Fr Georges Massouh on the Martyrdom of Fr Fadi Haddad

Arabic original here.


The Martyr Father Fadi Haddad, Aptly Named

In the living Christian tradition, the title "Redeemer" [al-Fadi] is given only to Christ, since through Him salvation came to the world. Without a doubt, in Christian terms redemption reached its culmination in Christ's accepting to die upon the cross, giving Himself as a ransom for man and his sins. We cannot understand redemption apart from the ultimate sacrifice that Christ the Lord gave upon the cross.

So ransom, in general understanding, means saving or freeing someone from captivity or from an ordeal by paying a certain sum.

However, Christ redeemed the world on the cross with His blood. The Apostle Peter says in his first epistle, "you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot" (1 Peter 18-19).

In the Christian tradition, Christ is the sacrificial lamb though whom the New Covenant begins, the covenant of salvation and pure love. "He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth" (Isaiah 53:7). Commenting on this verse, Saint Ephrem the Syrian (d. 373) says, "There are those who triumph through contentions, but our Lord triumphed through His silence... He did not open His mouth except to teach and was silent before the tribunal... the words of His enemies were nothing but a crown upon His head."

The Christian tradition finds the true meaning of the Christian concept of redemption in the prophecy of Isaiah about the "Suffering Servant of God" which was realized in Jesus Christ. This servant of God shall bear the sins of the world in peace and humility and he will be a ransom for them. "He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed... My righteous Servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong, because He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors" (Isaiah 53:5, 11-12).

We cannot separate this ransom from the divine love that makes God hurry to send His only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to redeem humankind through Him: "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins" (1 John 4:10) and also, "God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

The martyr Father Fadi Haddad was aptly named. He was born in the city of Qatana, on the outskirts of Damascus in 1969. He became a servant of his parish after completing his theological studies in the Saint John of Damascus Theological Institute at Balamand University. He went out from his home, after saying goodbye to his wife and children, carrying a sum of money for the release of a member of his parish from the hands of his kidnappers. When he reached them, they seized him, tortured him, gouged out his eyes, and slaughtered him.

Father Fadi is aptly named. He imitated his Teacher, redeeming his flock with the most precious thing he had. He tasted excruciating torments and bore curses and insults. He was generous in giving himself and did not spare his spirit. He went to the ultimate meaning of the name he bore. He realized that he did not deserve it if he did not live it in all its dimensions and requirements. "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends" (John 15:13). The Martyr Fadi attained the fulness of love by his blameless blood. What gives us some comfort is that in the Church, in Syria, and in his family, a new saint is born today.

Fr Georges Massouh on the Dialogue between Timothy I and al-Mahdi

Arabic original here. 

The dialogue between the Nestorian Patriarch Timothy I and the Abbasid Caliph al-Mahdi exists in two versions, Syriac and Arabic. The Syriac version, translated by Alphonse Mingana, can be read here. The Arabic version, translated by Clint Hackenburg, can read here.



The Dialogue of the Caliph and the Patriarch


Perhaps the finest Muslim-Christian dialogue about theological issues is the one in Baghdad that gathered the Patriarch Timothy I and the Abbasid Caliph al-Mahdi. In this dialogue,which took place at the beginning of the ninth century, the two sides treated controversial topics, such as the Holy Trinity, the divinity and incarnation of Christ and His crucifixion and resurrection from the dead, and the authenticity of the Gospels... It was dominated by mutual respect and esteem and love of knowledge, something as rare in those days as in our own day.

That said, Timothy's response to al-Mahdi's question "What do you say about Muhammad?" remains the finest thing that was said in the dialogue. The patriarch affirmed that "Muhammad walked in the way of the prophets and lovers of God" because he taught God's oneness, distanced his people from evil and wicked deeds, attracted them to goodness and virtue, and forbade humans from demon-worship and idolatry, and encouraged them to worship God and venerate His majesty.

The prophets of the Old Testament did all these things and for this reason Muhammad, even if he was not a prophet from the Christian perspective, he did what the prophets did and thus walked in the way of the prophets.

Timothy sees an exact parallel between what the prophets, especially Abraham and Moses, did and what the messenger of Islam did. He says, "Just as Abraham, the Friend of God, abandoned idols and the people of his race, followed God and worshiped Him, teaching the oneness of God to the nations, so too did Muhammad when he abandoned the worship of idols and those of his race and others who worshiped them and only honored the one who alone is the true God and worshiped Him."

