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Statement issued by the Holy Synod of Antioch
March 13, 2013
The Fathers of the Holy Synod of Antioch held a meeting on
Wednesday, March 13, 2013, in the Monastery of Our Lady of Balamand. The
meeting was chaired by His Beatitude Patriarch JOHN X. The Fathers discussed
the situation arising from the election of Archimandrite Makarios by the Holy
Synod of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem as the “Archbishop of Qatar”, on March
4, 2013. This election is against the Ecclesiastical Canons of the Orthodox
Catholic Church. After deliberations and the approval of the Holy Synod Fathers
in the Mother lands and abroad (Diaspora), the following statement was issued
to be distributed to all the faithful and to all the Autocephalous Orthodox
Churches.
The Statement
In the midst of much suffering and pain that our region is
going through, His Beatitude Patriarch JOHN X convened the bishops of the Holy
Antiochian See in the region and deliberated with the bishops who are abroad
(Diaspora) about the hurt that has been caused by the election of Archimandrite
Makarios as “Archbishop of Qatar” by the Patriarchate of Jerusalem. His
Beatitude began the meeting by sharing all the steps that he made as soon as he
knew about the issue through the media. After discussing the matter with all
the bishops of the Antiochian Holy Synod, His Beatitude sent a verbal message
to His Beatitude the Patriarch of Jerusalem and His Holiness the Ecumenical
Patriarch. He then sent a written letter to both primates expressing surprise
“regarding the decision of the Holy Synod of Jerusalem to elevate the priest sent
to Doha city to the office of the episcopate, giving him the title of the
‘Archbishop of Qatar.’ This has been without any contact with the Antiochian
Patriarchate. Qatar falls within the geographical jurisdiction of Antioch. It
is the lawful prerogative of Antioch to appoint a bishop to that land,
especially since we have a canonical Metropolitan ruling all the Arab Gulf countries, His
Eminence Metropolitan Constantine.” His Beatitude pleaded for a reconsideration
of this decision, asking “not to allow this episcopal consecration to occur
since our Antiochian Apostolic See cannot accept any bishop in its territory,
coming from outside its canonical jurisdiction.” He also expressed that, “Our
hearts are wide open to meet with you and deal with this subject, and all other
matters, fraternally in Christ’s spirit Who alone unites us.”
Since His Beatitude Patriarch JOHN X did not receive any
reply to either of his letters, he later on sent a copy of the abovementioned
letter to the primates of all the Orthodox Autocephalous Churches. Despite
these brotherly efforts and fraternal approach, the consecration of
Archimandrite Makarios occurred on Sunday, March 10, 2013.
The Holy Fathers affirmed all the efforts undertaken by His
Beatitude and declared unanimously the following position:
1- The decision of the Jerusalem Patriarchate to establish
an Archbishopric on a territory which belongs to the Holy Synod of Antioch is,
without question, an illegal interference from the Jerusalem Patriarchate in
the territorial jurisdiction of the Antiochian Church, thus breaking the
ecclesiastical canons that regulate the relationship among Orthodox Churches.
On the other hand, the Orthodox parish in Doha, Qatar, is
composed of Orthodox faithful from various nationalities. We are grateful that
Archimandrite Makarios provided all necessary pastoral care to this particular
parish, but it was a temporary arrangement to facilitate this pastoral
activity, no more and no less. This pastoral arrangement cannot be taken as
giving any ecclesiastical privilege, of any sort, to the Patriarchate of
Jerusalem or to any other Orthodox Church. Again, the Arab Gulf falls under the
canonical and ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Antioch and
all the East.
The Antiochian Church refuses to accept the action taken by
the Jerusalem Patriarchate, and will not recognize any bishop on the territory
of the country of Qatar outside the authority of the Antiochian Apostolic See,
and asks that the Patriarchate of Jerusalem should resolve this matter as soon
as possible. The Antiochian Church hopes not to have to take a stand leading to
the breaking of communion with the Jerusalem Patriarchate. She also hopes not
to have to reconsider the principles governing the Orthodox Church relations
and the Geneva agreement which have been set by the preparatory committees of the
upcoming Great and Holy Orthodox Synod, especially those dealing with the
Orthodox worldwide(Diaspora).
2- The situation which Christians are enduring today
encourages us to set aside all that threatens the unity of the faithful and
their common witness. The Arab Christians are called to strengthen their
intercommunication in order to face the great challenges that threaten their
countries, so that they might be the yeast leavening peace and fraternity. The
Antiochian Church is aware of Her historic and leading role in the region and
elsewhere and will persevere in that role.
3- The continuous disregard of the situation on the ground
caused by the consecration of the Archimandrite Makarios as the Archbishop of
Qatar will make it inevitable for the Church of Antioch to take certain actions
which She is trying to avoid on account of the love that ought to govern the
relationship among the Orthodox Churches. Since Love is “patient and kind” (1
Cor. 13:4), and in order to open the way for peaceful efforts to resolve the
issues and return them to their natural and canonical state, the Church of
Antioch is planning to intensify Her efforts with the Sister Churches in order
to explain Her position and work on unifying Her work in facing all the dangers
that are threatening the Orthodox Catholic Church.
Issued at the Patriarchal Residence in Balamand March 13,
2013
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