Asad Rustom on the Patriarch Sylvester

Translated from: Asad Rustum, Kanisat Madinat Allah Antakya al-'Uzma [The Church of the Great City of God Antioch], Jounieh: Editions St. Paul (1988), vol. 3, pp. 143-151

While Rustom's account is the most common modern Orthodox treatment of Sylvester's election and career, much research has been done since his wrote it. For the most detailed and up-to-date study of Sylvester, see Mihai Țipău's new book, available free for download here. For Rustom's account of Sylvester's Catholic rival Seraphim/Cyril Tanas, see here.

Sylvester I (1724-1766): Before his death, Athanasius indicated to the Christians in Aleppo to elect as his successor a Cypriot priest called Sylvester, who had first served with him as a deacon and accompanied him on many of his travels to Wallachia, Moldavia and elsewhere, and then left him and enrolled in the clergy of the Church of Constantinople. At that time, Sylvester was living on Mount Athos, practicing asceticism.

Cyril Tanas wrote to the Christians who stood firm in the Orthodox faith to attract them to himself. He also wrote to the bishops of the See of Antioch informing them that he had been installed as their patriarch. He asked them to recognize him, submit to him, and commemorate him, threatening those who resist him with deposition, but the bishops did not respond. Before his letters reached them, they and the laity had written to the Holy Synod of Constantinople, presided over by Patriarch Paisius, informing them about the death of the Patriarch Athanasius and about the activities of Cyril Tanas, the way in which he had been consecrated, and his forcible entry into and occupation of the patriarch's residence in Damascus. They asked the synod for fraternal help on account of its moral influence with the Ottoman state, informing them that they had elected Sylvester as patriarch and that they wished for him to be recalled from Mount Athos and be consecrated as a bishop so that he could occupy the Apostolic See of Antioch. In doing this, the Antiochian Christians aimed to obtain someone who had both experience and moral influence and could come to the Church of Antioch with a berat from the sultan and an injunction that would help him to curb the heretics and defend the Orthodox faith, and so be able to strengthen Orthodoxy, put and end to the quarrel among Antioch's Christians, and work to unify their hearts.

When these letters arrived at the Holy Synod of Constantinople, it wrote to Mount Athos, summoning Sylvester, and elevated him to the episcopacy on September 27, 1724. He was issued with a berat from the sultan and orders for the deposition of Cyril Tanas and the arrest of Abu Tawq, the governor of Damascus who had pledged to request the issue of a berat from the sultan for Cyril. News of Sylvester and the berat and orders that he held spread and Cyril fled, taking with him vestments, miters, crosses, chalices, patens, and all the rest of the holy vessels that Macarius had brought from Russia, and taking refuge in Mount Lebanon, residing in Deir al-Mukhalles.

Kyr Sylvester was a virtuous man who had spent a long time in the sketes of Mount Athos and because of his estrangement from the world, he was simple, light-hearted and docile. At the same time, however, he was strongly attached to tradition. He was unwavering and would not deviate from it.

When he arrived in Aleppo, he was informed of what Seraphim [that is, Cyril Tanas] had done, so he hurried to Damascus and stayed there for two months. The people of the city, including Cyril Tanas' supporters, welcomed him. He then went on pilgrimage and after a year and a half he returned to the region of Aleppo. When he reached Khan Tuman, the Orthodox notables went out to receive him and they prepared for him there an elegant dinner with fish, even though it was Wednesday, in accordance with the permission they had received from the previous patriarch, Athanasius. When Sylvester saw the fish, he kicked over the table, excommunicated the Aleppans, left the notables and went immediately to the patriarchal residence in Aleppo. The Aleppans tried to mollify the patriarch, but he did not pardon them. Instead, he stood up in the church on Sunday and excommunicated anyone who would dare in the future to eat fish on Wednesday or Friday. He did not limit himself to this, but also scorned the elites of Aleppo and complained to the governor about those among them who were partisans of papism and they were placed in jail and not released until they had incurred serious costs. They were angered and sought to imprison the patriarch. Sylvester learned of this from the English consul and secretly fled to Lattakia, from there going by sea to Constantinople.

The Aleppans complained about their situation to the Holy Synod of Constantinople, claiming that Sylvester had beaten priests and handed elites over the the authorities, exposed the people's wealth to fines and confiscation, and threatened people with banishment and execution,"accusing them of being of the religion of the Franks," and stating that they had driven him off and could not accept him in their place. Sylvester himself went to Constantinople and complained, in turn, about the Aleppans. The Holy Synod advised him to be gentle, lenient and to practice persuasion and love, and it send a bishop named Gregory as vicar of Patriarch Sylvester, ordering him to commemorate Sylvester. The Aleppans welcomed him and returned to the Church, morning and evening, not revealing their opinions.

In 1725, the Holy Synod of Constantinople, with the agreement of the Patriarch Sylvester, issued a pastoral encyclical addressed to the Christians of the Churches of Antioch and Jerusalem, urging them to stay away from novel, Western teachings that do not conform to the teachings of the Ecumenical Councils and the Holy Fathers, excommunicating those who disobey.

Gregory remained in Aleppo for two years. Then he grew weary of residing there because it was not his diocese, so he took leave of the Aleppans, said farewell to them and went back to Constantinople. The Aleppans wrote to the Holy Synod of Constantinople about this and requested that their legitimate bishop, Gerasimus, be pardoned and returned to them. The synod agreed and brought him out of exile, after him having been there for five and a half years, commanding him to be on good behavior among them and to commemorate the Patriarch Sylvester. He accepted the command and feigned obedience. When he arrived in Aleppo, the Aleppans received him well and honored him. He pretended to do what the Holy Synod of Constantinople commanded him and he commemorated the Patriarch Sylvester at the liturgy. The Aleppans led the church in both directions, with each having his own opinion. However, the Frankish monks did not cease to extol to them obedience and submission to Rome and to sharpen their intention to do this, indeed, pressing and driving them to do so. Gerasimus kept silent about these activities because he was secretly Catholic while pretending the opposite out of fear of having to go back into exile.

Sylvester in the Lands of the Christians: Upon his arrival in Constantinople, Sylvester worked hard to bring the Aleppans back to obedience and spent large sums on this. When he did not achieve success, he returned to his see, passing through Erzurum collecting alms. He then arrived in Damscus in 1731, spending some time there with peace prevailing. Then the Frankish monks provoked a conflict between the two sides, with both accumulating debts, and the situation deteriorated. When he saw that there was no way to put an end to the evils, he left Damascus on a pastoral tour. He then returned, named a capable and influential layman, Mikhail Touma, as his vicar and headed for Constantinople. After giving a report to the patriarch of Constantinople and his synod, he left for Wallachia and Moldavia in order to collect donations to repay the debts. It is said that his absence lasted for almost ten years, during which time Sylvester established a monastery in Moldavia [in fact, Wallachia] named for Saint Spyridon the Wonderworker, which was given as an endowment to the Patriarchate of Antioch.

In 1747, he printed in Arabic in Bucharest a collection of texts composed at the two synods in Constantinople regarding the appearance of Catholicism among the ranks of the Antiochian Christians, one in late 1724 under the Patriarch Jeremiah and the other in 1727, under the Patriarch Paisius. This collection also contained five articles in Arabic giving Orthodox refutations of the five innovations of the Latins. After this was the document The Holy Eastern Church of Christ. In total, it contains seventeen parts. [...].

