SW News: Newly elected Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East Mar Awa III was visited by his Catholic counterpart Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako of the Chaldean Church on October 21. The two top prelates discussed the condition of the Christians in Iraq and their future.

Cardinal Sako and his delegation were welcomed by Patriarch Awa at his residence in Ankawa, a Christian suburb of Erbil, which is the capital of the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan. While congratulating the new patriarch, the cardinal said that Mar Awa would be able to serve the Assyrians with dedication and joy. He also expressed hope that the Assyrian Patriarch will work towards fostering unity among both Churches.

The head of the Chaldean Church, which is one of the 22 sui iuris Eastern Churches in full communion with Rome, gifted a ring and some liturgical books to Mar Awa, who is the first US-born Assyrian Christian prelate to become the head of the Church. He was elected on September 8 as the successor of Patriarch Mar Gewargis III Sliwa who stepped down last year following health issues.

Mar Awa did his religious higher studies in Catholic academies such as the Pontifical Oriental Institute. Before assuming charge as the head of the Church, he was the Bishop of the Assyrian Diocese of California in the US and was the Secretary of the Holy Synod. He was ordained A deacon when he was 17 and he earned his degrees in theology from Loyola University in Chicago and the University of St Mary of the Lake, which is a historic institute that trains Catholic priests in the Archdiocese of Chicago. He was ordained bishop by Patriarch Mar Dinkha IV in 2008.

The official dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East began in 1984 and it led to the Common Christological Declaration in 19994, affirming faith in Christ as shared between both Churches. Currently, dialogue is underway on the theme of the sacraments and the sacramental life of the Church. In future, there could be a document between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church officially recognizing the validity of sacraments. The theology and spirituality of Assyrian Church place great emphasis on the human nature of Christ. In 2001, the Assyrian Church of the East granted permission to its believers to receive the Eucharist in a Chaldean Church in certain circumstances.