For this reason, Timothy goes so far as to affirm that "Muhammad was greatly honored by God." He then goes on to wonder emphatically, "Who does not praise, O triumphant king, one whom God has praised? And who does not weave a crown of honor and reverence for one whom God has honored? I and all those who love God say this and things like it about Muhammad." When the caliph asks, "So why then do you not accept Muhammad's words?" Timothy responds decisively, "Belief in one God was taught by the Torah and the Gospel. I held fast to this and for the sake of this I would die."

When al-Mahdi asks Timothy about his not accepting the testimony of Christ and the Gospel to Muhammad, the patriarch responds by citing verses from the Bible that prophecy the coming of Christ and no one else. Timothy says, "I did not see even a single verse in the Gospel or the prophets or elsewhere that bears witness to Muhammad, his deeds, or his name."

Here the caliph mentions that the Christians distorted the scriptures, removing from them all the verses that talk about the coming of Muhammad. Timothy responds by rejecting the accusation, saying, "If mention of Muhammad was found in the Gospel, we would not have removed his name from it. Rather, we would say that he has not yet come, but rather is yet to come. If I were to find (a prophecy about Muhammad in the Gospel), I would not abandon something from which I derive comfort in this world and and by which I am rewarded in the next."

It must be said that the patriarch Timothy represents the model of a faithful Christian who is open to the greatest degree to the Islamic religion without departing from the basis of the Christian faith. Even as he did not recognize Muhammad as a prophet, he affirms without hesitation that he "walked in the way of the prophets." Difference does not prevent closeness. Frankness does not negate love and respect. Recognizing what is good in another does not imply flattery, hypocrisy, and spin.

Met. Elias (Kfoury) on the Martyrdom of Fr Fadi Haddad

Arabic original here. To understand this, it's important to remember that 'Fadi' in Arabic means 'redeemer' and that Fr Fadi was killed attempting to redeem a captive.



"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

To my dear Priest Fadi Haddad,

I received with great sorrow (even though the Apostle Paul tells us, "do not grieve like others who have no hope") the news of your horrific murder on the road to Mount Hermel. This news hit me like a thunderbolt, I who gave you the mystery of priesthood by the laying on of this humble hand. I  am the one who recognized that you were "one of the poor of the Holy Spirit" who will inherit the kingdom of heaven. I recognized in you the loving son, loyal to his Church and his leaders. I saw innocence in your eyes, purity in your soul, and love in your heart, putting into action the words of Christ the Lord, "With love I have conquered the world"-- and not with any other weapon.

My soul is sorrowful unto death, because innocence is killed by murderous, criminal hands who do not know the sanctity of priesthood or of holy things. My soul is sorrowful unto death, because love is persecuted, love which the Apostle Paul said, "gives everything. Love never fails." The honor of the priesthood is trampled by barbaric feet (even the barbarity of the Zionist Israelis has not done this). I say to the murderous criminals who overcame you: Wait for the Day of Judgment when the Righteous Judge shall sit upon the throne. The river of fire will flow and the book will be opened. The hidden things will be revealed. On that day God Almighty shall ask each of us: What have you done? Cain, Cain, where is your brother?

I say to the friends and loved ones of the Priest Fadi what Christ the Lord said to His loved ones: "Do not fear the one who kills the body, but rather fear the One who can place you in the hell of fire. That is, God." To the murderous criminals, I say: We will not take revenge. We have left that to God, the God who rules heaven and earth and who repays each of us according to his deeds.

The one who kills the body, what can he do after that? Is he able to kill the soul? Of course not. Is he able to kill faith? Of course not. Is he able to kill dignity? Of course not. Then what is he able to do? I say to you, what is he able to do? He dies in his rage. He dies in his hatred, in the mire of sin which chokes him and puts an end to him. Every person without hope has a fate like that of Judas Iscariot, who went and hanged himself because he despaired of God's mercy, while we the faithful live according to the hope of resurrection and eternal life. You, my dear Priest Fadi are transported according to the hope of resurrection and eternal life. We do not obtain our life from ourselves or from the world. Rather, we obtain our life from God, "from whom is every good gift and every perfect gift," according to the Apostle Paul.

But you, O Priest Fadi, have honor, because you accomplished what you were trying to do, saving the life of one of your flock which God entrusted you with, one of the children of your flock which the Holy Spirit (through the laying on of the bishop's hands) gave to you to redeem with your blood (as you did), just as your Teacher, the Great Redeemer [al-Fadi al-Akbar] redeemed them and you, O Fadi redeemer [ayyuha al-Fadi], go to rest beside Him in the Bosom of Abraham among the just and righteous.