Cyril and Damascus: As for Cyril Tanas, after he left Damascus and took refuge in Lebanon, he resided in Deir al-Mukhalles, making great efforts to pressure the Orthodox in the coastal dioceses and inciting them to renounce obedience to their canonical leaders. During Sylvester's absence, which lasted a long time, he worked skillfully with some of the people of Aleppo and the Frankish monks to compose petitions from some of the people and to send letters from the consuls of France and Austria in Aleppo and Sidon to their ambassadors in the capital to help him to obtain a berat from the sultan. He spent significant sums to prepare other petitions, in which the Damascenens complained about their patriarch's long absence and explained that they needed a patriarch who could manage their religious affairs, at the same time expressing their satisfaction with Cyril Tanas and requesting him as their patriarch. The French ambassador and the papal nuncio in the capital offered four thousand Roman riyals to the defterdar and obtained the desired berat in 1745, sending it to the French consul in Sidon. Cyril received it and dispatched a representative to Damascus, who was able to gain possession of the church and to arrange for Mikhail Touma and some of the notables to be imprisoned.Then Cyril himself went up to Damascus, sealed his berat at the sharia court and took possession of his see. Dimitri Shehadeh, reporting from his grandmother, the daughter of the priest Mikhail Breik, that upon Cyril's return to Damascus the unrest increased, and whenever he recited the Creed with the addition "and the Son" staffs would appear and the beating would start. Cyril wrote to the metropolitans, informing them of the arrival of the berat and requesting their obedience. The bishops rejected his command and wrote to Ecumenical Patriarch Paisius about the affair of Cyril Tanas, requesting that he quickly write to Sylvester and urge him to hurry back to his see. The patriarch of Constantinople acted quickly and urged Sylvester to hurry. Along with Patriarch Parthenius of Jerusalem and thirteen metropolitans, he sent a petition to the sultan in which they explained the misdeeds of Cyril Tanas, who claimed that he was an Orthodox patriarch while being of the religion of the Franks, and testified that the canonical patriarch was alive and in possession of a berat from the sultan.

Cyril Returns to Deir al-Mukhalles: When the Ottoman government realized the aims of Cyril Tanas and the French and papal ambassadors, it issued Sylvester a second berat and a firman ordering that Cyril Tanas be arrested and sent into exile. Sylvester sent the order from the Sublime Porte informing the government and Christians in Damascus about the issue of the decrees cancelling Cyril's patriarchate and turning the cathedral and patriarchal residence over to the Orthodox. He then appointed Nicophorus, the metropolitan of Bayas, as his vicar, authorized to undertake all legal activities. He sent with him the firman and the papers containing the indicated orders. This vicar went to Damascus one year after these orders were issued and he was finely received by the governor of Damascus, As'ad Basha, who helped him to undertake all measures to strengthen his position.

Sylvester in Damascus (1754-1766): Sylvester spent twelve years in Damascus, during which the quarrels between him and the papists ended, because he realized that the fight was causing enormous material losses for both parties. He was not the sort of person to attract flocks through moral means, such as guidance, preaching, and true Christian love, which eliminates hatred and jealousy and elevates the Church to a level befitting her. Those who took the side of the Catholics in those times had priests who served them in their homes or in the churches of the Latins or other Catholic sects, but their weddings, baptisms and funerals in cities and Orthodox areas were performed by Orthodox priests and the fees for them were paid to the Orthodox authorities.

At the end of his life, Sylvester made holy chrism in the Church of St Nicholas in Damascus with two bishops, seventeen priests and ten deacons. He went to the mercy of his Lord on May 13, 1766 and was buried at the tomb of the patriarchs on the hill of Saint George.

Asad Rustom on the Election of the Catholic Patriarch Cyril Tanas

Translated from: Asad Rustum, Kanisat Madinat Allah Antakya al-'Uzma [The Church of the Great City of God Antioch], Jounieh: Editions St. Paul (1988), vol. 3, pp. 1141-143

While the main modern Orthodox treatment of the subject, Rustom's account is less detailed than one might hope and largely reliant on Catholic secondary sources, particularly Constantine Basha's history of the Salvatorian Order. For purposes of comparison, it is useful to take a look at the following modern Catholic sources:

Wilhelm de Vries

Dom C.L. Spiessens, who concludes that Cyril Tanas was never validly consecrated as a bishop.

Serge Descy, who somewhat more cautiously concurs with Spiessens.

 

The Catholic Patriarch Cyril Tanas (1724)

After the death of Athanasius IV [in modern reckoning, III], those who had broken away grew in strength and took the opportunity to strengthen their position in the See and reinforce themselves under the leadership of Seraphim Tanas, nephew of Euthymius Sayfi. Seraphim was born in Damascus around 1680 and was raised by his uncle Euthymius. He traveled to Rome in 1702 to receive education there. He then returned to Sidon, the center of his uncle's diocese, in 1710. His uncle ordained him to the priesthood and worked to guide him. He traveled around preaching and advocating for Rome in the dioceses of the See of Antioch. A group of people in Acre nominated him as their bishop, but the patriarch of Jerusalem was opposed and he was not consecrated. Then the people of the Diocese of Tyre and Sidon nominated him to succeed his uncle. He went to Aleppo bearing the petitions for his nomination, seeking to be consecrated by the Patriarch Athanasius. The latter refused to consecrate him since his submission to Rome was widely-known and he was openly declaring the necessity for union. When Athanasius died, the separatists in Damascus, numbering 328, decided to nominate Seraphim for the patriarchal see and they wrote a petition, signed it and brought it to the temporal authorities in Damascus. They said:

"Petition after the necessary supplication, in the hands of the guardians of blessings and masters of sword and pen, the sublime State, may God almighty make its rule endure forever and extend it through victory with the support of their servants and subjects, the dhimmi Christians living in the God-protected city of Damascus of the Rum community, who pray for this sublime State to remain forever, whose names are signed below, that they have accepted, are pleased with, and have chosen the teacher Cyril to be patriarch over them, to rule, to be obeyed, governing them according to the accepted canons and directing their affairs with recognized governance according to the precedent of previous patriarchs in the manner agreed among them. He is therefore worthy to lead them and of the patriarchate that they require. They request that by its mercies and kindnesses the sublime State will install this gentleman in the Patriarchate of Antioch in Damascus, granting the request of the elites and the common people. May God strengthen the foundations of this sublime State over the course of the nights and days, until the day and hour of the Resurrection and the supplication is lasting."

They presented the petition to the pasha and delegated him to request a berat from the sultan for this, paying him what needed to be paid. Then the bishops of the Church of Antioch discussed the matter of the consecration. The bishops refused. None of them went to Damascus, apart from Neophytus, the bishop of Saydnaya. The Damascenes summoned Basil Finan from Dayr al-Mukhallis. Upon his arrival, he consecrated, along with Neophytus, the priest Euthymius Fadel as bishop of Furzul so that there could be three bishops to consecrate the patriarch. There is no hiding the departure from holy tradition in this act. The episcopacy of Basil was fundamentally uncanonical due to the interference of the Emir Haydar in it [about which, see here], his pressuring and forcibly summoning Metropolitan Neophytus of Beirut, and the participation of a Maronite bishop and an Armenian bishop in the consecration. It is also an obvious violation of the traditions that Neophytus of Saydnaya and Basilius of Dayr al-Mukhallis proceeded to consecrate a third bishop unilaterally. The consecration of Ignatius of Tyre and Sidon cannot be regarded as such a deviation because Patriarch Athanasius had agreed to his consecration with the participation of the two Neophyti. But where is the patriarch who agreed to the consecration of Euthymius for Furzul?

Euthymius was consecrated on September 14 as bishop of Furzul. On the twentieth of the same month, the three bishops consecrated the priest Seraphim as bishop with the name Cyril, then installed him as patriarch. Rome did not reject him on account of this deviation and departure from the holy apostolic canons and Pope Benedict XII issued an apostolic berat on March 15, 1729 in which he confirmed Cyril Tanas as patriarch of Antioch, sending him a pallium after having placed it on the relics of Saint Peter as a symbol of deriving authority from him.

Cyril Tanas laid claim to the patriarchal center in Damascus and was seated on the throne of the cathedral, "lifting up verses of thanksgiving to God for this. It was then heard for the first time 'I believe that the Roman Supreme Pontif is the vicar of Christ the Lord and head of the entire Church and I believe that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.'" [This quotation is from a Capuchin friar writing from Damascus at that time]. In the history of Mikhail Breik, it says "then they declared the five things [which distinguish Catholicism from Orthodoxy], the Franks entered the church, the community of the Rum was humiliated, debates proliferated, the strife intensified, injustices and loss proliferated, and a group of Muslim servants of the ruler entered the sanctuary with smoking torches while the patriarch was performing the liturgy and they talked with him..."

