Perspectief 2019-44

2019-44 Mor Polycarpus Augin Aydin PhD 17 awareness among other Christian Churches both of her existence and of the richness of her tradition. This has better facilitated ecumenical dialogue with other Christian churches. Today, early Syriac Christianity has become very relevant in our time and there are many institutions, both religious and cultural, that have become interested in the richness and the antiquity of the Syriac culture and heritage. As an example, one can show the docu- mentary about the Aramaic heritage of the Syrian Orthodox Church, which is being undertaken by Trans World Film Italia under the leadership of Giacomo Pezzalli in collab- oration with Dr. Sebastian Brock and his team of scholars. Also in Austria, Prof. Hans Hollerweger ten years ago founded “Freunde des Turabdin” to promote Syriac Christianity and tradition in the West and support the community in Turabdin, the heartland of Syriac Christianity in southeast Anatolia, Turkey. In fact, Prof. Hollerweger published an excellent photo album about Turabdin disclosing the hidden pearls of that rich and blessed region, and most recently a book on the Cross, the Tree of Life, and Building Bridges . 4 This is fol- lowed by two most recent similar publications one by Fr Horst Oberkampf from Germany and the other by the Syriac author and journalist Yakup Bilge from Orebro, Sweden. Men- tion also must be made of the large number of excellent publications by Gorgias Press under the direction of Dr George Kiraz and his wife Christine in the USA, the Bar Ebroyo Verlag in the Netherlands, Mor Jakob Verlag in Germany, and the number of other publi- cations by a number of individuals, groups and institutions throughout Europe. 11. Strengthening the Syriac Community Overseas Political and economic hardships followed by internal conflict and wars in the Middle East have paralyzed the region’s economic stability and trade. Consequently, the people have suffered much, and this has made them largely dependent, financially, on their brothers and sisters living abroad. Also, they rely on the philanthropic acts of fellow Christian Churches and relief agencies in the West. In North America, the Syriac community, faith- fully for a century, has unfailingly supported the benevolent institutions and orphanages and schools in the Middle East. A good example of this is the Assyrian Orphanage and School Association of America (T.M.S.) which in 1999 celebrated its centennial anniversary. The philanthropic work of T.M.S. has borne sweet fruits. Graduates of the schools and orphanages have become teachers and clergy in the Syrian Orthodox Church both in the