To my beloved, the family and flock of Father Fadi, the parish of Saint Elias who went up to heaven alive, I say that the Priest Fadi did not die, but rather went up alive to heaven with the Prophet Elijah. The Priest Fadi did not die, because he was transported from death to life. The Priest Fadi did not die. He is alive with us forever.

I say to you what the righteous Prophet Job repeated when he was struck with disaster: "The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord."

May God pardon the perpetrators. God's mercy be upon you, Father Fadi.

The Patriarchate of Antioch's Statement on the Martyrdom of Fr Fadi Haddad

Arabic original here. This translation is in no way official.


"O Lover of Mankind, inasmuch as You are the God of Peace and Father of Mercies"

We turn to you our sorrowful hearts and ask You for mercy, that in Your compassion You will lead us to peace, treat us kindly, have compassion for us, and guide us to reason and awareness, we humans who are created in your divine image and likeness.

On October 18 of this year, the Reverend Father Fadi Haddad, priest of the parish of the Prophet Elias in Qatana went out on a noble humanitarian mission to return a member of his parish who had been kidnapped a few days earlier. What occurred was more difficult than expected and Father Fadi was himself kidnapped along with the other intermediary, the ransom, and a private vehicle. The tragic series of events began with negotiations with the kidnappers who demanded an enormous sum of money.

There had been hope that consciences would be sober, lest a painful tragedy occur, which is what happened, as the body of Father Fadi Haddad was found on the morning of Thursday, October 25 in the region of Drousha. On him were indescribable marks of torture and mutilation. He was identified by the Reverend Father Elias el-Baba, priest of the town of Hina and he was transported to the town clinic. The Patriarchate in Damascus was informed of his martyrdom, that his pure and blameless blood may a sacrifice for reconciliation and harmony.

We turn to God, may He be exalted, asking mercy and forgiveness for him. At the same time, however, we condemn in the harshest terms this beastly and barbaric act aimed at civilians, the innocent, and men of God who strive to be apostles of peace who bring hearts together, dress the wounds of the suffering, comfort the sorrowing, and strengthen the weak in these difficult circumstances. We express the profundity of our pain as our beloved nation witnesses heinous acts that are unprecedented in its long history which has enjoyed a life built on the foundation of love, cooperation, peace, and harmony.

We urge all citizens, humanitarian organizations and all those of good will and good intentions, who are the majority of our kind, peaceful, and life-loving people, to join with us in condemning the kidnapping, murder, destruction, robbery, and assault on the security and well-being of citizens that is taking place. We call them to dialogue, peace, and harmony, especially the men of God among them.

We likewise call children of this country to cooperate and support each other in these difficult circumstances in order to contain the evil that is besetting us in the hope of putting an end to it and to the bath of innocent blood that takes place every day, in which innocent people from all elements of society in the nation are falling. We hope to arrive at putting a final end to it through all humanitarian means which lead to the outbreak of peace instead of war, love instead of hatred, rapprochement instead of estrangement, as our common history has seen and sees.

We turn to our beloved children and affirm that we are children of resurrection and life because our Lord taught us when He said:

"I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life"

We are children of the hope that conquers all human feeling of weakness. We remind them that the Savior's crucifixion preceded His Resurrection from the dead. The path to Golgotha ends with life bursting forth from the tomb with the light of the Savior's glorious Resurrection.

We affirm to all our children that we remain steadfast in our faith and our hope in the power of our Lord who desired that we have life, and more abundantly (John 10:10). We call on them in the love of Christ to remain in their land and their nation and for us not to stand at the border of tragedy and weep for our dead, since it is the will of Life for us to grow in faith and hope. We urge them to look to our future which we are building by the power of faith, to realize free and dignified life for the children of our nation and our people.

We ask God that the martyrdom of Father Fadi Haddad be a sacrifice offered for the children of this nation and a stopping point to the painful events that we are living in this wicked time.

We ask God's rich and abundant mercy for our beloved departed martyr and we turn to him for mercy for our people, our beloved nation, and for all the peoples and countries of this afflicted Middle East

Issued by the Patriarchate on October 25, 2012.

Father Fadi Haddad Martyred near Damascus

See also the statement from the Patriarchate of Antioch here.


Arabic original here. It's a bit disjointed and compiled from multiple sources, but this is breaking news...


