Fr. Abraam Sleman's Blog

In recent weeks, as tensions flared between Israel and Iran, a wave of speculation swept through some corners of the Christian world. A number of Bible commentators rushed to interpret the conflict as a definitive sign of the end times. With headlines ablaze and fear stirred, voices proclaimed that the Second Coming of Christ and the rapture were imminent, based on a historical-literal application of biblical prophecy—particularly the book of Revelation. But now, as a ceasefire has taken hold, those sweeping proclamations once again fall silent. This pattern of interpreting current events as a direct fulfillment of apocalyptic prophecy is not new. History has seen many such interpretations come and go—wars, earthquakes, political shifts—all used to support elaborate end-times timelines that ultimately fail the test of time. Such approaches, while often sincere, miss the deeper message of the book of Revelation. The last book of the Bible was not given to us to fuel sensational predic...

In recent years—and as recently as just days ago in Syria—we have witnessed devastating attacks on churches during sacred moments of worship. From Saint Elias Church in Damascus to the sanctuaries of Nigeria, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Iraq, Pakistan, Indonesia, and the Philippines , the blood of the faithful has mingled with the altar of sacrifice. They died as they came to meet Christ in the Eucharist. They died not as Protestants, Catholics, or Orthodox—but as Christians, as Christ’s beloved. And I wonder: Why does God allow such horrific things to happen in His house, during His liturgy, at the hour of offering? Is it possible that God weeps not only for the lives lost but also for the disunity of His Church ? Have we, the Body of Christ, grown accustomed to division, to the excommunications and estrangements we justify in His name? The Lord Jesus did not offer up His prayer in John 17 for institutional pride or theological rivalry, but for oneness : “That they may all be one; even ...