Met Antony Bashir on the Syrian non-Chalcedonians (1957)

At the beginning of the re-establishment of the Word as Antiochian Archdiocese of North America's official magazine, Metropolitan Antony Bashir wrote a series of articles introducing readers to the various Christian communities of Syria and Lebanon. They are of great interest for understanding ecumenical attitudes within the Patriarchate of Antioch in the mid-20th century.

 The following is taken from The Word / Al-Kalemat vol. 1, issue 2 (February 1957), pp. 31-34, accessed through the The Hoda Z. Nassour and Herbert R. Nassour Jr., MD, Archive of Lebanese Diaspora, here.

 

 

The Syrian Church... The Jacobites

by Metropolitan Antony Bashir

The modern world is sometimes startled to find the headlines devoted to a tiny and ancient religious body which uses the language of Jesus in its services, and has been divided from most of Christendom for centuries. In 1948 the Dead Sea Scrolls, including the oldest portions of the Hebrew Old Testament yet discovered, were purchased and brought to the United States by Mar Athanasius Jesus Samuel, Jacobite Metropolitan of Jerusalem, and in 1953 part of the Zone, or cincture, of the Blessed Virgin Mary was discovered in an ancient Syrian Jacobite church in Homs, Syria. Thus this almost forgotten Christian community drew the attention of the Twentieth Century world twice in a decade.

The communion known to historians as the "Jacobite" church is called in colloquial Arabic the "Syrian" church. The title is entirely appropriate, for the group was born of the intrigues of a Syrian Empress of Byzantium with a Christian Arab Sheikh, spread by the untiring zeal of a fanatical Syrian monk, and embraced by Syrians who opposed their ancient tongue and traditions to the Greek veneer of the official Orthodoxy of the Late Roman Empire.

At the Oecumenical Council of Chalcedon in 451 the Orthodox Church defined the important truth that Jesus Christ was both true God and true man: a perfect link between the Creator and fallen humanity. The Council acted against teachers who felt that in any union of God and man human nature would be absorbed. The heretics saw in a balanced Divine-human Christ a sort of blasphemous denial of the omnipotence of God. The Orthodox understood that Christ must represent both God and man if He were to be the Saviour of humanity. The heretics were called Monophysites (from the Greek, mone physis "one nature" i.e. the Divine) because they believed in the identity of the human nature and the Divine nature of our Lord.

Theological arguments concerning the exact relationship between the two natures in Christ are not popular today. It is doubtful if they ever were. The individuals who made up the masses that enthusiastically opposed the decrees of Chalcedon and proclaimed one nature in our Lord were not greater theologians than is the modern man on the street. The average citizen neither understood nor appreciated subtle discussions about the nature of Jesus, although many simple believers might be suspicious of any opinion that seemed to make the Saviour less divine. Nevertheless whole provinces of the Byzantine empire fell from Orthodoxy, and to this day the Christians of Armenia, Egypt and parts of Syria, as well as Ethiopia, are "Monophysite." The explanation is perhaps as much found in politics as theology.

When the decrees of Chalcedon were endorsed by the imperial Greek authorities many in the outlying districts of the empire found a religious excuse for their opposition to the government. The Armenians were never happy subjects of Byzantium, and the Egyptians, with their own language and distinctive traditions in faith and life, were able to replace all of the Orthodox bishops with Monophysites.

The new ideas were carried from Egypt into Syria and found ready acceptance with Syrian patriots who welcomed any theories unpopular at the capital. The Emperor Justinian I (527-565) determined to make an end of the heresy, expelled all Monophysite bishops and demanded a formal profession of Orthodoxy from all church officials. His wife, Theodora, of Syrian blood, took a different view, probably out of sympathy for her people, and to the ingenuity of this ostensibly Orthodox Empress can be attributed the existence of the Syrian Jacobite communion.

Justinian's repressive measures would have deprived the Monophysites of clergy, as those already ordained died, and no new candidates could be consecrated or ordained. With no bishops or priests to lead it the heretical party would disappear. Before this happened, however, the Empress took secret measures of her own. Among her proteges in Constantinople was a Syrian monk of humble and holy life, Jacob, to be surnamed "Bardai." Attracted by his reputation as a miracle-worker, Theodora brought him to the capital, but he shunned the court and spent his days in the strictest retirement in a suburban monastery.

