Month: July 2016

Royal House of Ghassan is accredited by the United Nations

HIRH Prince Gharios El Chemor participating on a high profile meeting at the UN Headquarters in NY

The Sovereign Imperial and Royal House of Ghassan was granted “Special Consultative Status” by the United Nations Economic and Social Council. 

The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC; French: Conseil économique et social des Nations Unies, CESNU) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations, responsible for coordinating the economic, social and related work of 14 UN specialized agencies, their functional commissions, and five regional commissions. The ECOSOC has 54 members. It holds one four-week session each year in July, and since 1998, it has also held a meeting in April with finance ministers heading key committees of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). 

The ECOSOC serves as the central forum for discussing international economic and social issues, and for formulating policy recommendations addressed to member states and the United Nations system.

Non-governmental organizations have been granted consultative status to the Council to participate in the work of the United Nations. The consultative status enables an organization to actively engage with ECOSOC and its subsidiary bodies, as well as with the United Nations Secretariat, programs, funds, and agencies in a number of ways.

The status can be checked online by clicking HERE

(Important: many organizations have profiles on the UN website but they don’t hold any accreditation unless expressly mentioned in the field “Accreditation(s)/Affiliation(s)”. According to the website: “A profile in this database and on this website does not in and of itself connote any affiliation with the United Nations, unless such affiliation is expressly indicated, i.e., by identifying the type of ECOSOC consultative status held by an NGO.” )

More about the Royal House of Ghassan HERE

More about the United Nations ECOSOC HERE

HIRH Prince Gharios El Chemor to visit Brazil

HIRH Prince Gharios El Chemor will visit the city of Campos (Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil) for a week next month. He was invited to speak about the situation in the Middle East in five venues: at UCAM – Candido Mendes University (Latin America’s oldest private University founded in 1902), at the Fluminense Federal Institute (Technical Faculty), at the City Parliament (founded in 1652), the Maria Imaculada Diocesan Seminary and at the Imaculada Conceicao Catholic Seminary.  In the visit, Prince Gharios will inaugurate the Grand Priory of Brazil for the Sacred Order of Saint Michael Archangel investing the first knights and dames. The prince will also visit government representatives and the Açu Port. HIRH Prince Gharios is a 5th Dan (degree of black belt) in Aikido and will also minister a Seminar with his top student Sensei Bernardo Caneca Pereira 3rd Dan. Below the event’s poster and program in Portuguese.

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More about HIRH Prince Gharios El Chemor HERE

HIRH Prince Gharios El Chemor meets dignataries from the Kingdom of Bahrain

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HIRH Prince Gharios El Chemor with Mr. Yousif Buzaboon (left) and Dr. Abdulatif Al Khaja (right)

On the 16th and 17th of July, in Amman, capital of Jordan, HIRH Prince Gharios El Chemor met with two representatives from the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Mr. Yousif Buzaboon is the chairman of the Bahrain Society for Religious Coexistence & Tolerance and Dr. Abdulatif Al Khaja, member of the board of the same society , also known Middle Eastern diplomat and executive of several companies in the countries of the GCC .

Prince Gharios El Chemor offered the visitors a dinner at the Little Italy restaurant, one of the best Italian restaurants in the Middle East. Meetings resumed at the Sheraton Hotel in Amman.

The purpose of the meetings is the attempt to create a cooperation between the Royal House of Ghassan with all its organizations, the Bahrain Society for Religious Coexistence & Tolerance and the Kingdom of Bahrain. The scope of this cooperation is the establishment of an official annual event to be held in Bahrain and a practical yearly agenda to promote effective tolerance and coexistence in the Middle East.

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At the dinner with the dignitaries from Bahrain (left) and representatives from the Royal House of Ghassan in Jordan, Miss Reham Makhlouf and in Bahrain, Mr. Mohammed Zackarias

More about HIRH Prince Gharios El Chemor HERE

HIRH Prince Gharios meets with the Syrian Orthodox Metropolitan of Istanbul

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HIRH Prince Gharios El Chemor with His Excellency Mor Filiksinos Yusuf Çetin in Istanbul

The Syrian (Syriac) Orthodox Church was the original denomination of the Ghassanids until the 7th Century. With the fall of the first Ghassanid State in Syria and Jordan, many Ghassanids fled to today’s Lebanon and also to the Byzantine empire (today’s Turkey). The Royal family ended up adhering to the mainstream Orthodox denomination living in the Byzantine Empire. In the 9th century, the second Ghassanid ruling happened with emperor Nikephoros I in 802 CE. In Mount Lebanon, the family kept the Syriac Orthodox roots. However, the monks of Mar Maroun (Saint Maroun) monastery decided in the 7th century to create a new Patriarchate and that was how the Ghassanids became Maronite. Because of the obedience of the Maronites to the Pope in Rome and the absence of a Maronite church in Curitiba (Brazil) where Prince Gharios’ family was settled in exile, he ended up becoming Roman Catholic.

