|
Pope To Pray In Syrian Mosque In First For The Papacy
DAMASCUS, March 5 (News Agencies) - Pope John Paul II will break new ground in his visit to Syria in May, becoming the first pope in Catholicism's 2,000-year history to both enter and pray in a mosque, a church official said Monday.
Greek-Catholic Patriarchal Vicar Isidore Battica said the event would also be the first organized joint Muslim-Christian prayer.
"John Paul II will be the first pope to enter a mosque when he visits the tomb of Saint John the Baptist in the Umayyad mosque," Battica, the head of the preparatory committee for the pope's visit and the second ranking official in the Greek-Catholic hierarchy, said.
It will also be the first time that Christians and Muslims will pray together in an organized way, with the pope leading the Christian side of the prayer and Syria's mufti, Sheikh Ahmed Kataro, the Muslim side," he added.
The milestone visit to the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus is set for May 6th in the middle of the pope's three-day visit to Syria as part of a pilgrimage to the holy lands which has already taken him to Egypt, Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories.
The mosque, built in the eighth century AD on a site that previously held pagan temples and a Christian church, contains the reputed tomb of Saint John the Baptist.
Also known as the Great Mosque of Damascus, it is the oldest stone mosque in the Muslim world and one of Islam's most celebrated shrines.
An Aramaic temple was first built on the site, followed by a Roman temple dedicated to Jupiter in the first century AD. This was converted into a church dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, who is also venerated by Muslims as the Prophet Yahya (AS).
Syria's official press said in January that John Paul II "wanted" to meet President Bashar al-Assad during his visit to Syria, and that he would call for peace in the Middle East.
The pope had said he wanted to go Syria, Greece and Malta in the steps of the apostle, Paul, in his document marking the 2000 jubilee.
According to Christian tradition, Paul, who was of Jewish origin, was converted to Christianity between the years 30 and 34 on the road to Damascus, where he had a vision of the Prophet Isa (Jesus) (AS).
Catholics see in Saint Paul the main architect of the expansion of Christianity with his long journeys in Asia Minor, Macedonia and Greece. He was finally executed in Rome.
|