When the effects of Justianian's regulations began to be felt in Syria a certain Harith ibn-Jaballah, Sheikh of the Christian Ghassanid Arabs, appealed to the Syrian patriotism of the Empress. Theodora responded at once. The Monophysite Patriarch of Alexandria was in prison in Constantinople, and the Empress arranged to have him consecrate Jacob Bardai to the episcopate in 543.

His new commission transformed Jacob from a retiring contemplative into an active missionary. He left is monastic retreat and spent the remaining fort-odd years of his life feverishly travelling through Syria and the Empire planting the seeds of the new faith. In disguise, and avoiding the imperial police and the Orthodox bishops, he encouraged the persecuted sectarians to remain faithful, and founded new communities. Jacob centered his activity in Syria, and Monophysitism grew as a Syrian protest against the Empire. By the time of his death in 578 Jacob Bardai is alleged to have ordained thousands of priests and almost one hundred bishops, including one who assumed the title, "Patriarch of Antioch," and whose successors head the communion today.

Even during the life of the energetic Jacob the new organization was plagued by internal dissentions. After the first burst of missionary activity which brought so many Syrian Christians into the Jacobite fold a decline ensued, and the Monophysite community has never since been numerically strong in Syria. The Orthodox were still using the ancient Syriac rite, and to many of the faithful in the Levant the Empire was cosmopolitan rather than Greek. While the Byzantine Empire controlled the Middle East the Orthodox Church enjoyed government support and was never seriously threatened by the Jacobites.

In the middle seventh century the Moslem Arabs took Syria from Byzantium, and the Jacobites were granted civil recognition similar to that accorded the Orthodox. The Jacobites had served as a sort of fifth column for the advancing Arabs, and were rewarded and patronized by the new masters of the land. The great golden age of the Jacobite community lasted from shortly after the Arab conquest until the arrival of the Turks.

In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries the Jacobites developed a tradition of scholarship inherited from Syrian Orthodoxy. At a time when learning revived in both east and west, the Jacobites produced remarkable scholars in theology, history and the sciences; men who were the peer of any Christian savant of the time.

Among many whose names stand out in the history of Christian learning, the most notable was Gregory Abdul-Faraj, known as Barhebraeus. Acquainted with Arabic, Persian, Turkish and Syriac, he left a history which is the most important source of information for his period. He was a scientist, as well as a bishop and theologian, and wrote treatises on medicine, mathematics and astronomy. He died in 1286 and the movement has not since produced outstanding scholars in great numbers.

In the twelfth century the Jacobite Patriarch of Antioch presided over twenty Metropolitans, and some one hundred and twenty bishops in the Levant, but in the fourteenth century severe Moslem persecution began and the communion has lost ground ever since. During World War I thousands of Jacobites were slaughtered by the Turks, and there are only 80,000 or 90,000 left today.

 

Relations with Orthodoxy

The Jacobites are socially and culturally related to the Greek Orthodox of Syria and Lebanon, where some 10,000 of them still live. The Patriarch lives in Homs, and governs the communion with the assistance of a Holy Synod of Metropolitans. The bulk of the faithful live in Irak, and there are five parishes in the United States. Relations with the Orthodox Church are cordial, and in some places, notably Malabar in India, periodical meetings are held to discuss reunion. One of our illustrations shows a recent meeting between our Patriarch and the Jacobite leader. In Jerusalem the two communities share the privileges of several shrines, and a Monophysite hierarch is associated with the Orthodox Patriarch in the Holy Fire ceremony of Easter Eve at the Holy Sepulchre.

There is, of course, no question of reunion or intercommunion until the Jacobites indicate their profession of full Orthodox faith by acceptance of all of the Oecumenical Councils, and purify their rites of certain expressions indicative of classical Monophysitism.

 

The Jacobite World

As the Syrian Orthodox are part of the world-wide Orthodox Catholic Church, so the Jacobites are but one section of a larger unity. There are some 8,000,000 Monophysites in the world, the largest bodies being the Armenian national church, and the Coptic communion in Egypt, while the Syrian Jacobites, the Ethiopians and the church in Malabar, India, are smaller branches of the same fellowship. In theory all of these bodies reject all of the Oecumenical Councils except the first three, and are officially committed to the denial of two natures in Christ. In all other matters their belief is generally that of the Orthodox Church. In the event of reunion they would not be expected to substitute the Byzantine rite for the ancient forms which were used by their ancestors before the schism.

