Letters From our Bishops regarding the attack on Iran

Dear friends in Christ –

The world awoke on Saturday to the violence of war – to attack, and retaliation, and blame, and counteraccusation. Questions were quickly asked, and assertions just as quickly made. And through it all, lives are ended, or changed forever. 

We, the bishops of Virginia, ask us all to set aside partisanship in this moment and remember that the majority of those lives are often innocent ones. Children will be orphaned, spouses will be widowed, and parents will be left to bury their daughters and sons. The effects of war know no nationality, creed, religion, or family relation – death and pain strike all equally. And through it all, God weeps at the suffering.

We urge the people of the Diocese of Virginia to read and take to heart the Anglican Archbishop of Jerusalem’s pastoral letter issued Saturday morning; to heed his call to pray for peace and to anchor our hearts in the spirit of love; and to remember that as Christians we are called by Jesus himself to see those who differ from us as neighbor and not as enemy.

We urge the faith communities of this diocese to find ways to put prayer into action – to embody justice. Gather, discern, speak out, put your resources to work to call the world to the love of Jesus. These are days that demand no less.

May God be with you and yours, and with the people of the Middle East, this day and always.

The Rt. Rev’d E. Mark Stevenson

The Rt. Rev’d Gayle E. Harris

The Rt. Rev’d Mark A. Bourlakas

Letter from Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe on Military Strike on Iran

Dear people of God in The Episcopal Church,

Here in the United States, we awoke this morning with alarm to the news that the United States and Israel have launched a large military strike on Iran. This violent attack comes despite weeks of negotiations that many of us had hoped would prevent armed conflict in this fragile region, which is home to so many religious traditions and faithful people.

Bishop Jeffrey Mello of Connecticut and a group of pilgrims from that diocese are in the Holy Land now, and when we spoke this morning, he let me know that they are safe at St. George’s College in Jerusalem. I ask you to pray fervently for them and their safe return.

Pray, too, for all the people of the Holy Land, and especially for the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East and its leader, Archbishop Hosam Naoum. I had planned to be with Hosam today and tomorrow when he made a long-planned visit to our church. Many Episcopalians who had hoped to see him and assure him of our support will feel his absence keenly in the coming days. I commend to you the letter that he has sent to the people of his diocese this morning.

As news reports tell us of fear and panic in Iran, I ask you to pray especially for the people of the Diocese of Iran and for all of the Iranian people. In recent weeks, we have mourned as the regime in Iran has killed peaceful protesters, and watched with alarm at both its increasing repression of the Iranian people and the escalating response of the U.S. government. As Christians who follow a Prince of Peace, we mourn that today’s attacks will surely mean further hardship for the most vulnerable Iranians and, as retaliation inevitably follows, suffering that will spread across the entire region.

Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love: So mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that all peoples may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace, as children of one Father; to whom be dominion and glory, now and for ever. Amen.

The Most Rev. Sean Rowe

Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church