Cyril consecrated the priest Methodius al-Halabi as bishop for the patriarchal cell and entrusted him with management of the diocese of Damascus for his help in the affair.

Asad Rustom on Patriarch Athanasius III Dabbas (II)

Translated from: Asad Rustum, Kanisat Madinat Allah Antakya al-'Uzma [The Church of the Great City of God Antioch], Jounieh: Editions St. Paul (1988), vol. 3, pp. 135-141

 Part I here.

Athanasius and Euthymius

Patriarch Athanasius considered Euthymius to be excommunicated and announced this in the dioceses of the See of Antioch. He requested a firman from the sultan for the exile of Euthymius and a messenger of the sultan brought this firman to the governors. Euthymius, his nephew the priest Seraphim Tanas, his brother or cousin Mansur al-Sayfi, the priest Khalil Khabiyya, the priest Elias Faraoun, the priest Farajallah Nasr, and the priest Sulayman Salem were arrested, put in chains, and placed in the prison in the citadel of Sidon in preparation for their exile to Adana. A Greek bishop came bringing three orders from the sultan ordering that the see and its possessions be seized and all who recognize Rome's authority be punished. This Greek bishop visited Euthymius in prison and discussed with him his returning to the Church, but he refused. Euthymius was friends with the governor of Sidon, Uthman Pasha Abu Tawq, and he got in touch with him. He sent his men to discuss with the prisoners their paying a ransom for their liberty. When he received what he wanted from them, he testified to Euthymius' good condition and requested a pardon from the capital. He then released the prisoners after they had spent around three months in the prison. Euthymius feared that his fortunes might once again reverse after his friend Uthman Pasha was exiled in late 1722, so he requested a legal ruling from the qadi of Sidon affirming the inquest into his case and the issue of the pardon, which happened around June 19, 1723. Euthymius then made a pastoral tour, visiting Tyre, Sidon and Baalbek. He then went up to Damascus, where he was seized by exhaustion, since he was over eighty years old, and he died there in late November, 1723 and was buried in the hill cemetery. In 1926, some workers working at the cemetery came across Euthymius' gravestone and some monks took it secretly from the cemetery to the train station in Damascus. The police chief informed Patriarch Gregorius of blessed memory of this and he said, "They have more right to it than we do because he was the first Catholic bishop." So the gravestone was taken to Dayr al-Mukhallis.

Athanasius and Aleppo

After he gained sole possession of the patriarchate, Athanasius went to Wallachia and Moldavia to collect funds for the See of Antioch. He then returned to Constantinople and from there to Aleppo. He resided in that city for a time because he felt that its atmosphere was better for his health. Perhaps he wanted for his de facto center to be in the largest Orthodox environment. Perhaps he also disliked staying in Damascus due to the severe unrest among Orthodox circles inclined toward Rome.

The Aleppans had been demanding the consecration of a bishop for them since 1720, so Athanasius took the opportunity of the vacant see there and decided what would ensure love and peace. On July 27 of that year, he issued a patriarchal decree calling for the composition of a community council made up of twelve notables designating all income from tithes, candle sales, what is collected in the poor box, and two thirds of the income from liturgies and funerals to be handed over to the council which could dispense of it as it saw fit. It would insure the pateomai, the payment of judges, the monopoly of the churches, payment to the poor, the monasteries, the sacristans, etc. The patriarch designated income from betrothals and weddings, half the income from feasts, and a third of the income from liturgies and funerals to the bishop, in addition to the possessions of the epitrachelion. As for the nuriya tithe, it remained with the reigning patriarch, whoever he might be.

Athanasius spent twenty-one months in Damascus (1720-1721) and then he installed the priest Jirjis al-Balamandi as his vicar there and went to Aleppo, arriving on the Feast of the Apostles, June 29, 1721. Upon his arrival, the people demanded a bishop, desiring that he name the Shuwayrite Theodorus al-Hanawi. The patriarch was not pleased with this because Theodorus' inclination toward the Catholics was well-known. Then they asked for a bishop from among the people of their country, so he gave them a choice between the priest Jirjis al-Shadudi, the priest Niqula al-Sayegh, and the priest Gerasimus (Jirjis al-Balamandi). They chose Gerasimus and he came immediately, "because he was bitter with the people of Damascus because they hated his teacher" [quoted from the History of the Shuwayrite Order]. The patriarch consecrated Gerasimus as bishop of Aleppo in the evening after the Feast of the Nativity and issued the following statement:

"Blessing and grace. When necessity demanded the installation of a bishop for the city of Aleppo, since we were required to govern the Holy Apostolic See of Antioch, and since the way of the Church requires the election of a bishop to be with the consent of the patriarch and by the choice of the priests and the rest of the flock, we have seen that the opinion of the flock is divided to the point of causing disorder, and the matter of their choice has come down to four individuals and their consensus has not settled on any one. We have examined two out of the four and determined that they do not accept to advance to this lofty rank, citing its overwhelming duties. As for the third, it is unknown whether he is competent and it is not clear whether he would be pleased with its demands.

We asked God to make the choice and we have chosen for this rank and lordly task our spiritual son the priest Jirjis al-Balamandi, given that he is competent for it in terms of his biography, his good conduct and blamelessness. Therefore, we have issued this document to announce our election of the aforementioned and our pleasure with him, so that everyone in the flock who has relied on our decision may sign it to confirm what God has inspired in us since the community of Aleppo, as our special children, have requested that we reside among them to govern their affairs and to demonstrate our love for them so long as we remain alive. If necessity demands that we govern others, then we will go and perform this duty and then return to them, for we have seen that responding to their request with paternal love is necessary and acceptable, so we have responded to their desirable request as hoped for. They have accepted this agreement and decision in this manner, on the basis that this statement is confirmed with deeds and is relied upon."

After Gerasimus was elevated to the episcopacy, he refused to go to Damascus as patriarchal vicar and so there were hard feelings between them. Among the Aleppans there was a large segment that had strayed from Orthodoxy and when they saw what happened between Athanasius and Gerasimus they fled from the former on account of his efforts to combat them and rallied to Gerasimus and inclined him towards them. When the patriarch saw this, he sent Gerasimus away from Aleppo and excommunicated Abdallah Zakher. Gerasimus left Aleppo and lived for a time at Balamand Monastery, then the Monastery of Our Lady in Ra's Baalbek, then in Baalbek itself. Gerasimus remained exiled until July 1724, when the patriarch pardoned him and returned him to his see.

Athanasius and Damascus

Athanasius resolved to combat the Catholics in Damascus and publicly declared that. On December 14, 1722 he wrote to Leontius, the metropolitan of Hama and his vicar in Damascus, to bring together the priests, deacons and notables, to talk to them about what had happened, and to command them to hold firmly to the Orthodox traditions without addition or subtraction, and to write a report about this explaining the situation to the patriarch of Constantinople and all the metropolitans. He commanded Leontius to make the Damascenes understand that their patriarch follows the Eastern Church and the Seven Holy Councils and that he believes in everything they said, the canons they defined, and all the rituals, arrangements, fasts and prayers. If they accept this opinion and give their signatures to it, then he would continue as he was and continue his care for them. And if they do not accept, then Leontius can only inform the patriarch of this so that he may remove his hand and leave them "to work out their salvation." If they obey, then he would be pleased with them, but he binds the priest, Khalil Khabiyya, the priest Abdalmasih Zibal, the priest Yuhanna Khibiyya and the priest Niqula Sayur, and if they do not keep this patriarchal injunction, then they fall into excommunication by the word of the Lord, as do their partisans.