 

Liturgy and Customs

The Jacobites use a Liturgy much like that originally employed by all the Christians in Syria, and later replaced by the Greek rite for the Orthodox. The liturgical language is a form of Aramaic, commonly believed to be the tongue spoken by Jesus Christ, and some communities of Jacobites still speak it. Most of those in Syria have Arabic as the vernacular, but all retain Aramaic in the church service. The Liturgy and rites for the sacraments have the general flavor of those used by the Orthodox, but there are many major and minor differences, a few of them related to the distinctive beliefs of the Monophysites. The sign of the cross is made from left to right, as in the west. Jacobites commonly ordain many minor clergy, i.e., deacons, subdeacons, readers, etc., who have secular employment, but assist at Sunday and other services.

 

The Name

The name Monophysite refers to the special emphasis on our Lord's nature, and is used in technical studies of the movement. In the Arabic vernacular the Monophysite communion is referred to as the "Syrian" Church, a very apt title as we have seen. They call themselves "Syrian Orthodox," since they regard themselves as orthodox and the Orthodox as "diophysite" ("two-nature") heretics. The name Jacobite, commonly used in western histories, is derived from their famous apostle, Jacob Bardai. "Bardai" is a nickname referring to the disreputable clothing Jacob is supposed to have worn to avoid detection by the police. Some Jacobites in the United States call themselves Assyrians. This name does not make identification any simpler, since Anglican missionaries called the Nestorians "Assyrians" in the last century, and they too have since used it.

 

The Future

The animosity which accompanied the origin of the Jacobites has long since worn away; a faith which is identical in all but 3% of doctrine binds Jacobite and Orthodox in a common heritage. Both have suffered and died for this faith at the hands of common enemies; both have shed their blood for their one Lord. The path to reunion would imply sacrifices on both sides: the Orthodox would be required to admit to equal use the ancient Syrian rite once abandoned for the rite of Byzantium, and the Jacobites to acknowledge the tradition of the seven Councils. No where in the ecclesiastical world are Orthodox and Monophysites closer together, geographically and in cultural heritage, than in Syria, and it should be the special function of Syrian Orthodox and Syrian Jacobites to heal this ancient rift. Old prejudices die slowly, but with knowledge comes understanding, and with understanding love, and in love those of the most divergent of opinions may meet in Him who is supreme love.

Future Met Ilyas Kurban on the Orthodox Youth Movement (1957)

The following is taken from The Word / Al-Kalemat vol. 1, issue 8 (October 1957), pp.  204 and 212, accessed through the The Hoda Z. Nassour and Herbert R. Nassour Jr., MD, Archive of Lebanese Diaspora, here.

 

The Orthodox Youth Movement in Syria and Lebanon

by Father Ilyas Kurban, St. George's of Boston

The Orthodox Youth movement in the Middle East is one of the most important features of the life of the Antiochian Church. This Church has suffered very much since the Arabic conquest and even before that day. The Antiochian Church had, and still has, to fight on various fronts. The Church has to fight her enemies from within and from without, the internal enemies as well as the external ones.

The fact that the Moslems conquered all the Middle East caused the Church to lose approximately all its followers. From that moment, it ceased to be a dynamic and active power in propagating the faith; its contribution to the whole body of the Church in dogma and Theology in general, and to the defense of the principles of Christianity and Orthodoxy against heresies greatly decreased. For a long time, life in the Church was stagnant, ineffective, and non-constructive due to these historical factors.

From the seventeenth century on, the Orthodox Church had to face two other intruding powers, this time from the West. Roman Catholicism and Protestantism prepared a common attack to put an end to the remnant of an ancient and glorious Church. The competition between the two outside parties gave the Orthodox Church a rest and the opportunity to survive in spite of the fact that a great part of the Orthodox Christians were converted to Catholicism; the success of the Protestant group was limited to an individual basis.

