As-Safir Interviews Met. Atallah Hanna

Arabic original, by Amjad Samhan, here.


 As the bitter cold paralyzed Jerusalem, the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Sebastia, Atallah Hanna, stood at the head of a Christian religious delegation inside the al-Aqsa Mosque. He cried out against the occupation, against its plans regarding the mosque, against its plans regarding the Islamic holy places. In the name of Palestine and her people he cried out, demanding that the world put a stop to the Israeli occupation and that justice be restored to his countrymen. As the bishop in council, you find him proudly stating, "I am a Palestinian Arab and I am proud that I am a Christian from the Middle East."

As-Safir met with the bishop when he was at the funeral for Nelson Mandela. His schedule was full and he had many events, all voluntary and national. His goal, as he explains it: "to strengthen the resolve of our people wherever they are found and to support the issues and rights of the Arab peoples, wherever they may be."

With his rationality and diplomacy, the bishop  repeats throughout the meeting: "Awareness, more awareness, rationality and dialogue are the way to solve our internal problems. Unity and resistance are the way to defeat the Israeli occupation."

as-Safir: How can the situation of the Christian community in Palestine be described?

Allow me to reject the form of the question. In my opinion, there are no sectarian communities in Palestine. The Christians here are not a sectarian community. They are an indispensable part of the indigenous Palestinian Arab people in its regional dimension and its national duties toward Palestine and the Arab countries.

as-Safir: But there are Christians in Palestine, some of whom say that they are a minority?

Such talk is never acceptable. I have lived here for 48 years and I have never acted on the basis of being a member of a minority, but rather on exactly the opposite basis-- my Muslim brothers here are always by our side, in our Arabness, in our nationalism, and in our Palestinianness.

as-Safir: What have Christians contributed to Palestine?

We, as Christians are a part of this people and this nation. We are proud to belong to Christianity, which first dawned in Palestine. We are proud of our Arabness, our Arab belonging, our Arab nationalism, and our belonging to a people that struggles, a people that has striven for decades to gain freedom. Believe me that I do not keep track of what Christians or Muslims have contributed. We in our country do not divide the martyrs into Christians or Muslims. All the martyrs are our martyrs. All those who struggle are ones who struggle for us. All of us have one goal, and it is to liberate Palestine.

as-Safir: Do Christians in Palestine suffer from any type of persecution?

If there is persecution, it is the practices of the Israeli occupation. Our history and our relations are complementary and participatory, and this is what sets us apart from other parts of the region. If incidents occur, they are isolated. Christians and Muslims here are brothers. These are not imaginary words. This is the truth.

As-Safir: What is your assessment of what is happening in the region, especially in Syria?

What is happening in Syria is not an natural to our people. Rather, it is the product of a discourse of extremism, a discourse of incitement, rejection and hatred. It is a discourse that has none of the characteristics of Islam, especially when we talk about those people who are doing beheadings and eating human livers. Here, in the name of Palestine, I proclaim our rejection of the killing in Syria, against our brothers. We speak out against those who promote sectarian strife and those who commit crimes in the name of religion, like what is happening in Maaloula. Those people are harming themselves and are harming us. Indeed, they are the enemies of religion. Half a million Christians have been displaced from Syria, and a million from Iraq. This is very sorrowing. We want Christians, wherever they are, to remain in their land because they are a part of the land and because we and the Muslims are brothers.

The meeting with Metropolitan Atallah, who was born in the village of Rama in Galillee in 1965, was characterized by great rationality. Amidst all that is happening and all that the Christians face, he becomes all the more rooted in his land and this makes him a beloved and universally respected figure among Christians and Muslims. However, the calm bishop was deeply pained by talk of Syria and the Arab blood that is being shed there disturbed his calm, as he has long believed that "Syrians and Palestinians are partners in suffering who face the same enemy."

Fr Georges Massouh Remembers Costi Bendaly

Arabic original here. More about Costi Bendaly's life and work can be read here.


Costi Bendaly... Heart and Mind Together


Costi Bendaly has departed. The theologian who did not possess a degree in theology, though he surpassed many who have attained advanced degrees in academic theology, has departed. If the prevalent saying in the Orthodox tradition is, "the true theologian is the one who prays," then,  taking Costi Bendali as an example, we can say, "the true theologian is the one who lives the Gospel, including prayer, imitating Christ Jesus in everything."