The Synod of Dayr al-Mukhallis

Euthymius Sayfi died on November 27 according to the Julian calendar, 1723. The Rum Catholic priests gathered at Dayr al-Mukhallis, along with important people and notables, and they discussed the issue of a successor who would take up leadership of the Rum Catholics. They asked the priest Seraphim, Euphymius' nephew, to succeed his uncle, but he refused because the Christians of Sidon were still discussing with Patriarch Athanasius about Seraphim's consecration as metropolitan of Sidon. Eyes turned to the priest Gabriel Finan, and he said, "This matter is not in my hands." They said to him, "Be silent and accept the rank and we will do our job." He accepted and those gathered petitioned the Emir Haydar, ruler of Mount Lebanon, to summon three bishops to consecrate Gabriel. "So the emir brought them three bishops who were under his rule: the metropolitan [Neophytus] of Beirut of the Byzantine rite, the Maronite bishop Elias, and the Armenian bishop Abram" [here Rustom is quoting Constantine Basha's History of the Melkite Community] and they consecrated Gabriel as bishop of Banyas and called him "Basil". Basil resided in Dayr al-Mukhallis, directing its affairs. On March 2, 1724, he wrote to the Propaganda Fide, explaining his situation requesting "dispensation from the Apostolic See" because Neophytus was not Catholic!

Ignatius, Metropolitan of Tyre and Sidon (1724)

Athanasius was not pleased with the consecration of Basil and he did not trust Seraphim because of his fierce impulse toward Catholicism and boldness in declaring it. He still hoped that matters could be resolved and the lost sheep could be returned to the flock. He took a moderate position in the consecration of a successor for Euthymius in Tyre and Sidon and agreed to the nomination of the priest Ignatius al-Bayruti. The latter was one of Euthymius' disciples and was his representative during his absence, but he was "humble and gentle." Athanasius summoned him to Aleppo and he asked Metropolitan Neophytus of Beirut and Metropolitan Neophytus of Saydnaya to handle the matter of his consecration, permitting them to perform it themselves due to the lack of a third bishop. He said in his decree that he was acting according to Apostolic Canon 20 and Canon 27 of Saint Clement, disciple of Saint Peter.

The Death of Athanasius (1724)

Athanasius grew old, going beyond seventy-five years. He suffered from a malady of the bladder and died on July 24, 1724. He was buried in a grave prepared for him in the church of Aleppo. The priest Mikhail Breik states that he was poisoned. It is stated in the history of the Shuwayrite Monks that he celebrated the divine liturgy early in the month of July and said at the end, "Someone [i.e., Abdallah Zakher] has written a book against our council, so let them and those who read their book be excommunicated," and as he was removing his vestments he was struck with a pain and became bedridden.

In Germanus Farhat's History of Heresies, he states that when the hour of the patriarch's death drew close, the Jesuit priest Fromage came to him and started talking about the mystery of confession, but he refused to confess with him and said "I have already confessed." Germanus adds that the patriarch confessed to the Orthodox priest Butrus al-Ashqar, abbot of the Monastery of Saint George Humayra and that he died Orthodox. In the history of the Shuwayrite Monks it says that Athanasius remained insistent "on his schism" until death. Fr Joseph de Reilly, abbot of the Capuchin monastery in Aleppo, states that on July 27 according to the Western calendar he went to visit Athanasius, patriarch of the Rum and that he did not hide from him his fear of the inevitable drawing near, and he renounced the decisions of the Council of Constantinople, that he only knew one church, the Church of Rome, that he would die in this faith and belief, apart from the customs of the ritual that do not affect the religion, that he accepted all the ecumenical councils, especially the Council of Florence, and that he pardoned Abdallah Zakher before his death. The anonymous author of the History of the Birth of the Community known as Rum Catholic, which was composed around 1820, states, "The Catholics claim that Athanasius died in their confession and this statement is widespread among them and their partisans, since it is well known that it is the custom of those people that if one of them or of us [i.e., the Orthodox] who is known for piety and goodness dies, they say that he died in their belief, even if that is falsehood and slander, and that there is no sin or shame for them in this!"

We think that the testimony of Metropolitan Germanus Farhat is the most trustworthy. He was a Maronite bishop subject to Rome and a friend and companion of Athanasius who had no ulterior motive in what he recounted and the historian of the Shuwayrite Order does not contradict him about this. There is no middle way in this matter, what is true in mathematics is true here.

Asad Rustom on Patriarch Athanasius III Dabbas (I)

Translated from: Asad Rustum, Kanisat Madinat Allah Antakya al-'Uzma [The Church of the Great City of God Antioch], Jounieh: Editions St. Paul (1988), vol. 3, pp. 130-135.

 For more information about Athanasius Dabbas' printing activities in Romania, see this excellent open-access monograph, published this year.

Athanasius IV (1720) [III in modern reckoning]

 Cyril III grew old, he developed an ulcer on his leg and the ulcer burst. As his death approached, he conveyed his will. The priest Abd al-Masih, who was one of those who confessed Catholicism, came to him and asked him if he wanted to confess. The patriarch responded, "What have I done? I have not killed. I have not fornicated. I have not stolen. Read a prayer." [For this Rustom cites a letter by Euthymius Sayfi to Pope Clement XI, which apparently was meant to explain why Cyril refused Catholic last rites.] On Wednesday, January 5, 1720, God chose for him to meet his fate, his soul departed and he was buried on Theophany in the tomb of the patriarchs on the Hill of St George. "The period of his reign was forty-seven years, six months, and four days." [This text is inscribed on a wall at the cathedral in Damascus.]

Euthymius was in Damascus at that time. His supporters gathered around him and wanted to declare him patriarch, seeking the support of Euthymius' friend, Uthman Pasha Abu Tawq. They intended to seize the patriarchate by force, but the Latin missionaries Frs Thomas de Campaya and Pierre Fromage opposed them because he was excommunicated by the patriarchs and that he had changed the liturgy and services and abolished the order of the Church, explaining that "He wants to abolish the hot water from the liturgy and require you to eat fish. He feeds meat to your monks in order to denigrate your Church!" Instead, they supported Athanasius because he had previously been installed as patriarch. Euthymius had requested five hundred qurush that he had paid Cyril on the occasion of his having consecrated a metropolitan for Tyre and Sidon, and he was given one hundred gold pieces, sixteen church books and other things. Then Euthymius went to the church and proclaimed the name of Athanasius, saying, "Be at ease in heart and mind."

As for Athanasius, after the reconciliation that took place in 1694 he settled in Aleppo and managed his flock in the best way. "He forbade them from what is not allowed and confirmed among them what should be confirmed, cutting off the causes of evil and establishing the causes of good." The Christians of various confessions loved him and were inclined toward him "because he had a wise and abundant intellect" [both quotes are from the contemporary Maronite metropolitan of Aleppo, Germanus Farhat]. He poured over the books of the fathers, conforming himself to the best path. He was in contact with Constantinople and traveled to Wallachia and Moldavia seeking alms. When Cyril died, a large group of the Christians of Damascus called for Athanasius as patriarch, writing about this to the notables of the community in Aleppo. Athanasius was absent from there, traveling in Wallachia, and Ni'ma ibn al-Khuri Tuma al-Halabi replied in the name of the notables of Aleppo with an ambiguous letter, which he included in his book Rakib al-Tariq li-man Yarda bi-Taqlid al-Talfiq. Here is the most important part:

"With regard to your letters sent by our hand, we send them to His Holiness along with the letters for Islambul. In the case that they arrive, we have taken the care that we should and we have announced the publication of particular and general letters and have put them all in one envelope [...] We have confirmed to His Holiness that he is to be present in Islambul at the appointed time to conduct his business as he desires."

The Council of Constantinople (1722)

Athanasius returned from Wallachia and reached Damascus in early August 1720. Cyril had left all his belongings to the Patriarchal See and when Athanasius settled the matter and found that most of them had disappeared, he was greatly enraged. His rage only increased when he became aware of the activity of the Frankish monks and their intervention into the affairs of the Church.