From then on, there have been quite a few attempts to revive the Orthodox faith. The contribution of the Greeks at that time was meager because Greece was under Turkish pressure. The Russian Orthodox Imperial Society built quite a few schools all over the country to relieve the Orthodox from the influence of the educational system of both the invading parties, but this effort came to an end by the success of the Communist revolution in Russia. Few attempts were made on a local basis, but these were not vital and decisive steps to revive the Orthodox Church.

March 16, 1942 is a great day in the history of the Church in Syria and Lebanon. On that day, a handful of students at St. Joseph's Jesuit University in Beirut came together and decided to form a movement aiming at the revival of the Orthodox Church, and to enable it to continue its universal message of salvation. The Church, which suffered so long, is really the militant Church on earth, the Holy Spirit is within it and will be forever.

The younger people realized from the very beginning and comprehended the real substance of the message of the Church. The Church does not need political and social influence or any other temporal recognition. What we need is a complete and profound reformation. The whole crisis is a spiritual one, and the retrogration does not belong to the essence of the Church and Her teaching, but to us, to the clergy and laity, and to other historical factors. The present crisis is a universal one, and it is a separation of man and civilization from God. Consequently, we have what we call modern materialism and its various aspects in philosophy, arts, ethics, and in social life.

The present civilization is a deformed one because of its separation from God, and it is the task of the young Orthodox generation to make possible the return to God through the Church. No renewal or progress is possible except through Jesus and the Holy Spirit, the Giver of Life. There is no meaning to the whole history if Jesus is not in the middle of this history. History is a movement of regeneration and perfection in Christ. It is a process of divinization and it is not a vertical movement, but rather an horizontal one. The aim is God and not an unknown vacuum. Our problem is that man is again trying to make out of himself God, without the help of God. The Orthodox Youth movement, understanding these facts, is trying to re-Christianize all the Orthodox people in order that they may be able to comprehend the essence of Christianity, to comprehend man and the world through Jesus. In order to attain this purpose, the first aim of the youth is to pray and to participate in the Holy Sacraments. This spiritual comprehension and knowledge of God may become a reality as a result of common prayer and a continuous meditation and contemplation in the absolute existence of God. Love of the children of God may then become a fact and a reality.

The principles of the Orthodox Youth movement are:

1. The movement is a spiritual one calling all the members of the Church, especially the young generation, to a spiritual, ethical, cultural and social movement.

2. The movement believes that the spiritual and ethical movement depends, first, in participating in the religious services and in learning the teachings of the Church and the strengthening of the Christian faith, not only among the young people, but among Orthodox people in general.

3. The movement endeavors to develop an Orthodox culture, based upon the spirit of the Church.

4. All social activities must be based upon the Christian principles.

5. The movement disapproves of denominational fanaticism, but it gives much consideration to the clinging to Orthodox principles as a necessary condition in improving religious life and of creating fraternal bonds with all the Christian Churches.

6. The movement contributes to the whole ecumenical Christian movement, and it is a part of the whole Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church.

The movement has five thousand followers of both sexes all over Syria and Lebanon. The focus of activity is centered in Beirut, Tripoli and Latakia. The movement is divided into centers and branches. An intensive program of study is required of every group. The program is set up by a religious education committee. Many social and other activities are involved. Every center is directed by various committees, headed by the President of the Center. A general council and a general secretary direct the whole administration of the movement.

The contribution of the movement to the Church is great. It has inspired quite a few members to join the holy priesthood. A convent for young women is now a reality. Pamphlets and books for Sunday School use are available in large quantities. Schools of all kinds were built and are directed by the members of the movement. A monthly review is issued on a very high level; theological and educational subjects are treated besides many other subjects. A revival of Church music is seen. Choirs are formed everywhere, in every city and in every village. A new Orthodox culture has been formed.

Bishop Romanos Hannat Interviewed in an-Nahar

 Arabic original here.

Greek Orthodox Patriarchal Vicar to an-Nahar: It is the duty of the state to protect Christians and I do not take back my words.

Bishop Romanos Hannat, patriarchal vicar of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and all the East, stated that Syrian Christians want the Syrian state to bear its responsibility for protecting them and to undertake the necessary measures for this, explaining that "we do not want and are not seeking outside reassurances."

