The final statement of the Holy Synod of the Melkite
Greek Catholic Church – June 17-22, 2013
Ain Traz 22 June 2013
On the morning of Monday 17 of June 2013 Patriarch Gregorios
III Laham, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, of Alexandria and Jerusalem,
opened the work of the Holy Synod of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, in the Patriarchal
Summer Residence of Ain Traz with a prayer to the Holy Spirit, in the presence
of members of the Holy Synod:
H. E. Archbishop Boulos Borkhosh,
Metropolitan Emeritus of Bosra, the Hauran and Jabal al-Arab
H.E. Archbishop Andrew Haddad,
Archbishop Emeritus of Fourzol, Zahleh and All Beqaa
H.E. Archbishop John Adel Elia, Bishop
Emeritus of Newton (United States of America)
H.E. Archbishop Ibrahim Nehmeh, Metropolitan
Emeritus of Homs, Hama and Yabrud
H.E. Archbishop Yohanna (John) Haddad,
Metropolitan Emeritus of Tyre
H.E. Archbishop Cyril Salim Bustros,
Metropolitan of Beirut and Byblos (Jbeil)
H.E. Bishop Nicholas Samra, Bishop of
Newton (USA)
H.E. Archbishop Boutros Mouallem,
Archbishop Emeritus of Acre, Haifa, Nazareth and All Galilee
Bishop George el-Murr, Archbishop Emeritus
of Petra, Philadelphia and All Trans-Jordan
Bishop Emeritus John Jeanbert,
Metropolitan of Aleppo, Seleucia and Cyrus
H.E. Archbishop Fares Macaroun, Archbishop-Bishop of São Paulo
(Brazil)
H.E. Archbishop George Kahhalé Zouhairaty, Apostolic Exarch of
Venezuela, titular Bishop of Abila, Lysania
H.E. Archbishop Issam John Darwish,
Archbishop Fourzol, Zahleh and All Beqaa
H.E. Archbishop Nicholas Sawaf,
Archbishop of Lattakia and Tartous
H.E. Archbishop Joseph Absi
Patriarchal Vicar in Damascus, titular Archbishop of Tarsus
H.E. Archbishop Joseph Jules Zerey, Patriarchal
Vicar in Jerusalem
H.E. Archbishop George Haddad,
Archbishop of Banias and Marjayoun (Caesarea Phillipi)
H.E. Bishop Ibrahim Ibrahim, Bishop of
Canada
H.E. Archbishop Elias Rahal,
Archbishop of Baalbek
H.E. Archbishop George Bacouni,
Metropolitan of Tyre
H.E. Archbishop Elias Chacour
Archbishop of Acre, Haifa, Nazareth and all Galilee
H.E. Archbishop George Bakar,
Patriarchal Vicar in Egypt and Sudan, titular Archbishop of Pelusium
H.E. Archbishop Michael Abrass, Patriarchal
Assistant in Lebanon, Titular Archbishop of Myra
H.E. Bishop John Abdo Arbash, Apostolic
Exarch in Argentina and Metropolitan of Homs, Hama and Yabrud
H.E. Archbishop Elie Beshara Haddad,
Archbishop of Sidon and Deir al-Qamar, General Secretary of the Synod
H.E. Archbishop Yasser Ayyash, Archbishop
of Petra and Philadelphia and All Jordan
H.E. Bishop Robert Rabbat, Eparch of St.
Michael’s, Sydney (Australia and New Zealand)
Rev. Archimandrite John Faraj, Superior
of the Salvatorian Basilian Order
Rev. Archimandrite Samaan Abdul Ahad, Superior
of the Soarite Basilian Order
Rev. Father General Elias Aghia, head
of the Society of Paulist Fathers
His Beatitude began his speech by
citing St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians (1: 3-12), and echoing the Apostle’s
words of consolation to those in distress, and then moved to the tragic
circumstances experienced by the Middle East in general and Syria in particular. He appealed to all
countries, asking them not to supply weapons to Syria, and but rather support
the Second Geneva Conference.
He alluded to three lights: – the
Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation For the Middle East, the Declaration of
2012-2013 as the Year of Faith and the 2012 Synod on the New Evangelization. He
hoped that these lights would illuminate the work of the Synod.
His Beatitude continued to speak,
setting out the topics, relating to the management and regulation of the Synod,
the training of priests, and election of candidates to the episcopate. He highlighted the need for better organisation
of care for Syrians displaced to other Middle Eastern countries.
Following a spiritual retreat held
by the Fathers, Father Jonah Obaid preached a sermon about the characteristics
of the bishop after the type of Prophet Moses, the most important being God’s
calling and election to the ministry and good leadership of God’s people,
enabling him to rise above earthly things and worldly pleasures. Several Fathers
then spoke about the theme of this shared retreat in a brotherly atmosphere of
spiritual togetherness.
The meeting then began to follow
up the work of the Synod, which continued until the morning of Saturday 22/06/2013.