Since Athanasius' material means did not help him to combat the Frankish monks using their weapons, he raised the matter with the Ecumenical Patriarchate. He then traveled to Constantinople himself and took great pains to hold a council to examine what must be done to deal with this issue. This council was held in late 1722 in Constantinople, presided by Ecumenical Patriarch Jeremiah and with the participation of Patriarchs Athanasius of Antioch and Chrysanthus of Jerusalem and twelve metropolitans. This council condemned non-Orthodox teachings, especially those pertaining to primacy, infallibility, procession from the Son, azymes, the fire of Purgatory, the beatitude of the saints, strangled meat, fasting on Saturday, and the withholding of chrismation and communion from children. The acts of this council were issued in Greek and Arabic and published in Lebanon, Syria and Palestine. Assemani mentions this in part three of the Bibliotheca Orientalis and Vendotis in the addenda to the ecclesiastical history of Meletius.

The Abbreviation of the Apostles' Fast

Cyril III worked with high Orthodox authorities to shorten the Apostles' Fast. When Athanasius acceded to the apostolic throne, he received a synodicon authorizing the lifting of this burden. He issued a pastoral encyclical in which the Apostles' Fast was made to be twelve days according to the number of the Twelve Apostles. This was "in order that he who fasts not judge he who does not fast and he who does not eat not judge he who eats." He explained the five reasons that necessitated this abbreviation: 1) Those who did this fast did so with grumbling. 2) This grumbling led some to blasphemy. 3) Some of the faithful secretly broke the fast. 4) Some where shamelessly eating animal products. 5) Many people in villages and the countryside were leaving Christianity to join the nations [i.e., converting to Islam] because "the season of the year in which the fast falls is devoid of vegetables, fruits and fasting foods, but abundant in milk, yogurt, cheese and eggs, and the people in the countryside do not have any other foods than these. Thus their children leave them and join their non-Christian neighbors and no Christians remain in some villages."

The Liturgikon and the Horologion

While still "former patriarch", Athanasius was concerned with the liturgy and in 1701 in Bucharest he printed The Book of the Three Liturgies in parallel Greek and Arabic columns. For the Greek text, he relied on what had previously been printed in Venice and for the Arabic text he used that of Meletius Karma. The book was of a medium size and 252 pages. On its frontispiece it states the following:

"Book of the Three Divine Liturgies along with other things necessary for Orthodox prayers. Now newly printed in the Greek and Arabic languages through the care and supervision of His Beatitude Kyriokyr Athanasius, former Patriarch of Antioch, at the expense of the Most Glorious Lord, ruler of all the countries of Hungrovlachia, Kyr Kyr Ioan Constantin Basarab, the honorable voivod, under the episcopacy of His Beatitude Theodosius of the aforementioned countries, at the Monastery of the Theotokos, called "Snagov" in the Christian year 1701, by the Hieromonk Anthim, Georgian by origin."

In 1702, this same press published the Horologion in large Arabic script in red and black ink in around seven hundred pages. The troparia and kontakia for major feasts and the feasts of Pentecost and the Triodion are printed in Greek and Arabic in facing columns.

The Rock of Scandal

Athanasius decided to provide the Orthodox with something that would confirm their faith and make it possible for them to respond to the Frankish monks and their followers, so he translated the book of Elias Meniates into Arabic. He entitled it Sakhrat al-Shakk and published it in a printed edition in 1721, distributing it freely to members of the community. In this book, the origin and causes of the schism, the separation of the Western Church from the East, and the major differences between them is explained. This activity provoked Abdallah Zakher, and he responded in a book he entitled al-Tafnid lil-Majma' al-'Anid, which was also abridged. The Jesuit fathers printed it later in Beirut, in 1865. Later, the priest Niqula Sayegh composed a book in defense of Catholicism entitled al-Hisn al-'Azim muqabil al-Majma' al-Athim, of which there are two copies in Dayr al-Mukhallis.

The History of the Patriarchs of Antioch

Athanasius composed a history of the patriarchs of Antioch from the time of the Apostle Peter until the year 1702 in Greek. It was translated into Latin and published in Vienna. He translated a catechism and the Book of the Salvation of the Sage and Ruin of the Sinful World and wrote about the life of Saint John Christodoulos, abbot of the Monastery of the Apostle John the Theologian on Patmos.

Asad Rustom on the Era of Patriarch Cyril al-Za'im (V): The Excommunication of Euthymius Sayfi

 Translated from: Asad Rustum, Kanisat Madinat Allah Antakya al-'Uzma [The Church of the Great City of God Antioch], Jounieh: Editions St. Paul (1988), vol. 3, pp. 125-130. 

Arabic original online here. It's amusing to note that, while the characterization of Euthymius Sayfi's vicious personality in his excommunication might sound over the top, it's not all that different from what the Maronite Metropolitan of Aleppo, Germanus Farhat, as well as some of the Latin missionaries, had to say about him. It's quite hard to overstate how loathed he was by most of his contemporaries outside of the "Salvatorian" monastic order he created.

Part I here.

Part II here.

Part III here.

Part IV here.

 Cyril and Euthymius

Euthymius plunged into Catholicism and refrained from sending the nuriya tithe to the patriarchate, instead offering "saltwater fish or forty wheels of Cypriot cheese." After the death of the metropolitan of Aleppo, he communicated with the Emir Haydar Shihab, asking his permission to attach Beirut and its dependencies to his diocese. He coveted the Archdiocese of Acre and encouraged the Christians in Hawran and Transjordan to enter into obedience to him. The patriarch of Jerusalem complained about him to the other patriarchs, bringing to their attention his "writings and correspondence." They sent these letters to Cyril, requesting that he curb Euthymius and warn him not to infringe upon the eparchy of Jerusalem. The patriarch of Antioch sent all this to Euthymius, asking him to refrain from these actions, but he paid no heed. Euthymius made accommodations in matters of marriage, removing certain restrictions, thus acting contrary to Orthodox law. When the patriarch forbade unlawful marriages, he would permit them. In the history of the patriarchs by Ghattas Qandaloft, he states that Euthymius embezzled funds designated for the patriarch.

The Patriarchs Excommunicate Euthymius (1718)

Euthymius insisted on his position and a synod was convened in Constantinople in the Fall of 1718, under the presidency of Patriarch Jeremiah III of "New Rome" to examine Euthymius' case. It ruled that he violated the law in seven ways: 1) permitting marriage in the fourth degree [i.e., of first cousins]; 2) ordaining people outside of his diocese; 3) abolishing the homilies of John Chrysostom in his church; 4) permitting the eating of fish during the fast; 5) abolishing certain ecclesiastical regulations; 6) abolishing use of zeon in the liturgy; 7) wearing a miter and other things without permission. The patriarchs of Jerusalem and two former Patriarchs of Constantinople, Athanasius and Cyril, also agreed to it. The synod excommunicated Euthymius, expelled him from the ranks of the priesthood and requested a firman for his excommunication. All these decisions were translated into Arabic at the Patriarchate of Jerusalem [however, in the document below copied from the original manuscript, it is stated that the translation was made by Patriarch Cyril himself] and were sent to the See of Antioch with the Greek original.

Upon reviewing the decisions of the synod of Constantinople, Cyril informed Euthymius of its contents and advised him to appease the responsible leaders either in his own person or through an intermediary that he would delegate. Euthymius refused. Cyril remained silent for seven months The leaders blamed him and accused him of complicity, saying "You want to ruin four patriarchates!" The patriarch of Antioch was forced to announce the decisions of the synod of Constantinople in all the dioceses of his patriarchate. Patriarch Cyril transmitted all this to the French consul in Sidon, stating, "But, my dear, if there was a Catholic in your country who was disobedient in matters of religion and he was sentenced to excommunication, they would not be able to excommunicate him until they examined his conscience for obedience, repentance and regret, and in your understanding this is sufficient for the whole affair."

In a letter written by Euthymius himself to the Propaganda Fide in late January 1720, he states that Cyril incited the patriarchs against him and that he relied on the friar Thomas to show his submission before him, so he went to Damascus, kissed the patriarch's hand, and "did obedience to him." So the patriarch blessed him and declared it in Hasbaya, Beirut, and Tripoli and he advised him to leave Sidon and hide in the Chouf.