Speaking with an-Nahar in Damascus, he said that, "Our hand is always extended to participate with all elements of society to build up Syria, and this has not happened yet."

Here is the text of the discussion:

Sayyidna, are you happy with the results of the investigations being conducted by the Interior Ministry about the suicide bombing that bloodied the Church of Mar Elias?

We have not yet officially seen the investigations that took place and we have not received any report from the Interior Ministry because until now there has not been any communication with them. We have only received the news that is circulating on social media which everyone has seen.

Have you received and guarantees or reassurances that Christians will be protected and be able to worship freely?

In his speech, His Beatitude [Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East John X Yazigi] pointedly stated in all simplicity that this is the duty of the state. We do not want and are not seeking outside reassurances because we have a state and when we say that the state bears responsibility, it means that we do not want any outside reassurances. Rather, we want the Syrian state to take the necessary measures. As you have heard, the authorities have started taking measures and it may take some time. Therefore, we place all responsibility in the hands of the state to take the necessary measures, without looking to the outside world.

You have said on more than one occasion that "our hand is extended to the government." What response have you received?

When His Beatitude says that our hand is outstretched, he means being ready to cooperate. This applies to all public life, with the aim of working to rebuild Syria, which has suffered greatly and has had enough. Our hand is always extended to participate with all elements of society to build up Syria, and this has not happened yet. Syrian society is not one color, but many-colored. To achieve a beautiful painting, all colors must be included, not just black or white, but this has not happened yet. It requires listening, so that we don't reach a stage where some ask why they have been excluded. I am a Syrian just like the other Syrians. The issue is simple.

Sayyidna, a debate erupted on social media over a talk you had with a delegation from the governorate about the number of children that Christian families have. You were accused of marginalizing Muslim victims and some described Patriarch Yazigi's speech as sectarian and inflammatory. How do you respond?

The patriarch was very clear and very transparent in his speech. His speech was that of a father and not of a politician.

His speech was paternal and patriotic, in all simplicity. Reading the speech in its words, it only has this loving, open meaning, while interpreting the speech is a personal matter.

As for the issue of children, it is very simple. Syrian Christian couples have one or two children. If that child is lost, the family has no one to console them, while the family that has ten children and loses one of them still has nine to console them. I hope that no family, large or small, loses a member. This is the essence of what I said and I do not take it back. My words embody humanity in every sense of the word, but how others interpret the issue is none of my business. I respect the opinions of everyone. Others need to respect our opinion. I was saying this while there were victims on the ground in front of me. I was walking over pieces of flesh and human remains. I lived through it and we picked up human remains with our own hands. We pray that God will have mercy on those martyrs who offered their life for the sake of man, for the sake of Christians throughout the world, and for the sake of every person who desires to live in simplicity, calm and peace. This is what we hope the state will undertake to achieve, and we have full confidence.

What message do you address to Syrians in general and Christians in particular?

I do not wish to address my words to the Christian community. I address my words to Syrians. I only wish to speak as a Syrian person. Every person is free in his belief. Brothers in a single house do not all bear the same name. Each one has his own existence and his own importance. My message is to all Syrians and I speak as a Syrian: let's dispense with particular discourse and let all our discourse be national, for we exist in this country as Syrians. Let us all be brothers. Nations are not built without a national discourse.

Met Silouan (Muci)'s Condolance Letter to Patriarch John X

 Arabic original here.

 

Brumana, June 23, 2025

His Beatitude the Honorable Patriarch John X,

Their Eminences the Honorable Metropolitans and Bishops in our Antiochian Church,

Christ is risen! Indeed He is risen!

On behalf of myself, of my predecessor His Eminence Metropolitan Georges (Khodr), and of the clergy and members of the archdiocese, I offer condolences to our father and Patriarch John X for the martyrs of the Church of Saint Elias, Dweilaa (Damascus), who offered themselves as a sacrifice with the bloodless sacrifice in which they came to partake. The One who offers it joined with them, unbeknownst to those who intended to harm, terrorize and intimidate.

In this way, the Conqueror of death shared with us His victory over every form of death that surrounds us, which seeks to catch us in its clutches to kill within us all our faith in Him before rending our bodies on altars other than the one He chose for our sanctification.

