
seek Him, or to reject Him as if He doesn’t exist. And yet, He continues to grant His sunlight
and rain, both to good and bad people, without harboring a grudge with any of
His creatures. However, for those who
want to know Him and who strive to be like Him, He provided them with a PATH
that will lead to heaven, where He has in store certain gifts “that no eye has
ever seen and no ear has ever heard, and no heart has ever understood”. They are able to transcend the boundaries of
space and time the way that He did; they can resemble the Infinite One for all
eternity and savour His superior life, in a loving relationship with Him. This
is what is called “Paradise”.
We are free to be joined to our Creator, within His
“Body”
On departing from this world, Christ sent forth His friends – the Apostles
– so that they might invite all of mankind into His “Body” – the Church –
through their evangelizing the Gospel (that is, by spreading the good news
about God’s plan for our salvation).
Jesus did not leave them on their own: 50 days after His death and His
Resurrection from the dead, He sent them the Holy Spirit, Who would help and
accompany them in their struggle to become like Him. When it was time to leave this life to be
united with Jesus in Heaven, they in turn left Prophets and Bishops in their
stead, who assigned Presbyters in charge of the local Churches, where all the
Sacred Mysteries take place that help mankind to become united with its Creator
and become acquainted with Him in person.
One such initiation is the practice of confession, where a person comes to
acknowledge the sins he has committed in his life and seeks to be reconciled
with God. God then accepts him, through
another Mystery, of holy Baptism. With
his immersion in water, man casts off his “bad, former self” and on emerging
from the water of Baptism, he is reborn as a new person, cleansed of sins, and
adopted by God, the heavenly Father. Then, in yet another Mystery, he received
from the Priest’s hands the Body and the Blood of Christ, in the form of
“bread” and “wine”, so that he will also be actually united with Him, Who had
shed His blood and offered His Body for the salvation of man. In this manner, man thereafter becomes a
participant in the Body of the Godman (the Church); he receives God’s Holy
Spirit, and begins to live God’s way of life from then on.
God “emigrated” for our sake, by becoming a man.
Jesus Christ did not buy a home, nor had a bed of His own, or a
pillow! He was a “migrant” from heaven,
Who knew He would return to His heavenly home after His 33 years of living
among us in the flesh. This was why He
did not amass any fortune or become wealthy.
He taught us that WE ARE ALL “foreigners and passers-by” on this Earth
and that none of us will remain here for all eternity. He showed us the Migrants’ way – whose
homeland is not down here, but up there: the heavenly homeland.
This is why we love strangers and are looking forward to “another, heavenly homeland”,
according to the words of Jesus’ Apostle, Paul.
We do not concern ourselves with the colour and the land of origin of
our fellow-man, as we are all brethren and creatures of the One, Same God, and
we all have the same invitation by our Creator, for the true, eternal homeland
for all of us.
For more than 2000 years in this land, millions of people have lived and
died with this hope; you may find here people who might exploit you or hate
you, but you will also find people who will love you as their brother and
townsman. People, who albeit born here, likewise feel like strangers as you do,
and await the time when the Lord Jesus Christ returns to take us to our true
Homeland!
In this land, if you so wish, you can learn even more: in our Orthodox temples you will find people
who know how to talk to you about all these wonderful things. Regardless how much time you have at your
disposal, one hour a week is enough to research for details.
At the bottom of this pamphlet you will find ways to communicate in order
to learn more, and to become acquainted with the Path that leads every stranger
on earth to heaven!
In English
The Orthodox Church of Greece: http://www.ecclesia.gr/English/EnIndex.html
Telepphon
210 3352300
210 3248731
http://orthodoxpakistan.org/
http://orthodoxinfo.com/
http://www.oodegr.com/english/index.htm
In Arabic
http://antiochpatriarchate.org/
http://www.jerusalem-patriarchate.info/main/ara
http://www.holytrinityfamily.org/
http://www.ortmtlb.org.lb/
http://www.qorthodox.org/home/ar_home/ar_orthodox_church
من هو يسوع (http://o-nekros.blogspot.gr/)
See also
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