The Patriarchs' Excommunication:

Jeremiah, Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome, and Ecumenical Patriarch

To the holy Father of Fathers and Chief of Chiefs, Kyr Cyril, Patriarch of the Great City of God Antioch and All the East, and to the God-loving metropolitans and archbishops who are under Your Holiness' obedience, our elect brothers in the Spirit and concelebrants of the divine mysteries, and to the pious priests, our beloved children, the honorable archons and notables and the rest of the Orthodox Christians who are resident in the eparchy of Antioch, our beloved children in the Lord.

Peace and joy to all of you, and the mercy of God, ruler of all, blessing from Our Mediocrity, and may you all obtain full forgiveness, amen.

You know that it is necessary for every person to keep his faith received from our right-worshiping and orthodox fathers intact and unshaken and for you to keep it and tightly preserve it as it was decreed by the law of the holy Apostles and the divine fathers who spoke by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that is, the laws and canons of the Church, and as it is recorded in the holy scriptures.Therefore, we must assiduously preserve our dogma with all effort, free of blemish, fleeing from evil thoughts and and rejecting the enticements of the world. We must keep the Orthodox faith brightly shining with all witness and confirmation, since if a person deviates in his belief and glorifies himself, saying inappropriate, transgressive words, which are statements of heresy and blasphemy about what has been passed down, then these things are all vain. Unheard-of discourse that is heedless of it and contrary to it is meant to destroy people and disturb the heart, since it is said, "Do not change the traditions of the fathers." A disturbed heart has no rest and is a sounding trumpet. One who has such a disturbance is from every perspective acting according to the devil and has departed from reason, with the help and delusion of the hater of truth who always gleefully strives for contrariness and does not strive for those who apply his opinion, but rather always fights against the orthodox and places doubts in them. He is hated, rejected and sent away, along with those who follow his diabolical deeds and he is expelled from the Church of God because the Creator is among the righteous. He who desires to repel from himself demonic delusions, let him ponder within himself and know truth from falsehood. Such a one is crooked, deceitful and quarrelsome, his speech is inappropriate, he condemns others and opposes the truth, he sows his wicked thoughts that no intellect can comprehend.

Such things as these have made his delusion and blasphemy clear to us. This has been confirmed for us from the writings and letters and from trustworthy, honest witnesses and from the writings bearing his name and signature, which were revealed at this holy synod of ours, those of the one who, with God's leave, became the hierarch who is the wretched and wicked Euthymius, metropolitan in name but not in deed of Tyre and Sidon, this deluded liar who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, who harbors falsehood in his heart and in his soul. Now his lies, his delusion which disturbs the flock and rational sheep of Christ, trampling upon them and leading them astray in falsehood and slander, has become evident.

He was not content with that, but he called himself "Orthodox" and advertised that he was steadfast in the belief of the Eastern Church, all in order to trick the pious and perversely lure them into falling. He published his own books, manufacturing testimonies as he wishes and attributing them to the Holy Eastern Orthodox Church. Those who have examined them as is necessary understand them and know their meaning.

Then, a report has reached us also that he composed writings against the all-memorable Kyr Dositheus, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, who was zealous for the Orthodox religion and whose piety, religiousness and knowledge has become famous throughout the inhabited world and whose good reputation has gone out into the whole world, who resembles the Holy Apostles, as is attested by the books he wrote by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and with great toil about Orthodoxy, which he knew very well and taught day and night, preaching it throughout the inhabited world.

This unfortunate person shows himself to have transgressed the holy laws and holds in contempt that they are established according to truth and orthodoxy. He did not understand their meanings as is necessary, but rather leads astray many simple people with little knowledge, in their lack of understanding and coarse minds, who nevertheless pride themselves on their knowledge. They do not know anything and are ignorant of the path that leads to salvation, since it is narrow and not broad. Therefore, they accepted this deluded man's permitting for them things that do not provide benefit. He enters into the sheepfold as a shepherd on the outside, while on the inside he is a rapacious wolf who slaughters and scatters to the extent of his vain ability. He increases in delusion, corruption, falsehood, vanity because he knows that they are simple and illiterate and do not understand anything. He creates innovations and thinks that they are from holy scripture. All of this is because of his haughtiness, vanity and pride.

He says in all his letters 'from the lowly metropolitan', that is, from the unworthy, without understanding that this matter was not given to him, but rather it was given to patriarchs and autocephalous archbishops and not to others, as has been set by the divine teachers.

This was not enough for him, but in his great stupidity and ignorance he trespassed into other eparchies, preaching there without permission or the authorization of the eparch. From this it is clear that he does not act according to the law and it is not appropriate and orderly for hierarchs to step into others' sees without their permission, as is explained in Canon XX of the Holy Quinsext Council, which mentions that it is not fitting for a hierarch to enter or teach in a diocese other than his own. Anyone who dares to do that is cut off from his priesthood.

Also, in Canons XIX and XXIX of the Council of Great Antioch, it explicitly stipulates that every hierarch who performs an ordination outside of his diocese or preaches without the permission of the eparch or without a letter from him, such an ordination is void and the one who was ordained is cut off from all ranks of the priesthood.

Therefore, the words and deeds of this unfortunate Euthymius having been confirmed to us, as well as his deviation and blasphemy against proper worship and against the holy canons, and his impudently and shamelessly abolishing them, since he has transgressed the holy canons because:

1) He permitted marriages of the fourth degree and the marriage of two sisters to two brothers.

2) He ordained people outside of his diocese.

3) He abolished the interpretations of John Chrysostom and said "they are hierarchs and I am a hierarch like them."

4) He permitted the eating of fish on Wednesdays and Fridays, during the Great and Holy Fast and during the other fasts and he condemns those who do not eat fish during fasting periods.

5) He abolished the regulations of the Church and added and subtracted from her canons.

6) He removed from the Divine Liturgy putting the zeon, warm water, and raising it up.

7) In his pride with himself and haughtiness, he dared to have a miter fashioned for himself without those metropolitans who preceded him in that see having ever worn one, doing this without permission or consultation with his teacher, and without authorization. 

He made himself independent and transgressed the holy canons, as well as other things that are vile to recount. Therefore, our synod has truly ruled that he is worthy of excommunication and he is cut off from all ranks of the great and angelic priesthood.

In as much has he has not remained upright, but rather has prided himself on his knowledge and has imitated the rank of the angels who fell from heaven. It is necessary for every hierarch to be pure, not only in word but in deed, so that his flock does not even make a tiny word of complaint about him and so that the holy Name is not slandered. Indeed, he should be like one of the Apostles in word and deed. Anyone who does the contrary of this opinion and teaches people contrary to it, deluding the minds of the simple, like this man should fall from his rank. This deluded person should be expelled from among us. He should be expelled like a stone from a slingshot, as in the law of the Apostles.

Now may everyone reading this and hearing our message know and believe that, after a profound examination and meticulous verification at this synod in the presence of the ever-memorable patriarchs, our brothers Kyr Athanasius and Kyr Cyril, former patriarchs of Constantinople, and in the presence of our brother the most glorious father Chrysanthos, patriarch of Jerusalem, and in the presence of those of our hierarchs, the God-loving metropolitans and bishops, our concelebrants who are with us, whose names we shall mention below, we have all ruled that this wicked Euthymius, metropolitan of Tyre and Sidon is excommunicated, deposed, cut off from all ranks of the priesthood and stripped of all the gifts of the Holy Spirit. May he be deposed and outside the rank of the metropolitanate. May he be deposed and expelled from the whole of his diocese. As for the books composed by him, they are to be rejected and are void. No one has authorization from the right-worshipping to pay attention to them or to act according to them. [This seems to be in reference to his highly Latinizing recension of the Divine Liturgy]. Any Christian who transgresses this and follows the aforementioned liar and distorter of Christ's Orthodox Church, the rational flock, who resembles the devil, whoever he may be, is excommunicated.