Costi Bendali put the heart and the mind together and made the harmony between them a rule for practicing the faith. He did not make an opposition between the "spiritual life" and the affairs of this world. He realized that Christ is in two natures, human and divine, and so he dedicated to each nature the duties and obligations that it requires. He did not fall into the temptation of giving importance to the spiritual life at the expense of ignoring the human condition. Nor did he fall into the temptation of giving importance to social service at the expense of ignoring the spiritual life. Bendaly showed us that the two are inseparable-- if one is absent then the other inevitably is as well.

In practice, there are two heresies among Christians that Bendaly was able to defeat. The first heresy is concern only for what pertains to God and the second is concern only for what pertains to man. These two heresies are relics of the two heresies that the Church combated in the fifth century, the heresy of Nestorianism that denies Christ's divine nature and the heresy of Monophysitism that denies the human nature in Christ. Christ is perfect God and perfect man and this means that the divine incarnation requires each Christian to be concerned with his fellow man and not to be content with prayer, fasting and worship by themselves.

The issue that Bendaly spent his life pursuing was the issue of humanity loved by God, humanity tormented on this earth. He was the model of the Christian intellectual engaged with people's issues. Justice was his his preoccupation and he published a reference book entitled Violent or Non-Violent Struggle? For the Realization of Justice. In it, he did not limit himself with reliance on Christian thought, but also looked to Mahatma Ghandi and adopted his teachings on this issue. He took up the issue of the conquered peoples in Palestine, Latin America and other countries that have witnessed revolutions against occupation and the social injustice practiced by dictatorial regimes. In this context, he despised sectarianism, which he considered to be a form of racism.

Costi Bendaly was a pioneer in using the social sciences, first and foremost psychology, in which he was a specialist, in a true Christian education that combats insularity, isolation and fear of the world, an education open to the age, taking into account the centrality of man in the universe, based on freedom and knowledge: "You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free." He likewise took up the issue of sex, especially in his book Sex and Its Human Significance from a simultaneously Christian and psychological perspective. In this book, he called for sound sexual education that puts an end to the prevalent ignorance and erroneous ideas surrounding this subject.

Costi Bendaly, a son of the Antiochian Church, a son of the Orthodox Youth Movement, a son of Mina in Tripoli, man, teacher, pedagogue, father, brother, fighter was a fisher of men. He heeded the call made by Christ to the Apostles: "I shall make you fishers of men." He left everything and followed Him... However, he who desires to be a fisher of men must first be content to be caught by Jesus, to be a fish in Jesus' net. Blessed are you, for Christ caught you from your harbor* to place you in His sea, where there is the water of life.

*Mina, Costi Bendaly's home neighborhood in Tripoli, literally means "Harbor".

As-Safir on the Negotiations for the Nuns' Release

Arabic original here.

The Nuns of Maaloula: A Race between Mediation Attempts and the Assault on Yabroud

by Muhammad Ballout

The nuns from Maaloula will soon be in Lebanon, the kidnappers' last refuge, if intermediaries and the channels open with them do not arrive at a quick solution, especially after the expansion of the Syrian Army's assault on Yabroud in the coming days with the launching of a second phase of the military operation in Qalamoun.

Twelve nuns, four of them Lebanese, the others Syria. Three channels for negotiations have alternatively tried to obtain the kidnappers' list of demands in order to speedily arrange an exchange. Optimism reigns over the negotiation process on account of the fact that the kidnappers immediately entered into a process of multilateral dialogue in order to reach a deal about the nuns. This is an important sign because it is the first time that Jabhat al-Nusra quickly seeks to reach a deal over the kidnapping victims it holds, while the fate of its previous kidnapping victims before there was any clarity or even any acceptance of in principle of negotiations by the kidnappers.

Within the channels that are negotiating or have attempted to negotiate, there is no representative of the Syrian government, which is content to meet demands or to monitor what is happening at a distance. There is a local channel led by a Syrian figure who has contributed in the past to negotiations for the release of hostages, there is a Qatari channel that started work two days ago, and there is the channel of the United Nations.