At its conclusion the Fathers issued the following statement:-
-
The Fathers have not lost sight of the worrying spectre
of the security situation prevalent in Syria, Lebanon and the whole region, and
are especially pained by the violence that sows death and
destruction here and there, causing damage to some of our eparchies. So they call on
all parties, especially in Syria, to renounce violence and recourse to weapons,
and put reconciliation and unselfish national interests above every personal or
collective interest, urging the major countries involved in the Syrian crisis
to stop the supply of arms and agree on a peaceful solution, allowing the
restoration of peace, security and prosperity. -
The Fathers reported on the situation of their parishes,
especially parishes in Syria, which are seriously damaged as a result of the
level of bloody events that have been taking place in the country for more than
two years now. And
they resolved to lend a helping hand to help them
cope with the different aspects of the crisis, and committed themselves to
setting up for this purpose, “a solidarity committee to develop an action
plan and contact sources of assistance.” The Fathers appealed to the international
community and all competent individuals and institutions to lend a helping hand
to displaced persons, who have attained the numbers of millions, many of whom
are living in conditions lacking minimal limits of human dignity on more than
one level. -
And in the face of the tragedy, the Fathers call
on their children everywhere to pray for an end to this tragedy and crisis, in the
certainty that prayer today is virtually the only weapon targeted at salvation.
They also ask them to pray for those who have died, and for the return of
abductees, especially Archbishop Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim, Metropolitan Boulos
Yazigi, and monks Michael and Isaac, urging their liberation and that of other
abductees. -
We add our voice to the voice of the Pope in his
speech on 20 June at the 86th Plenary Assembly of the Reunion of Organisations
for Aid to the Oriental Churches (ROACO): “I would like to once again,
from the bottom of my heart, appeal to the leaders of nations and international
organisations, to believers of every religion, and to all men and women of good
will to put an end to all the pain, all the violence, and all religious,
cultural, and social discrimination. May the conflict that sows death leave space
for the encounter and the reconciliation that bring life. To all those who are
suffering I strongly say: ‘Never lose hope! The Church is with you, accompanies
you, and supports you!’ I ask you to do everything possible to alleviate the
serious needs of the affected populations, especially in Syria, the people of
beloved Syria, and the ever more numerous refugees and displaced persons. St.
Ignatius of Antioch addresses the Christians in Rome, saying: “Remember in
prayer at the Church of Syria… I repeat to you: remember in your prayers the
Church of Syria … Jesus Christ will watch over it and your charity. I entrust
the countless victims to the Lord of Life and implore the Most Holy Mother of
God to console all of those in the ‘time of great distress’. It is true; what’s
happening in Syria is a great distress!” -
In this regard however, the Fathers wished to
state their personal, deep thanks to their brother bishops and their children in
the expansion for their assistance, donated to their fellow bishops of our stricken
eparchies in Syria, and to their children, displaced people, beseeching Christ the
Giver of all, to recompense them many times over for their gifts. -
As far as Lebanon is concerned nowadays, the
Fathers expressed their fear for democracy in this country, which has long exemplified
the big advantage of democracy, especially in the Arab world. They called for
the promulgation of a modern electoral law to establish equality among all
citizens, taking into account the rights of everyone, and for speeding up the formation
of the government in order to avoid a vacuum. -
The Fathers then studied amendments made by
the Legal Committee to some items of particular law relating to the conduct of
the Holy Synod and the ecclesial law courts, and made comments on these
amendments, and then endorsed them. -
The Fathers also studied the Post-Synodal Apostolic
Exhortation on the Middle East, “Communion and Witness,” and how to offer this
guidance so that people in their eparchies and parishes can apply and live by
the spirit expressed in it. They
made the following recommendations on the subject:i. To ensure distribution of the guidance to eparchies
and parishes for detailed study.ii. To hold a conference about the guidance
involving bishops, priests, monks, nuns and lay-people.iii. To encourage joint activities with fellow-citizens
to consolidate bonds of love and co-operation, based on the principle of
citizenship.iv. To call to repentance, reformation and irreproachable
witness at the level of individuals and institutions as a way to convince
others honestly of evangelical values. -
The Fathers also heard a report on the Major
Seminary of St. Anna from its Rector Archimandrite Naim Gharbi. The Fathers discussed it and expressed their
observations on it and issued a recommendation for the introduction of the topic
of “pastoral leadership” to be taught in seminaries. -
The Fathers elected a list of three candidates for
the Eparchy of Argentina so that the Pope can appoint one of the candidates as
bishop. -
The Fathers also elected Archbishop Elie Haddad President
of the Patriarchal Appellate Tribunal, Archbishop George Haddad Chief judicial
vicar and Archbishops Joseph Absi and George Bacouni Assistant judicial vicars in
the Synodal Court, Archbishop Michael Abrass, promoter of justice and Archbishop
Elie Haddad, a defender of the bond in the same Synodal Court. -
Finally, the Fathers expressed the firm hope
that God willing, the black cloud will dissipate to reveal a new earth and a
new heaven, and God will wipe every tear from our eyes because Jesus promised and
his promise does not fail, that he will be with us to the end of the age.