Meeting
about the impact on Arab countries of the Special Assembly for the Middle East
of the Synod of Bishops (22 March 2011)
H.B. Patriarch Gregorios III’s invitation to a lunch hour meeting on
22 March 2011 about the impact on Arab countries of the Synod of Catholic
Bishops’ Special Assembly for the Middle East was accepted by several
ambassadors.
Participating were their Excellencies:
–
Archbishop Mario Zenari, Apostolic Nuncio of the
Holy See;
–
Dr. Maria Kunz, Ambassador of Austria;
–
Mrs. Françoise Gustin, Ambassador of Belgium;
–
Mr. Mark Bailey, Ambassador of Canada;
–
Dr. Eric Chevallier, Ambassador of France;
–
Dr. Andreas Reinicke, Ambassador of Germany;
–
Mr. Achille Franco Luigi Amerio, Ambassador of
Italy;
–
Mr. Rolf Willy Hansen, Ambassador of Norway;
–
Mr. Michał Murkociński, Ambassador of Poland;
–
Mr. Niklas Kebbon, Ambassador of Sweden;
–
Mr. Martin Aeschbacher, Ambassador of Switzerland;
as were Mrs. Sydma Aguiar Damasceno, First
Secretary of the Brazilian Embassy
and Mr. José María Davó Cabra, Secretary of the Spanish
Embassy.
The Patriarch opened the meeting with a presentation on the Melkite
Greek Catholic Church and the Christian presence in Syria which goes back to the
time of Saints Ananias and Paul, immediately after Pentecost, and which
occasioned President Bashar al Assad’s remark that Syria is the cradle of
Christianity, as the Church of Antioch was indeed the first after Jerusalem’s
to receive the message of Jesus.
The Patriarch went on to
explain the meaning of the three names of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church:
- Melkite was the name given by the opponents of the Council of
Chalcedon (451) to the Byzantine Christians of the Patriarchates of
Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem, a name adopted and made official by
Arabs from the time of Saint Sophronios, Patriarch of Jerusalem - Greek (or Roman) since its original language was Greek, which
gave way to Syriac and then Arabic; Greek is Rūm in Arabic, because
the first members of the Church were subjects of the Roman Empire - Catholic, due to being in communion with Rome from 1724 onwards.
Thanks to this triple title, the ecumenical role of the Church can be
seen both on the religious level and with regard to relations with Arab
countries.
Then the Patriarch illustrated this role during the First Vatican
Council (1869-1870), on the topic of papal infallibility: Patriarch Gregorios
II sought to put forward an Orthodox perspective on this new doctrine. At the
Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), one of the main members of Council speaking
on collegiality was Patriarch Maximos IV. Recently, the Special Assembly for
the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops (October 2010) emphasised the relation
of the region’s Christians with the Arab world. This Synodal Assembly could be said
to have been for the Arab world and Islam in the Arab world.
As a member of that Assembly, Patriarch Gregorios III was very
concerned to draw attention to this situation through writing two letters to
Arab Heads of State before and after the sitting of the Synod, to explain its
purpose and the propositions relating to Arab countries.
The Patriarch also gave a series of explanatory talks in Beirut, Saida
and especially in Damascus, in the context of the International Congress held there
on 15 December, 2010, organised in conjunction with the Syrian Ministry of the
Awqaf (Islamic endowments), in order to show the impact of the Synodal Assembly
on the Eastern Churches in Arab countries and with regard to the future of the
Christian presence in the region.
Similarly, the Patriarch also wrote a letter to the Latin Cardinals,
bishops and theologians who participated in the Synodal Assembly, and another
to the Heads of State of several European and American countries, to tell them
about the importance of the Christian presence and its preservation for the
region and for the solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. If this
conflict is not resolved, there is great danger for this Christian presence,
threatened by demographic (lower birth rate) and political factors, particularly
as a result of tensions weighing on the small Christian communities: hence the
importance of peace, especially for the countries of the Middle East and particularly
for Syria, where all the country’s inhabitants really do live together.
It is important for European and American countries to put pressure on
Israelis and Palestinians to reach peace.
Certain European and American Heads of State had replied positively to
the Patriarch’s letter.
The Patriarch’s talk was followed by a discussion and exchange of
views. The French Ambassador, H.E. Dr. Eric Chevallier, emphasised that the
country’s Christians, and the Patriarch, through his influence, should make
Syria’s importance better known, in the context of the current unrest; and he
supported the wish, voiced by the Patriarch, for the international media not to
adopt a hostile tone towards Syria but rather help Syria to surmount and move
beyond this turmoil in order to safeguard its pattern of living together.
The Ambassadors for their part, had also voiced the wish for a
conference in the near future to make better known the situation of Syria’s
Christian Churches and were keen to
affirm that the Syrian model of living together that they had observed, ought
to be preserved and supported. They wanted the Patriarch to make his voice
heard to that purpose.
The Patriarch was very grateful for that stance and in turn asked the
Ambassadors to make this known to their governments. Rather than pursuing the
way of discord, dissent and violence, leading to the clash of civilizations, dialogue
between religions should continue to be fostered in order to build peace on
strong foundations.
The Patriarch spoke to the media to ask them to immunise Syria against
revolutionary contagion, as Syria, whilst realising that there still remains
much to be done, has already given plenty of evidence of development, and since
President Bashar al Assad is ready to go much further along the road that he
has embarked upon, towards openness, greater freedom (of ideas and movement)
and more employment opportunities.
The Patriarch spoke to the European countries represented in Damascus
and asked them to lend their support to the Syrian model and allow the crisis, which
has begun to penetrate Syria, to subside, so that this model which he
characterised as “faithful, positive, democratic secularism” can be protected
as a pattern for Syria’s future and that of the Middle East as a region.
At the end of the meeting, the Patriarch led a brief tour of the
Cathedral of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, and then hosted a meal for his
guests.