A source in the Free Syrian Army in Qalamoun says that an interlocutor for the Vatican is trying to open a fourth channel involving direct negotiations with the kidnappers and a generous financial offer in exchange for the nuns' release, but Jabhat al-Nusra is proposing conditions that, up to now, do not include any monetary conditions or ransom. Standing in the background, alongside the leaders of Jabhat al-Nusra in Yabroud, are Mithqal Hamama and Ahmad al-Muqambar, local leaders in one of the brigades of the Free Syrian Army. They are attempting to obtain a portion of any exchange and monetary ransom as well as personal security guarantees.

Ahmad al-Muqambar is from the village of al-Mashrafeh (also called Falita), while Mithqal Hamama is from Bakha'a in the Qalamoun town of Sarkha. Hamama played a leading role in seizing the nuns of Maaloula and taking them out of the Monastery of Saint Thekla, which he stormed with a group of his fighters, who belong to Liwa Tahrir al-Sham. This brigade has 1200 fighters and is led by a deserter captain, Firas al-Bitar. Its units are especially active in Ghouta and Qalamoun, from which al-Bitar also hails.

Jabhat al-Nusra, which led the assault on Maaloula at the beginning of last week, seized the nuns after they were taken to the town of Sarkha, which is under the control of Mithqal Hamama, and transported them to Yabroud, which is under control of the Jabhat al-Nusra leader Malik al-Talli, a Syrian, and his deptuty, Hamdi Abu Azzam al-Kuwaiti, a Kuwaiti-Syrian, as his mother and wife are Syrian.

In recent hours, negotiations have set great store on the opening of an international channel for negotiations with Jabhat al-Nusra for the release of the nuns and four orphans who were in their care that Jabhat al-Nusra took with them from the Monastery of Saint Thekla to the village of Sarkha, before they were left with al-Talli and his deputy, who is conducting negotiations under the name Abu Azzam al-Kuwaiti. Likewise, much has been made of the entrance of the Qataris as intermediaries after the visit to Doha by the visit of Lebanese Director of General Security, Abbas Ibrahim.

The United Nations attempted, through Mukhtar Lamani, the personal representative in Damascus of the Arab and international envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi, to play a role in facilitating negotiations for the nuns' release. At the beginning Lamani spoke to the abbess of the monastery, Mother Pelagia, via Skype, however the attempt ran into Abu Azzam al-Kuwaiti's insistance on the presence of the international diplomat in Yabroud to conduct negotiations face-to-face.

The United Nations refuses to allow any of its diplomats to go to meet with the leadership of Jabhat al-Nusra in Yabroud for security and legal reasons, among them the inclusion of Jabhat al-Nusra on the list of terrorist organizations and the fact that Abu Azzam has not forward demands that can be clearly discussed. Lamani stipulated that his presence in Yabroud would be to receive the nuns, which caused Jabhat al-Nusra to put an end to negotiations and ended the United Nations channel.

Soon afterward, the local Syrian channel received demands in exchange for the nuns' release that included military and security aspects. It is obvious that the Syrian authorities will not agree to implement any of the military or security conditions proposed by Abu Azzam al-Kuwaiti, who is conducting the negotiations and up to now has not permitted any of the negotiators to speak directly with Malik al-Talli. Abu Azzam al-Kuwaiti's conditions for the nuns' release ranged from shipments of flour and food to beseiged areas in Eastern Ghouta to lifting the seige from Moadamiyet al-Sham, demands that, according to one of the negotiators, they can go forward with.

All those who have negotiated with Abu Azzam agree that he put forward the demand for the release of one thousand women held in prison by the Syrian regime, although no one has received a list of the names of those whom he wants to exchange for the nuns, despite a week having passed since the start of negotiations. However, what is putting negotiations at an impasse is Jabhat al-Nusra's demand for a stop to the Syrian Army's operation in Qalamoun at the end of the list of military conditions dictated by Abu Azzam al-Kuwaiti to his negotiating partners. Abu Azzam proposed the withdrawal of the army checkpoint at the entrance to Maaloula, the removal of army units from the strategic Monastery of the Cherubim overlooking  Saydnaya, and the removal of a Syrian Army unit stationed at a monastery in Qara. He demanded in general the removal of any Syrian Army presence from "Christian regions", as he said, in order to neutralize them from the conflict.