This wretched and unfortunate person does not have property in his diocese and no longer has authorization to lay claim to his church or to touch its income from the Christians. He has no authority to wear the vestments of a hierarch, or to act and serve as one, because he is cut off, deposed and the grace of all ranks of the priesthood is removed from him. From now on, he is only known as "Euthymius" and nothing else and he is as one cast out. Any priest or hierarch who knowingly concelebrates with him is cut off from his priesthood and deposed. Any layperson who honors him as a hierarch and kisses that unclean hand, filled with falsehood, in order to receive a blessing, may his sins be unforgiven if he does this knowingly. Whosoever among you or anyone else who helps him and receives him into his home or helps him in his activities, whoever it may be, great or small, is excommunicated. From now on, anyone who is consecrated by his hand is cut off. Let those who agree with him and declare that they are in agreement against the truth be excommunicated with him, and may their lot be with the crooked, as the Prophet David says. All those who are contrary and schism, inclining toward his delusion and blasphemy, let them receive wrath and be excommunicated in this age. May they inherit incurable leprosy always. May they be shaken like Cain and perish, not receiving the necessary sustenance, blotted out from the Book of Life. May they receive wrath from the 318 fathers and all the fathers of the councils.

But all Orthodox Christians who heed to commands of the Church and act according to them and not contrary to them or fleeing them, following the traditions and ordinances of the holy fathers, successful in every good work, may they inherit the kingdom of heaven. Amen, amen, Amen. Issued in October, 1718, the Second Indiction.

[A list of signatures follows.]

Copied from the Greek language into Arabic in Damascus by the Father of Fathers and Chief of Chiefs, the Shepherd of Shepherds, Kyr Cyril, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East.

Asad Rustom on the Era of Patriarch Cyril al-Za'im (IV): Cyril's Relations with Rome

Translated from: Asad Rustum, Kanisat Madinat Allah Antakya al-'Uzma [The Church of the Great City of God Antioch], Jounieh: Editions St. Paul (1988), vol. 3, pp. 119-125. 

Arabic original online here.

Part I here.

Part II here.

Part III here.

Cyril and the Catholics

Euthymius mentioned that Patriarch Cyril of Antioch was firm and unbending in his position, so he discussed and debated with him about the issue of union, to no avail. He then insisted that the French consul in Sidon, Monsieur Boulard, speak to the patriarch about this issue and he did so. Father Laurentius, the head of the Franciscans in Jerusalem, wrote a long letter to Cyril, informing him about what had been done in the name of the pope to return the patriarch of the Maronites, Ya'qub Awwad, to his see and to return all of his rights and dignity.  He then pointed out what the popes of Rome had done of this sort for the Eastern patriarchs and bishops. He reminded Cyril how his grandfather Macarius had complained to Pope Alexander VII about the oppression and arrogance of the Turks.

In 1716, the pope of Rome himself addressed Cyril inviting him to union. He said, "It has reached us that Your Brotherliness has a strong inclination toward union and we rejoiced and saw fit to exhort you in our paternal voice not to ignore this good inspiration. May you realize that so long as you are separated from the Roman Church, you remain in great and certain peril. You must exhort your brother bishops and your people to do like you. When it has been confirmed to us that you intend to firmly accept the faith of the pope of Rome, we will then explain to you what you must do."

Cyril explained to the head of the Franciscans: "The Eastern Church has held fast to her canonical conditions and obligations since ancient times. After a time, when rituals and customs not found in the seven greater or seven lesser councils, such as azymes, the filioque, purgatory and the merits of the saints appeared, the Eastern Church saw these things and that it was His Holiness our brother the pope who innovated them-- though they are not recorded in the law, the canons of the fathers, or the seven councils-- the Church renounced the Western Church. From the seventh council until now, the Eastern Church has held fast to her conditions and what she has received from the holy fathers, as they retain their ancient rituals and canons. As for what you say about the inclination of our late grandfather the Patriarch Macarius, in that his handwritten letter is in the archive in Rome, it is not that he wrote seeking confirmation. Rather, we understand that he wrote to inform our dear brother His Holiness the pope about the consul Picot and to testify to the good he had done in the year of hardship that occurred in Aleppo, because he spent seventy sacks of dirhams for the poor and destitute. We ask the Creator, may He be exalted, to inspire him [i.e., the pope] to bring together his brothers and his spiritual children and make the devil ashamed of both groups."

Then, in August 1716 Cyril sent a long letter to Clement XI, which some Catholic historians have regarded as an explicit confession of the authority of the See of Rome and a clear acceptance of all its teachings. We only see in it a confession of Rome's primacy on the condition that it holds to the canons of the seven ecumenical councils. Perhaps Cyril went overboard in his expression and his words were taken in a wider sense than he intended. Here it is to be noted that his letter to the head of the Franciscans must be taken into account because it is very close in time to the letter to the pope. Here is the text of Cyril's letter to Clement:

"Glory to God, may He be exalted, always. Cyril, by the grace of God, may He be exalted, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East to His Holiness brother Pope Clement XI, overseer of the great and ancient Church of Rome, may God protect him for a long time.

To His Holiness, the Father of Fathers, the Master of Masters, receiver of grace and giver of blessing, head of righteous hierarchs, successor of the Apostle Peter, chosen vessel, unique in his age, whose renown spreads to the corners of the earth, model of pure ascetics, treasury of teaching, pole of the four climes, Abraham in his pardon, Isaac in his meekness, Jacob in his obedience, Joseph in his chastity, the Prophet Elijah in his zeal, Isaiah in his eloquence, Daniel in his purity, Solomon in his wisdom, Zacharias in his priesthood, John the Theologian in his words, John the Baptist in his preaching and Chrysostom in his exegesis and admonishment.

Moreover, what we submit to Your Holiness is that your letter to us arrived and we read it, praising God, may He be exalted, for your good health and that Your Holiness is well. It has reached you from the missionaries that we strongly admire you and mention of you is constant among us at every prayer and divine liturgy. We ask the Lord to realize spiritual love between the elites and the common people, since without love there is no peace, for God knows our purpose is love. For it has reached us from the disciples of Your Holiness that your aim is for there to be love and peace with the brothers and spiritual children to one, holy, universal and apostolic Church, but the hater of good things never ceases and never calms from causing confusion in the Church, to the point that among his deeds he created the name of the eastern and western church. But at the first ecumenical council, in the presence of Pope Sylvester of Rome, they established "we believe in one God", the second ecumenical council was in the presence of Pope Damian of Rome, the third ecumenical council was in the presence of Pope Celestine of Rome, the fourth ecumenical council was in the presence of Pope Leo of Rome, the fifth ecumenical council was in the presence of Pope Vigilius of Rome, the sixth ecumenical council was in the presence of Pope Agatho of Rome, and the seventh ecumenical council was in the presence of Peter and Peter, the legates of Pope Adrian of Rome... an ecumenical council did not occur without the assent of the pope of Rome.

From that time until now, the Eastern Church always petitions and says, 'for the universal, holy, apostolic Church, let us ask of the Lord.' And we do not say 'eastern' and 'western' church, but rather we always ask for peace for the entire world, even those who hate us and those who oppress us. All of this is printed in the priests' books you have. And we thank God, may He be exalted, that our Church is according to our faith, which we hold from the seven ecumenical councils. And we pray for mercy for Pope Eugene, who sought peace and love in the time of the late Emperor John Palaiologos and held the eighth council, by which he sought love, peace and calm. But the hater of good things stirred up strife and the Greeks, who by nature are stubborn, did not accept. Afterwards the grace of the Holy Spirit moved Pope Nicholas,  everything in which Pope Eugene had toiled and labored having been destroyed by the Greeks, to sail himself toward Constantinople and to send his messengers to the emperor and clergy, but they did not accept his words and what had happened to us because of them happened to them.