Who is Fr Fadi Haddad, the Priest who was Killed by Terrorists in Qatana?

Father Fadi Jamil Haddad was born in the city of Qatana on February 2, 1969, to zealous Christian parents, Jamil Haddad and Wadia el-Ayn. He studied in schools in Qatana, elementary school at el-Thaura School and middle and high school at Baath Secondary School for Boys.

After obtaining his secondary diploma, he studied at the Saint John of Damascus Theological Institute at Balamand in Lebanon, from which he graduated with good grades in 1994. He married and was ordained deacon in the Maryamiyya Cathedral in Damascus during the celebration of the name's day of His Beatitude Patriarch Ignatius IV Hazim.

During the liturgy on July 14, 1995 His Beatitude and Bishop Elias Kfoury, who was the patriarchal vicar and is now metropolitan of Sidon, Tyre, Marjayoun, and Rashaya el-Wadi, laid hands on him, ordaining him to the priesthood.

He took up service in the parish of Qatana as the cornerstone was being laid for the new church by His Beatitude. Father Fadi Haddad was a son of the Qatana parish and participated in the founding of the Orthodox Sunday School there along with other pious sons of the parish and with the help of priests who would come to Qatana, including Father Nicholas Baalbaki and Father Georges Baalbaki.

Terrorists assassinated Father Fadi Haddad, pastor of the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Elias in Qatana, some days after his being kidnapped in the new town, Artouz, by a group of armed terrorists.

A source with the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Damascus stated that Father Haddad's body was found shot in the head near Drousha on the Damascus-Quneitra highway.

Fadi Haddad was priest of the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Elias in Qatana in the outskirts of Damascus.

One of the residents of the city told Agence France-Presse that the body was found in the town of Drousha, near Qatana and Damascus, indicating that he was murdered.

He stated that the priest was acting as an intermediary for a doctor from Qatana who was kidnapped over ten days ago. He was communicating with the kidnappers, who demanded from the family more than 50 million lira ($700,000) to release him.

The source, who refused to reveal his identity, stated that Father Haddad succeeded in getting the kidnappers to reduce the sum to 25 million lira ($350,000) but that when he went with the kidnapped doctor's father-in-law to deliver the money, the two men were kidnapped.

The kidnappers returned to demand 750 million lira for the release of all three men. "Negotiations continued until yesterday morning, when the priest's body was found," according to the same source.

The fate of the two other kidnapping victims is not known.

The source indicated that the murder of the priest Fadi Haddad provoked anger in Qatana, because of his praying for all people in the area.

He said, "This is not the first time that he was asked to act as an intermediary in resolving  kidnappings and robberies. He was successful on many occasions in securing the release of kidnap victims and the return of stolen cars. He was a man of God who was trusted by all."

He added, "During Ramadan, he would invite Muslims to break the fast at the church. He was beloved by all religious groups and took no political position in the current conflict in Syria."

When Syrian state television announced that his body had been found, it stated that "He was one of the most prominent workers for national reconciliation and the healing of wounds."

May God have mercy on you, father, and may your memory be eternal now and unto ages of ages. Just as you taught us, holy father, to pardon and forgive all who hurt us in imitation of our Teach the Lord Jesus Christ, may God pardon and forgive you.


From Agenzia Fides, here.

The Orthodox priest kidnapped in Damascus found dead

Damascus (Agenzia Fides) - The body of the greek orthodox priest Fr. Fadi Jamil Haddad, pastor of the church of St. Elias in Qatana, was found today in the Jaramana neighborhood (north of Damascus) not far from the place where he was kidnapped, on October 19, by unidentified armed group (see Fides 24/10/2012). This was confirmed to Fides by Fr. Haddad’s greek-orthodox confrere, who asked for anonymity. "His body was horribly tortured and his eyes gouged out," he told Fides. "It is a purely terrorist act. Fr. Haddad is a martyr of our church. "

With regards to the responsibilities of the terrible act there is an ongoing rebound of responsibilities between the opposition forces and government authorities, that accuse the armed gangs of armed rebellion in the army. According to Fides sources, the kidnappers had asked the priest’s family and his church a ransom of 50 million Syrian pounds (over 550 thousand euro). It was, however, impossible to find the money and meet this exorbitant demand. A source of Fides condemns "the terrible practice, present for months in this dirty war, of kidnapping and then killing innocent civilians."