The negotiatiors give them impression that Jabhat al-Nusra's man in Yabroud does not have the final say and that he is acting as an intermediary, most likely receiving orders from a third party who determines the course and conditions of the negotiations, which have become more complicated in recent hours, after Jabhat al-Nusra threatened to send the nuns to Lebanon. The threat comes with the arrival  in Yabroud two days ago of Abu Hasan al-Arsali, one of the leaders of the Free Syrian Army in Arsal and one of the supervisors of supply operations out of Lebanese territory. It is not known whether this is directly related to the issue of the nuns or the threat to transport them to Lebanon.

The entry of the Qataris in the past few hours into mediation with the kidnappers seems encouraging, after the issue of the nuns had entered into a race with the military operation nearing Yabroud, about whose impact on negotiations there are conflicting expectations. One of the participants in the negotiations told as-Safir that the army's advance toward Yabroud will not leave Jabhat al-Nusra with many options and that protecting the nuns might become a burden for the kidnappers in the coming days.

Fr Georges Massouh: The Neglected Human in Syria

Arabic original here.


The Neglected Human in Syria

Over the past two centuries, Christians in Syria have adopted secularist proposals for the revival of their nation and the establishment of a civil state, a state of citizenship governed by total equality, where religion and the state are completely separate. These proposals were manifested in the commitment of many Christians to nationalist or pan-nationalist parties, to the point that most of these parties were founded by Christians or had Christians among their founders. Christians in Syria, together with Muslims, contributed to the struggle against Ottoman tyranny, against the French mandate and against the Israeli rape of Palestine... At no point did they ever advance a sectarian, factional or divisive option... Indeed, they only opted for common grounds on which to build national cooperation with Muslims and other fellow Syrian citizens.

Christians in Syria are proud that over the course of history their country has been a refuge for the oppressed who fled to its cities, villages and deserts, which has made it multiracial, multicultural and multilingual, with diverse religions and denominations. The last to find safety there were the Armenian Christians who were targeted by racist Turkish massacres and who were welcomed by the people of Aleppo and all of Syria, Christian and Muslim, as honored guests then as fellow citizens with full citizenship.

The fact that none of the great dreams for which the thinkers of the Nahda strove-- first among them the civil state-- is due to many causes, among them: the creation of Israel, dependence on dictatorship and single-party or single-personality states and using the suppression of freedoms as the means of authority and governance... This led to the appearance of extremist religious movements that adopted violence as a means of achieving their goals, the chief of which is the establishment of the religious state, according to their particular understanding of religion and religious law.

Today, in light of what is happening in Syria, factional voices are being raised in every religious community calling for the defense of those who belong to their own sect and ignoring the other elements of the Syrian people. Sunnis advocate for the Sunnis, Christians for the Christians, Shiites and Alawitess for the Alawites. Most of these voices do not desire truth and peace in Syria. Those who create divisions between one Syrian and another, those who regard the blood of one Syrian to be more precious than that of another Syrian, those who regard the stone of one place of worship to be more precious than the stone of another place of worship, those who regard one village to be more important than another village are the ones who are inciting further fragmentation and chaos.

Syrians who believe in the civil state and its importance, Muslims and Christians, must be careful to not slip into sectarian attitudes that deepen the rift and increase the gap between people with good intentions. Whether we like it or not, Syrians, Christian and Muslim, have a single fate tied to the fate of every Syrian citizen. The destruction is general and comprehensive and is not limited only to Christians, their villages and churches and it is not limited only to Muslims, their villages and mosques.

In closing we say and repeat for those who need to be reminded, that Christians in Syria do not live in an isolated island. Rather, along with their Muslim partners they make up a single fabric... The thing that harms the Christians most is to limit their demands to that which pertains only to their sects and their churches... Churches and mosques that are destroyed, we can build others, but the unique Syrian person who is killed by a bullet, who can bring him back? The human person, any human person, is holier than any place.

Update on the Dispute between Antioch and Jerusalem

Apologies for this being the translation of a translation. The below is based on the French here, translated from a report on Amen.gr here. The text of Patriarch Theophilos' letter to Patriarch John can be read, in Greek, here.