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As part of a very successful trip to Istanbul, HIRH Prince Gharios El Chemor and his delegation have visited the Syriac Orthodox Metropolitan and Patriarchal Vicar for Istanbul and Ankara His Excellency Mor Filiksinos Yusuf Çetin. In the end of the audience, Prince Gharios was Blessed by the Metropolitan in his mission protecting the Christians in the Middle East.

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HIRH Prince Gharios and delegation being  Blessed by the Metropolitan

More about the Syrian Orthodox Church HERE

More about HE Mor Filiskinos Yusuf Cetin HERE

More about HIRH Prince Gharios El Chemor HERE

HIRH Prince Gharios El Chemor is Blessed by Ecumenical Patriarch

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HIRH Prince Gharios El Chemor with His All Holiness Bartholomew I

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The Ecumenical Patriarch received the order of Saint Michael Archangel

HIRH Prince Gharios El-Chemor had an official audience with His All Holiness Bartholomew I the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople in Istanbul, Turkey. His All Holiness is the highest in honor (“first among equals”) between all of the Patriarchs of the Eastern Orthodox Church representing over 300 million faithful. The two hours long conversation was focused on the history of the Ghassanid and Nikephorian (Byzantine empire) Dynasties which HIRH Prince Gharios is the legal heir and, of course, the main topic was the survival of the Christians in the Middle East and Prince Gharios’ proposal of the Council of Oriental Christians. During the visit, Prince Gharios and the delegation composed by the scholar and protestant bishop Prof. Dr. Thomas Schirrmacher, PhD, Mr. Martin Warnecke (both from Germany) and Pastor Dr. Behnan Konutgan (from Turkey) were invited for a special luncheon with the Ecumenical Patriarch and the Synod of Bishops. blessingecumenical

Prince Gharios was honored by the personal Patriarchal Blessing. Historically in Christianity, only the Patriarchs of Rome (Pope) and Constantinople may grant and recognize imperial titles (see Royal and Republican Sovereignty in Early Modern Europe, Cambridge University Press, pg.360)

HIRH Prince Gharios and the delegation were listed as official visitors HERE

 

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Learn more about the Ecumenical Patriarchate

Learn more about HIRH Prince Gharios El Chemor

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HIRH Prince Gharios’ delegation

HIRH Prince Gharios El Chemor visits the Grand Mufti of Istanbul

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Prince Gharios shaking hands with Prof.Dr. Rahmi Yaran, the Grand Mufti of Istanbul

As part of a very successful trip to Turkey, HIRH Prince Gharios El Chemor of Ghassan Al-Numan VIII had an audience with Prof.Dr. Rahmi Yaran the Grand Mufti of Istanbul . The Mufti has under him 3,100 mosques in Istanbul, one of the most populous cities in Europe with over 14 million people. The highest Muslim authority in the country being only under the Ministry of Religious Affairs.

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The Mufti praying with Pope Francis during his visit to Turkey in 2014

The Prince Gharios’ delegation had the scholar and protestant bishop from Germany Prof. Dr. Thomas Schirrmacher, PhD, Mr. Martin Warnecke also from Germany and Pastor Dr. Behnan Konutgan from Turkey. The Mufti joined Prince Gharios’ alliance for peace condemning the terror and any kind of violence against other religions. He also received the rank of Knight Commander of the Order of Saint Michael Archangel.

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More about HIRH Prince Gharios El-Chemor of Ghassan please visit www.princegharios.org

HIRH Prince Gharios El Chemor attends 21st Shabeeb Cultural Festival

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At the VIP section HRH Princess Sana Asem of Jordan, HE Sharifa Bodur Bint Abdulilah, a Jordanian General and HIRH Prince Gharios El Chemor of Ghassan

For the second consecutive year, HIRH Prince Gharios El Chemor was one of the honor guests of the 21st edition of the Shabeeb Cultural Festival held on the 7th, 8th and 9th of July at the historical Roman Theater in Amman, Jordan.

The event was under the patronage of HRH Princess Sana Asem of Jordan and under the executive direction of HE Sharifa Bodur Bint Abdulilah. Sharifa Bodur is a great promoter of culture and charity being also honorary member of the board of the Royal House of Ghassan NGO and Prince Gharios’ personal friend.

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The festival is an initiative of the Shabeeb association for culture and arts which the Honorary president is HRH Princess Alia Bint Hussein, the eldest daughter of the late King Hussein of Jordan. The association is successfully presided by HE Sharifa Bodur.

More about the Shabeeb Association http://www.shabeeb.org/

More about HIRH Prince Gharios El Chemor http://www.princegharios.org/