Among the various Christian communities in Syria, the greek orthodox is the largest (with about 500 thousand faithful) and is concentrated mainly in the western part of the country and in Damascus. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 25/10/2012)



From Saudi-owned al-Arabiya in English, here.

Priest who negotiated Syria hostage releases slain

By AFP
Beirut

A Greek Orthodox priest who tried to negotiate the liberation of a Christian doctor in Damascus province was found dead on Thursday, residents and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

“The corpse of Fady al-Haddad, kidnapped last Friday (Oct. 19), was found this morning in Damascus province,” said the Britain-based Observatory.

Father Haddad served the St Elie parish in Qatana, a mixed Christian and Muslim town of 15,000 inhabitants 20 kilometers (12 miles) west of Damascus.

One resident said he was found murdered near the town.

“He was negotiating the release of a Christian doctor with the kidnappers, who demanded 50 million Syrian pounds ($660,000). He had managed to reduce their demand” by half, he told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Theft and kidnapping have become rampant in Syria, where criminals have taken advantage of the security vacuum caused by the fighting between rebels and the army.

“Last Friday, he went along with the doctor’s stepfather to pay the ransom, but they were also abducted and the kidnappers had increased their demands before the priest's body was found on Thursday,” the resident added.

The murder has sparked outrage in Qatana, where the priest was popular with Christians and Muslims alike for securing the release of a number of people, locals said.

Rare in a country plagued by civil war, state news outlets and opposition websites alike paid tribute to Father Haddad.

The Orthodox Patriarchate condemned the “savage crime” and denounced “attacks against civilians and religious figures who try to be messengers of peace under these difficult circumstances.”

It further called on humanitarian organizations and the public to “condemn all crimes and robberies which undermine the safety of citizens.”

The Syrian National Council, the main opposition bloc in exile, called Father Haddad a “symbol of national unity,” and blamed pro-regime militiamen for his killing.

“The gangs belonging to the regime killed Father Fady Haddad in order to drag the country into sectarian strife,” SNC spokesman George Sabra said, calling for an official judicial investigation into the murder.

“National unity in Syria and in the town of Qatana in particular is too solid to be undermined by ignorant and hateful acts,” Sabra added.

“Father Fady was one of the symbols of national unity. Grant mercy on Father Fady Haddad, a martyr of the nation and humanity, and shame on those criminal killers who are destroying the country.”

Met. Georges Khodr on the Judgment

 Arabic original here.




What is the Judgment? 

When I was studying in my youth with French monks, we were told that there is a particular judgment at death and a general judgment on the last day. At that early point, I was continuing Orthodox instruction and I did not come across this duality in it, so I said to myself that there is only the general judgment, and I feared it.

After this, I learned that the Eastern Church says that after death you realize your situation before God. You are in a state of waiting for recompense; if you are not weighed down by sins, this is the beginning of joy, even if it is not total beatitude. During this, you await final retribution, and if you bear many sins this is part of the punishment.

Then, in my old age, I came closer to the idea of the particular judgment, though I did not adopt the expression itself because my Church does not use it. Of late I have become convinced that the hour of death is an hour of encounter with the Creator and that this encounter is terrifying because you appear before Him with the weight of your sins, which are incompatible with the nature of the Lord. You feel that this meeting is part of your eternal destiny, even if God announces His mercy at the beginning of your meeting with Him and at the end.

It does not seem right to me that you have a prosecution that determines your eternal fate. That God is a judge, this is an image from our Holy Scriptures, as these books tell the story of humankind with God starting from the beginning. But the greater story is in the meeting immediately after your departure from this earth. The image that I use is of Christ coming to your side in the coffin and speaking to you in a whisper, a whisper of rebuke. Perhaps Jesus was gentle in the meeting, but in obedience to His Father, sin cannot be minimized with Him because it wounds His Father's compassion toward you. You undertook nothing to mend the Father's wounds. You remain an enemy through sin and the Father still holds you to His breast or the Son places you on His breast and the Father sees this and has compassion without setting aside His blame for you because if He set aside blame, then He would be biased towards you and not towards His law.

It is only through His law that you are able to advance, because you cannot relish sin and remain close to Him. Your closeness is through your own spiritual splendor, because the Lord does not have one clique that He draws close and another He pushes away. If you are His then you become of Him and He sees Himself in you, because if you become pure you become His mirror and the Lord by His nature loves to see Himself in you. He always asks you if you have accepted Him, even though He knows whether you are with Him or have strayed far from Him, seeking to rise up on your own, making your pride your abode as you place God in a far-off house. Your entire story with God is whether or not you put Him towards you. If you put him far away-- which is what we do in sin-- you remove yourself from true existence in order to create for yourself an existence that tricks you, placing yourself in delusion. Sin is what made you think that you exist by your own power, not through the power of your Lord; it is what makes you far from Him, searching after a deceptive mirage.