The Patriarchate of Jerusalem remains firm in its initial position regarding its ecclesial jurisdiction over Qatar but, according to some reports, it is proposing to the Patriarchate of Antioch-- which questions the Church of Jerusalem's rights over the diocese in question-- to form a special commission made up of scholars of canon law in order to study and document ecclesial jurisdiction in the region. The same sources mention that the Patriarchate of Antioch has already received a letter from the patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos, in which he responds to the arguments elaborated by the patriarch of Antioch, John, in his previous letter. Figures from the Church of Antioch in contact with the website Amen.gr call the Patriarchate of Jerusalem's expression of support for the Syrian people tried by the clashes of the Civil War a sign of brotherly love. Nevertheless, regarding the dispute that has arisen over Qater, they report that Jerusalem maintains its initial position and that its proposal to have the question discussed by a group of specialized scholars as part of the dialogue between the two churches has been reiterated. According to the same sources, the patriarch of Jerusalem, recalls in his letter his constant position regarding his canonical presence and pastoral activity in Qatar, as they were elaborated in a letter going back to March 2013. The Patriarchate of Jerusalem reiterates its disposition toward dialogue and negotiations that it showed in its willingness to participate in the four-way negotiations recently held in Athens under the auspices of Costas Tsiaras, at the time the Greek vice-minister of Foreign Affairs,  with the participation of representatives from the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Patriarchate of Antioch and the Patriarchate of Jerusalem. As far as the Church of Antioch's warning about it suspending communion with the Patriarchate of Jerusalem if it does not leave Qatar, the patriarch of Jerusalem stresses in his letter to patriarch John of Antioch that that such an act would shatter the unity of the sister Churches and of all Orthodoxy.

an-Nahar on Syrian Christian Refugees

Arabic original here. Please consider giving to the International Orthodox Christian Charities fund for Syria. Listen to a recent report about their work here.


Christian Refugees from Syria Number Around 30 Thousand. Dimensions of the Maaloula Catastrophe Go Beyond the Displacement of Hundreds of Families

The small number of Syrian Christian refugees cannot be compared to the number of Muslim refugees. Christians make up no more than ten percent of the Syrian population, at the highest estimate, and they have gone from the regions that they left to other regions of Syria. Those who have reached Lebanon are a small group, no more than thirty thousand people. A significant proportion of them have possessed Lebanese passports and Lebanese identity cards for a long time. This is, for example, the situation of a significant number of the inhabitants of the town of Maaloula, the latest of the Christian towns to be emptied, after waves of expulsions that have affected Christians in the Jazira (al-Qamishly and its region), Homs, Aleppo and Raqqa.

The overwhelming majority of Syrian Christians have been displaced within Syria. Those of them who have emigrated have done so on the basis of preparations made before and during the war through contacts with relatives in Europe and North America. Among those reaching Lebanon, there are some who are attempting to join those who went ahead to the Scandinavian countries  and Canada, which they see as a paradise for refugees.

Syrian Christian refugees differ from their compatriots in that they do not come together in camps or in specific neighborhoods. The rich among them already had private homes in Lebanon and jobs inside and outside Syria. Some of them had obtained Lebanese nationality in the famous naturalization decree. The director of Caritas Lebanon, Fr Simon Faddoul, says that only a minority of them are seeking assistance.

Syrian Christian refugees are distributed in areas of the Northern Bekaa (al-Qa', Ras Baalbek and surrounding areas) and in Zahle, where there are a significant proportion of Syriacs staying with their Syriac cousins from Zahle. In Mount Lebanon, Syrian Christian refugees are found in Borj Hammoud and Sahel el-Metn, where Syrian Armenians are also residing with their Lebanese Armenian cousins. Syriacs live in in Sahel el-Metn and are centered in Bouchrieh and Ajaltoun. Some of them are distributed among the Syriac and Chaldean monasteries and this last group is in serious need of every type of support. They are being helped by church organizations, Caritas Lebanon, the Syriac League and other organizations that are active in dealing with the difficult humanitarian situation that requires the attention of state institutions. Fr Faddoul explains that Caritas offers assistance in a number of ways. There are several programs for food assistance and for contributing to paying rent, in addition to social and legal assistance. This is especially important, given that state security institutions insist on rigorously applying the law to Syrian Christian refugees but not to others, just as the law is applied rigorously in Christian areas without exceptions, unlike other areas.

