On Friday and Saturday evenings, May 10th & 11th, 2024, in St. Antone’s Hall in Nazareth, the finale of the regional Bible Competition, which was held by the Annunciation Family Club, under the supervision of various spiritual leaders from both the Western and Eastern Churches.
The Former Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah participated in the first evening, and in the second evening, His Beatitude Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, as well as Mgr. Rafiq Nahra, Patriarchal Vicar of Galilee, and Mgr Bolous-Marcuzzo, bishop emeritus, several bishops and priests from different churches, and an assembly that included the families, relatives, and friends of the contestants.
“The Church is built on two pillars, The Eucharist and the Word of God”, said H.B. Card. Pizzaballa expressed his sincere appreciation to all the organizers of this competition which has lasted for years and achieved tremendous success by fostering a longing in the faithful’s hearts to learn the Holy Scriptures. Adding: “It is beautiful that this initiative takes place in Nazareth, where the here the Incarnation of the Logos, the eternal Word of God, took place”. He ended by applauding all the contestants for their hard work, as well as commemorating the souls of the two contestants Suhail and Julie, from Gaza, who passed away due to the war on October 2023.
On behalf of Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem, His Eminence Metropolitan Kyriakos of Nazareth, Exarch of all Galilee was present, and Fr. Avram Kyriakos, who delivered a speech. He emphasized the importance of studying the Word of God to nurture one’s faith, saying: “The Bible is the faithful witness that accompanies every believer to the heavenly Jerusalem.”
The number of participants this year was 257 participants from various parishes of the Holy Land, and 65 contestants from the West Bank and Gaza were not able to participate, due to the current state of the country.
23 contestants from different age groups moved to the final stage, and the following won: Katrina Nehme Issa, Yasif and Maria Saher Hayek, Majd Azmi Maalouf, Imad Azmi Maalouf, Aida Nicola Creni, Melanie William Deeb, Grace Salim Baba.
Mr. Bassam, President of the Annunciation Family Club, thanked both the Administrative Committee and the judges, for contributing to the success of this competition, which began in the year 2012.
Congratulations to the winners and all the participants.
