His Beatitude Mar Polis III Nona, St. Peter’s Basilica –
Rome, 15 October 2026
Beloved in the Lord,
The first thing that must be said about the Church is that she cannot be defined from the outside. Any definition that regards her as an organized institution (ܓܘܫܡܐ ܡܪܘܬܒܐ), a cultural heritage (ܣܦܝܬܐ ܡܪܕܘܬܢܝܬܐ), or an inherited denominational affiliation (ܚܦܝܩܘܬܐ ܐܘܡܬܐܢܝܬܐ) merely describes her visible exterior while failing to grasp her innermost essence.
The Church—in Chaldean, “ܥܕܬܐ,” meaning the community that is called and gathered—is not an assembly that human beings have chosen to form for themselves, but a community brought into being by a divine calling that precedes the will of those who are called.
The Apostles did not gather together and establish a Church; rather, Christ called them, and they became the Church. This distinction is not merely a matter of terminology; it is fundamental to theology as a whole.
From this perspective, communion—“ܫܘܬܦܘܬܐ”—is neither a fruit of ecclesial life nor a social activity added to worship.
Rather, it constitutes the very essence of the Church’s being (ܐܝܼܬܼܘܬܼܵܐ). The Church is communion before she is an institution (ܫܘܼܬܼܐܵܣܵܐ), a mystery before she is an order (ܕܘܼܒܵܪܵܐ), and a living Body before she is a structure of stone.
Ecclesial communion does not arise merely from the human need to gather together, but from a deeper divine origin.
The primary source of every authentic ecclesial communion is the communion of the Holy Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
This means that the Church does not invent communion; rather, she receives it. She does not establish unity apart from God, but enters into the unity that God lives within Himself. Here the depth of the Eastern tradition becomes evident: communion is not merely closeness between persons, but participation in a life bestowed from above, a life that makes the many one without abolishing their differences.
Thus, ecclesial communion is not the opposite of diversity (ܫܘܚܠܦܹܐ), but its redeemed form. This is consistent with the contemporary Chaldean emphasis that “walking together” means a diversity of charisms within unity, rather than their dissolution into outward uniformity.
In this light, the question is no longer: How do we preserve communion?
Rather, it becomes: How do we allow the mystery of Christ to take flesh in our ecclesial relationships?
For communion is then not a matter of administrative management (ܡܕܒܪܢܘܬܐ), but a continuous manifestation of Christ’s presence in His Body.
Christian tradition reveals that the Church is understood simultaneously as the People of God, the Body of Christ, and the Temple of the Holy Spirit. These expressions are not merely homiletic metaphors, but ecclesiological keys that explain the nature of communion.
Without communion with God, the Church becomes an institution. Without communion among her members, speaking about God becomes an abstraction (ܣܘܼܪܵܩܵܐ).
And without sacramental communion, the Church is weakened in her innermost being and reduced to a cultural or social identity.
Therefore, the deepest crisis affecting ecclesial communion is not a difference of opinions, but the weakening of sacramental consciousness.
When the awareness that we partake of one table, are sealed by one Spirit, and belong to one Lord grows weak, the Church begins to disintegrate from within, even if her external structure remains intact.
In the depth of faith, ecclesial communion does not mean merely being able to live together in outward harmony, but bearing one another in Christ.
True communion means that the joy of another becomes a matter of personal concern to me, that another’s wound becomes a wound felt in my own heart, and that another’s fall becomes a call to prayer and restoration rather than judgment and exclusion.
The believer reaches maturity not merely by acquiring much knowledge, but by becoming capable of living “with” and “for” others, rather than “in opposition to” and “against” them.
Chaldean studies affirm that the Church of the East has transmitted the Gospel with profound depth through her biblical and patristic theology, her authentic liturgy, and her spirituality.
This means that communion in the Chaldean tradition cannot be understood apart from the liturgy, because the liturgy is the place where the Church learns how to be the Church.
In the liturgy, the believer does not stand before God as an isolated individual, but as a member of a community called to offering, thanksgiving, and praise.
There, the believer learns that his voice finds its fullness only together with the voices of others, that his prayer becomes part of the prayer of the whole Body, and that approaching the altar presupposes renouncing a life of self-sufficient individualism.
Hence, the renewal of ecclesial communion cannot be achieved through emotional slogans alone, but through a serious return to living the liturgy as a formation in unity and in advancing together toward God.
Beloved,
The Chaldean Church of the East, with her heritage, her liturgy, her wounds, and her hope, is called today to bear witness anew to this profound truth: communion does not mean simply being together, but becoming one in Christ, without anyone losing their distinct identity and without anyone being excluded from love.
Let us, therefore, seek not an easy and superficial communion, but a communion that is crucified and risen; a communion that springs from the altar, is purified through repentance, is nourished by the Eucharist, and is manifested in hearts that know how to forgive, to bear one another, and to wait.
Only then will we have done more than speak about communion; we will have begun to live it.