In the past week, Fr Faddoul has signed an agreement with the Italian hospital Bambino Gesù (Christ Child) through the Pontifical Council Cor Unum in order to provide medical care for Lebanese and Syrian childen living in Lebanon. He envisions the plan beginning work in the city of Deir el-Ahmar and then expanding to several regions. There are mobil clinics operated in cooperation with Canadians in addition to the existing clinics, which are active every day to provide what is necessary.

The head of the Syriac League, Habib Afram, believes that the most important thing is for Syrian Christian families who have been displaced to not be swallowed up by emigration. He points to the high number of Iraqi Christians who have emigrated as proof of the immensity of the tragedy that Middle Eastern Christians are facing if things continue as they are.

However, the expulsion of around 400 Christian families from Maaloula is the worst blow to have affected the Greek Orthodox community in Syria, whose demographic presence had not been harmed much on account of the fact that the majority of its members are centered in regions far from the battle lines, such as the coastal region of Syria, Northwest Syria, Wadi al-Nasara and from there stretching down to areas bordering Northern Lebanon, which are mixed Alawite-Christian areas where the regime has maintained control. With the exception of Orthodox neighborhoods in Homs, they have not been displaced. However, dimensions of the Maaloula catastrophe go beyond the displacement and mass expulsion of Christians, to what Maaloula represents as an icon and symbol for Christians throughout the world. Afram repeats that Syrian Christians are "orphans, in the figurative sense of the word. The state does not help them because they do not reside in one place as a group. They receive no support from the Gulf or from Europe because of their religious affiliation."

As for Fr Faddoul, he believes that "the most important thing is to provide them with assistance and to keep it from being a matter of bidding and keeping personal accounts and selfish preference for this party or that. The tragedy is very great and the Lebanese know the meaning of displacement and wars."

Fr Georges Massouh: We Doubt that the Nuns went of their Own Free Will

Arabic original here.


Is There Fear that the Kidnapped Nuns Will Be Used As Human Shields?

As though it were not enough that the fate of the two kidnapped metropolitans of Aleppo has been unknown for months, another problem is added to the Church's worries with the kidnapping of 12 nuns from the Monastery of Maaloula by extremist groups, since the subject of their kidnapping continues to be discussed, especially after their appearance on al-Jazeera saying that they were "well and not kidnapped." What does the Orthodox Church say about their appearance and their situation?

The director of the Center for Muslim-Christian Studies at Balamand University, Fr Georges Massouh, says, "Naturally, we doubt that the nuns went of their own free will to wherever they are now, as was claimed in the video that was shown. Instead, they were kidnapped and detained and they were robbed of their freedom and we do not know why this happened. The nuns are peace-loving, and if they wanted to go to any place outside the monastery, they would not have gone with this group, since there are other places that they could have gone to. Especially since one of the nuns said [in the video] that they will be 'released' after two days, use of the the word 'released' means that they were kidnapped."

Fr Massouh regrets that "the crosses on their necks were removed. This is a dangerous sign that proves that there is a lack of respect for freedom of faith, which is against religious teachings and against human rights."

Up to now, the Church has no information about the rumored exchange and release of captives. "The issue of realizing demands is not with the Church, but with the Syrian state. This is another indication that they were kidnapped. Note that there is fear in the Church that the kidnapped nuns will be used as human shields."

Fr Massouh confirms to an-Nahar that "the Church worries about all those kidnapped, detained and expelled and all who are suffering in Syria. However, when it comes to targeting nuns and cloistered clergymen who have no concern but to pray for their fellow citizens, this is a dangerous sign that we have reached an intolerable state of decline and degeneracy." In closing, Fr Georges stresses that "the Church rejects any call for young Christian men to bear arms. We, Jesus Christ's group, do not form militias or parties and we do not enter into sectarian wars."

*On his personal Facebook page, Fr Georges clarified his closing statement from this article:
"I rejected the formation of sectarian Christian militias. I have never said that Christians should not defend their country... Defending Syria is a sacred right for all sons of Syria, Christian and Muslim, and this has its ways and means, including the army that does not discriminate between Syrians on a sectarian basis. Any sectarian call for defending the sect is deadly for Syria and for the Syrian public... this is what I meant."