Archbishop's web site Denver Catholic Register Parishes Catholic Pastoral Center
August 7, 2002
New Chaldean Catholic bishop installed for California-based eparchy
By Cyril Jones-Kellett
EL CAJON, Calif. (CNS) — In his first homily as the bishop of a new Chaldean eparchy, Bishop Sarhad Yawsip Jammo stressed the importance of Chaldean Catholics as members of a particular church with particular gifts to share with the universal Church.
Bishop Jammo was installed July 25 as head of the Eparchy of St. Peter the Apostle for Chaldean Catholics in the western United States.
The ceremony was held in El Cajon at St. Peter Chaldean Catholic Church, which now will be designated a cathedral.
Presiding at the installation ceremony was Patriarch Raphael I Bidawid, head of the Iraqi-based Chaldean Patriarchate. Also present was Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo, papal nuncio to the United States, and Bishop Ibrahim N. Ibrahim of the Michigan-based Eparchy of St. Thomas the Apostle, who welcomed his new brother bishop.
"Why a Chaldean bishop among so many (U.S. Latin-rite) Catholic bishops?" asked Bishop Jammo is his homily.
He said that his appointment is a sign that the universal Church values the life and culture of the Chaldean Church and does not want it to be subsumed into the Church's Latin-rite dioceses.
"This is a church without a king like Constantine. This is a church without worldly glory," he said. "Because of that, this is a church that is so spiritual, so pure. That's why the Catholic Church tells us: Remain, do not fade away, because you are contributing in a very substantial way to what the Church is."
In May Pope John Paul II created the new eparchy and appointed as its head then-Msgr. Jammo, who since 1983 had been pastor at St. Joseph Parish in Troy, Mich. He was ordained a bishop July 21 in Troy.
The eparchy consists of the 19 westernmost states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, Oklahoma, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
It has about 35,000 Catholics and was carved out of the nationwide Eparchy of St. Thomas the Apostle. The eparchies serve Catholics of the Chaldean or Assyrian-Chaldean Church, especially individuals who emigrated from Iraq and Iran.
The new bishop spoke of the sadness of the split between Chaldean Catholics and Assyrian Christians who are also from Iraq but are not in communion with Rome. "It is a very sad reality to have that church split in two for 450 years," he said.
The Chaldean Catholic Church was formed in the middle of the 16th century by a group of bishops who separated from the Assyrian Church of the East to enter into union with Rome.
The Assyrian Church, which traces it roots back to the missionary preaching of the Apostles Thomas and Bartholomew in what is now Iraq, became isolated from other Christians following the Council of Ephesus in 431.
But in recent years there have been efforts to bring the two churches closer together.
In November 1994, Pope John Paul II and Patriarch Dinkha IV of the Assyrian Church of the East declared that their churches hold the same faith in their teachings about Christ. In August 1997 the Assyrian Church of the East and the Chaldean Catholic Church announced a series of concrete initiatives aimed at restoration of full unity.
In October 2001, the Vatican — recognizing the validity of the eucharistic prayer used most often by the Assyrian Church of the East — said Chaldean Catholics and Assyrians may receive Communion at each other's liturgies when a priest of their own church is not available.
Bishop Jammo, who has been a leader in efforts to heal the rift between Assyrians and Chaldeans, expressed hope that there will be a reunification of the two bodies.
Finally, the new bishop called on both Assyrian and Chaldean Catholics in the United States to contribute to their new country.
"We have a culture, Chaldeans and Assyrians, a very rich culture," he said. "We cannot only take from this country, but (must) give."
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