The whole story is whether you are a guest of the divine being that is within you or a guest of the passions that you manufacture for yourself out of your fear of God. Are you a person of fear or a person of trust? Are you fixated on yourself and the deception nesting within you or are you cast into the Father's bosom, forgetting your own pleasures and luxury so that you can feel that you have become a son-- that is, living on this earth the kingdom of God that comes down upon you through the loving-kindness of the Father?

If you believe in His loving-kindness, it will turn your eyes toward Him and you will realize that you are present in His looking at you. If you lock onto this look, it will make you search your heart, according to the Orthodox expression, or search your conscience, according to the Western expression. Blessed are you if you see God in your heart and you see Him moving the pulse of the Spirit within you and He remains in your soul after the body is extinguished.


If some people talk explicitly about a particular judgment, I say that every moment of our life is a particular judgment if we are aware, in the sense that our spiritual awareness constantly causes us to stand before the presence of God. So we see that our sins afflict us and that separation from Him is death. Every sin is a death, and without coming close to Nietzsche except in expression, I say that the death of sin is the death of God. How hideous is the existence of one who kills God within himself without even knowing that by doing this he removes himself from true existence and erects the Hell of flame within his soul before the demons seize him, if he does not repent.

For the sinner, repentance means for him to discover that his behavior was sinful and that his entire opinion about God was erroneous, because he imagined for himself that sin is not sin and that it is necessary for life. Perhaps he did not strive to preserve God within himself or, beyond this, even considered himself capable of preserving his own being apart from God's being.

Our story of the soul living alongside sin is terrifying because it is based on a serious error, that you are capable of living without God, or at least that you are capable of postponing your meeing with Him, which means that you have no notion of the fear of death and what that entails for you.

A sinner not only deviates in his behavior. He deviates in his thought, in the sense that he has erroneous thinking. Repentance is to remove from yourself this thinking, so that you may have within yourself the mind of Christ Jesus, as the Apostle Paul says, or something similar to this expression, if you are not of Paul's religion.

Lord, save us from sin and draw us near to Your face, so that we may live.

Patriarchate of Jerusalem and Church of Cyprus Help Syrian Refugees in Jordan

From the French, here.


On Thursday, October 18 the Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos was present and the reception of parcels of food, medicine, and clothing sent by the Church of Cyprus for Syrian refugees in Jordan staying at the Zaatari camp. The patriarch had intervened for these refugees, some time ago, with the ambassadors of Great Britain, France, Germany, and Cyprus in Amman. The patriarch then visited the camp and gathered information about the refugees' difficulties. They were at the center of recent discussions between the primates of the Patriarchates of Alexandria and Jerusalem and the Church of Cyprus and representatives of the European Union in Brussels. The Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos additionally called on the Archbishop of Cyprus to organize a collection of funds for Syrian refugees in Jordan.

The Orthodox people of Cyprus as well as their government responded to this call: 10 tons of mineral water, 5 tons of food, and 185 cases of clothing, as well as 15 small refrigerators and 5 computers arrived in Akaba by sea and were then shipped to Zaatari on October 18 in the presence of Patriarch Theophilos and several Jordanian clergy, the ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus, and other Jordanian figures.

The Zaatari camp currently shelters 38,500 out of a total of 210,000 in Jordan. Between 300 and 400 refugees arrive in the camp daily, according to the security conditions on the Syrian-Jordanian border. They arrive at the camp, most often at night, and have nothing with them except their clothes. They are exhausted and often wounded. The first step upon their arrival is to provide them with food and clothing. Great effort is taken to improve the conditions of their stay, as winter is approaching. New roads are being built and covered with gravel in order to protect the camp from dust, which is detrimental to the health of its inhabitants.

75% of the refugees are women and children. A program has been started for the education of between 15,000 and 18,000 children. Schools have been established in tents.

The Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos thanked the representatives of the Jordanian Government, the UNHCR, and UNICEF for the information they transmitted and especially for the humanitarian work that has been accomplished. He declared that the Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Church of Cyprus propose to continue actively helping this work through the collaboration of those responsible for the camp and the head of the patriarch's office in Amman, Waffa Ksous.