02/28/2026
Today we join with our Presiding Bishop, the Most Rev. Sean Rowe, in prayer following news of the military strike involving the United States, Israel, and Iran.
In moments like these, we turn first to God โ the source of peace, mercy, and hope. We pray for all who are in harmโs way, for civilians living in fear, and especially for the most vulnerable who will bear the greatest burdens of violence and retaliation.
We pray for Bishop Jeffrey Mello and the pilgrims from Connecticut who are currently in Jerusalem, for their safety and safe return. We lift up the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East and its Archbishop, Hosam Naoum, and all the faithful across the region.
We also pray for the people of Iran, especially those who have already endured repression and suffering. As followers of the Prince of Peace, we grieve the human cost of conflict and ask God to guide leaders toward restraint, justice, and reconciliation.
Let us be steadfast in prayer:
Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love: So mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that all peoples may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace, as children of one Father; to whom be dominion and glory, now and for ever. Amen.
May we be instruments of Christโs peace in our words, our witness, and our lives.
Letter from Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe on Military Strike on Iran
Dear people of God in The Episcopal Church,
Here in the United States, we awoke this morning with alarm to the news that the United States and Israel have launched a large military strike on Iran. This violent attack comes despite weeks of negotiations that many of us had hoped would prevent armed conflict in this fragile region, which is home to so many religious traditions and faithful people.
Bishop Jeffrey Mello of Connecticut and a group of pilgrims from that diocese are in the Holy Land now, and when we spoke this morning, he let me know that they are safe at St. Georgeโs College in Jerusalem. I ask you to pray fervently for them and their safe return.
Pray, too, for all the people of the Holy Land, and especially for the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East and its leader, Archbishop Hosam Naoum. I had planned to be with Hosam today and tomorrow when he made a long-planned visit to our church. Many Episcopalians who had hoped to see him and assure him of our support will feel his absence keenly in the coming days. I commend to you the letter that he has sent to the people of his diocese this morning.
As news reports tell us of fear and panic in Iran, I ask you to pray especially for the people of the Diocese of Iran and for all of the Iranian people. In recent weeks, we have mourned as the regime in Iran has killed peaceful protesters, and watched with alarm at both its increasing repression of the Iranian people and the escalating response of the U.S. government. As Christians who follow a Prince of Peace, we mourn that todayโs attacks will surely mean further hardship for the most vulnerable Iranians and, as retaliation inevitably follows, suffering that will spread across the entire region.
Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love: So mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that all peoples may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace, as children of one Father; to whom be dominion and glory, now and for ever. Amen.
The Most Rev. Sean Rowe
Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church
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