After the Synod for the Middle East: Melkite
initiatives
Having participated in the Special Assembly for
the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops held at the Vatican from 10-24 October
2010, on the theme of The Catholic Church in the Middle East: Communion and
Witness, H. B. Patriarch Gregorios III undertook a number of activities to
publicise this event.
Patriarch Gregorios called this Synod for the
Middle East “a great gift of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI to the Christian
East, showing his special esteem for the Eastern Catholic Churches” and “an
historic initiative.”
Letter to Arab Heads of State
The Melkite Patriarch then undertook a series of
post-synodal activities, through which he spoke to the Christian faithful. But
he also wanted to challenge his Muslim brothers in Arab countries. He therefore
wrote a letter to the Kings and Presidents of Arab countries before the Synodal
Assembly (18 June 2010) and once it had been held (24 October 2010). He gave
talks especially for Muslims in Beirut and Saida, Lebanon, and will be doing
the same next month in Egypt (in Cairo and Alexandria) and in Jordan (Amman).
International Congress in Damascus
The biggest post-synodal event was the holding of
an International Congress in Damascus, Syria, on 15 December 2010 entitled, The
Impact of the Synod for the Middle East on Arab countries. This congress
was organised jointly by the Syrian Ministry of the Awqaf and the Melkite Greek
Catholic Patriarchate.
Attending the congress from about thirty
countries were some three thousand persons, including three Damascus based
Patriarchs (Greek Orthodox, Syrian Orthodox and Melkite Greek Catholic) the
Syrian Catholic Patriarch (from Lebanon), representatives of the Ecumenical
Patriarchate, the Patriarchates of Russia and Romania, the Orthodox Churches of
Cyprus and Greece, the Holy Apostolic See of Rome (the Archbishop Secretary of
the Congregation for the Oriental Churches), as well as the Apostolic Nuncio to
Syria and about twenty-five members of Episcopates of thirteen Orthodox and
Catholic Churches from Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Armenia, Jordan, Iran and
Israel.
On the Muslim side, as well as the Syrian
Ministers of the Awqaf and of Information, and the Grand Mufti of Syria, many
religious and political personalities from Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Oman, Libya
and Iran attended, besides representatives of the Organisation of the Islamic
Conference (OIC), Muslim-Christian dialogue centres and various Islamic
institutions.
Christmas Plea for Peace to Western Heads of
State
This week, Patriarch Gregorios III has written to
Western leaders to apprise them of the Synod’s importance with respect to three
issues:
1.
The importance of the Christian presence in the
Middle East and the challenges facing it
2.
Muslim-Christian dialogue
3.
The impact of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on
the two preceding issues, and thus the urgent need for peace.
Patriarch Gregorios argues that if Western
leaders “wish there still to be Christians in the Middle East in the Holy Land,
Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt and the countries of the Gulf,” they should
help with efforts towards peace and stopping Israeli settlements on the West
Bank, recognized in international law as Palestinian land. He adds that
Christians and Muslims are concerned about the apparent inequity of imposing
sanctions on “Syria, Iraq, and Iran, but never any that affect Israel.”
translated by Valerie Chamberlain