The affliction is painful, no doubt. But the consolation of the Holy Lamb is even greater because He was pleased to bear us in it and endure it, as at the time of His salvific Passion, to repel its deadly poison from us and to give us life by His grace, which can raise us up in this affliction as ones faithful to Him in bearing it and remaining steadfast in it. Our souls are consoled by the faith of our steadfast families, their zealous children and their dedicated pastors. They are the crown of our Church placed upon her wounds on accoutn of her faith in Christ.

As I greet your fatherhood and brotherhood in Christ, and am consoled by your patience, I join my prayer to your prayer so that the crown of glory may be added to the martyrs of our Church, that the hearts of their families may be comforted, and that those afflicted may find wellness and healing, recalling the words of the Good Shepherd, who redeems our sins and transgressions by His precious blood, “Be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world.”

May the Lord shower upon all His grace, by which He honored the saints of our Antiochian Church who welcomed their brothers yesterday in the heavenly mansions, on the day we celebrate their common feast.

Asking for your prayers,

+Silouan

Metropolitan of Jbeil, Batroun and their Dependencies (Mount Lebanon)

 

Jad Ganem- Victims of Terrorism: Has the Time Come for the Church to Recognize their Sainthood?

 Arabic original here.

 

Victims of Terrorism: Has the Time Come for the Church to Recognize their Sainthood?

On Sunday, June 22, 2025, as the Greek Orthodox Church of Mar Elias in Dweilaa, Damascus welcomed its congregation during the evening Divine Liturgy, a terrifying scene interrupted the prayers: a suicide bomber blew himself up inside the church and the criminals accompanying him opened fire on the faithful in the house of God.

The scene is not new to the Christians of Antioch and All the East. This sort of bloodthirsty targeting has become a tragic part of their reality, recurring time and again, and with each recurrence there come canned statements of international condemnation which fail to prevent death, preserve life, or deter aggressors.

But what is more painful than the crime itself is that the martyrs are generally buried amidst official silence, without explicit recognition of their martyrdom by the Church. The churches hesitate, refrain and avoid declaring the sainthood of these martyrs. They avoid describing their martyrdom as it really is: dying for the sake of the faith, being systematically targeted because of their Christian identity, in an atmosphere of rampant religious terrorism.

This hesitancy might be due to fear of further violence, out of a desire to preserve a fragile “coexistence,” or out of complex political concerns. But, before this blood spilled on the altar of prayer, there is no place for courtesy or ambiguity. The blood of the innocent, which has been mixed with oil, incense and the Eucharist, which has covered icons and walls, allows for no equivocation. It cries out demanding truth, recognition and dignity.

Martyrs, as Metropolitan Georges (Khodr) says, “do not need human testimony. Their blood attests that the Spirit is in them. Through love they have transcended the body of dust and have become pillars of light. God will not judge them on the Last Day. They have passed through judgment into glory. They do not need a human statement to reveal their power. If we declare their sainthood, we only do so out of obedience to the One of whom they are worthy. They are in the company of Christ, as Paul says. They have hope for the highest glory in what Orthodox theology calls paradise. However, only the martyr crosses all the heavens and settles on the thrones of glory. We belong to him as he belongs to Christ.”

Therefore, the Antiochian Church is called today to take a bold and prophetic step. The time has come for the Holy Synod to declare the sainthood of these martyrs and those who preceded them along the same path, and to recognize them as “martyrs of religious extremist terrorism.”

In this context, it is likewise requested of the Christian churches in the Middle East to rise above their differences, having been united by the martyrdom of blood, and to designate a common feast for all the Christian martyrs who have fallen because of religious terrorism throughout the Middle East.

Such a recognition is not intended to stir up resentment or fuel hatred. Rather, it is an act of truth and justice, an expression of loyalty to those who “loved unto death,” and proof that the Church, despite her wounds, still preserves the deposit of the martyrs, repeating with every new generation, “Blood is not forgotten and holiness is not defeated.”

The martyrs who fell in the Church of Mar Elias, like other martyrs, were not killed randomly, but because they were praying in Christ’s name. This alone is enough for us to raise up their icons, to seek their intercession along with the saints, and to cite as examples when the history of the Church is recounted, ever defeating death by faith, defeating hatred and malice by love.