We ask Christ God in every language and tongue that the Lord God may grant you to bring together the brothers and spiritual sons, whom our Master Jesus Christ purchased with His precious blood, into His true sheepfold. Then, our grandfather the late Patriarch Macarius, after having visited Moscow, his aim was to visit Rome to work love and peace. He kept saying "if brothers fight each other, than no one among them remains of sound mind. If we go to Rome, then the Greeks will say that the Patriarch Macarius has become a Frank. And previously, they treated the late Givalas[?], archbishop of Cyprus as a Frank for having visited Rome. May our Lord destroy all those who innovated these heresies and divided the brothers from their elder brother, since all people say that the larger container fits the smaller, but everyone who draws near to you openly is treated as an unbeliever by the western nations. Perhaps news has reached you of the Syriac patriarch [Syriac Catholic Patriarch Ignatius Gregory Peter IV Shahbaddin, d. 1702], how his community of heretics did him harm and he died in exile, though he was doubtless one of the saints, and only a few of the bishops and priests were saved. We have always sent letters to our disciples who are there to treat them with charity while they are in prison and to serve them in order to honor the Roman Church, and if the French consul in Aleppo had given five hundred qurush, this would not have happened to them.

But by the power of the Crucified, when the kapuji came to us in Damascus and the sultan's decree was read to us and he asked us about the followers of the pope among us, we replied for all and by the power of God we prevented him and did not let him abuse any monk, priest or Catholic, in so doing losing a large sum from our purse. God knows how much evil we kept away from them, fearing the bad treatment that occurs in other countries. But at this time their group is miserable. May God have mercy on consul Picot, in whose time Andrew became patriarch of the Syriacs, who stood by his campaign and in that year spent around seventy purses on the poor, because it was a year of great hardship. When they saw the great charity he [i.e., Picot] had done, my grandfather Patriarch Macarius, Patriarch Andrew of the Syriacs and the Armenian patriarch wrote to His Holiness the late pope, informing him of the good he had done. If the consul is well, may our Lord add to him blessings from your pure lips. And if he has reposed, may the Lord place his lot with the holy fathers. In this way, the consuls did good, people inclined toward them and their reputation was glorious.

Moreover, when it came between the late king of France and the English and they said to him, "We follow the Eastern Church," he wrote requesting the creed of the Eastern Church, so our grandfather the Patriarch Macarius wrote twenty chapters about the belief of the Eastern Church, during which time he died and Our Modesty was elected in his place. The letters had not yet been sent, so they wrote to us, so we sent them, confirming his statement.

God-willing, may the Eastern Church not deny the Church of Rome nor take her for being an innovator. This is recorded in our church books, and that the pope of Rome is the elder brother and there are commemorations of popes in their particular feats that exist in the Eastern Church.

Nevertheless, these issues that exist today at this time did not exist in ancient times. For when there appeared astronomers, these ten days [i.e., the difference between the Julian and Gregorian calendars at that time] became a cause for great division, since one Christian fasts while another does not fast. Likewise, the Maronites submitted to you that they are few in number and the Rum do not marry them, nor do the nations [i.e., the Muslims]. Because you are blessed and do not know the lie, you believed them, so they say, "His Holiness the pope has given us permission to marry within the fourth degree [i.e., first-cousin marriage]." Moreover, if a layman's wife dies, he marries another and they can make him a priest. For these reasons and others, we have become naked before the nations and the heretics, since one Christian remains fasting while another breaks the fast and one Christian marries at the seventh degree while another at the third degree. They lie to you and, because you are blessed people, you believe what they say and carry out their suggestion. They say, "The pope has given us permission for that." But we do not believe that this is issued from you. All of this has become a cause for division and for referring to the Western and the Eastern church.

However, we believe and affirm that the Church of Rome adheres to the seven great councils and the seven lesser councils and honor it for being the mother of the world's churches. We confess one Church and one baptism, and we bless what they [i.e., the councils] bless and anathematize what they anathematize. But when the nations see such unbelievable things-- and you have no report about them-- for this reason they flee from that and doubts occur, fulfilling the words of the Holy Gospel, 'Woe to the one through who doubts come!'

If a decree was issued by Your Holiness to eliminate these issues that exist and they were eliminated, then the Holy Spirit would truly be present with you, because we have become naked before the nations and the heretics. Even if the heretics are heretics, they have not changed their fasting, their ritual and their marriage rules, but rather they are according to the holy law. We ask Christ in every language and tongue that the Lord God may grant you to bring together the brothers and spiritual sons, whom our Master Jesus Christ purchased with His precious blood into His true sheepfold, and that the Lord God will grant to everyone who desires peace and love, as the Master said: "My peace I give to you, My peace I leave with you." He did not say strife, stubbornness and evil, and people say you have done this and people say that we are right and you are not right and so the words of the Holy Gospel are fulfilled in us: we leave the log that is in our eyes and tell our brother to remove the speck that is in his eye.

When we read the holy scriptures, we shy away from hearing them, as when the Evangelist John says, "If anyone loves God yet hates his brother, he is a liar, for how can you hate the one you see and love the one you do not see?" And our Lord, glory to Him, said, "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you." And now all what we do is contrary to what He, may He be exalted, commanded us to do.

We ask for His tender mercies, by the blessing of your prayers, to cause us to listen obediently to what pleases Him and gives you reason to rejoice at the coming together of brothers and spiritual children, that you may say, "Those are the children that God has given me. Enter into the joy of your Lord." May this be for you by the intercession of the Virgin, the Apostle Saint Peter and all the saints, amen. This was written and issued on the twentieth day of the blessed month of August in the year 1716 in the God-protected city of Damascus by your brother in Christ, Cyril, patriarch of Antioch and all the East.

Furthermore, the patriarch of Antioch calls down God's wrath upon all those who add or remove [from this letter]. Sent with the Padre Blasius and the priest Seraphim was a humble present: a shell cane. If you hold it during the divine liturgy, you will remember Our Modesty and two vessels in which is a ratl of pure balsam-oil."

One should notice here that the patriarch of Antioch addresses the pope of Rome as a brother and indicates the patriarchs with the word "brothers" and that he confirms the adherence of the Orthodox church of which he is the head to the seven councils and its persistence in praying every day for the universal Church. He then alludes to the strife stirred up by the devil at the Council of Florence and the effect of that on the Greeks who are by nature stubborn. He thanks his brother the pope for his effort for union and points delicately and precisely to the position of his grandfather Macarius with regard to union, favoring the role he played as a reconciling mediator between the pope of Rome and the other primates. He then prays for "all" who desire love and peace and offers a cane made of shell as a gift to the pope. So where is the confession of Rome's authority and entrance into obedience to it? Especially if we read all of this in light of what is found in the letter of the very same patriarch to the head of the Franciscans. One should also notice that there is a very great difference between this patriarchal letter and the text that Athanasius prepared, which we have discussed above, as well as the one prepared by Gersasimus, bishop of Seidnaya in mid-July of 1716.

In our view, it cannot be said that Cyril entered into obedience to Rome merely because this story is stated in some of Euthymius' letters, since Euthymius had his own interests in what he recounted and so he cannot be regarded as a reliable witness. It can be deduced from Clement XI's letter to Cyril dated May 21, 1718 that was not satisfied with what was reported to him in Euthymius' accounts and Cyril's letters and he says, in Constantine Basha's translation: "We ask you to display openly to all in clear, continuous letters that you are united with this apostolic see with a sincere heart 'without hypocrisy' and that you have pledged submission to it and to the pope of Rome." Euthymius' statement that Cyril signed the confession of faith of Urban VIII, sealed it by his own hand, and sent it remains improbable until we come across this document in the archives of Rome. We must not forget that it is stated in the report sent by the priest Gabriel Finan  to the secretary of the Congregation of the Propaganda Fide on July 11, 1719 that he contacted Cyril, presented him with the pope's gift and stayed with him, speaking with him repeatedly about "the holy Roman faith" and sometimes he would yield to it and sometimes he would "argue with it lightly." He complained about "the Roman Church not having fulfilled his request to print the Euchologion and raised the issue of the harm caused by [Livornese and Maltese Catholic] pirates and the return of those following the Roman See to the Eastern calendar in calculating Easter." Finan goes on to state that what Cyril sent to Rome was either out of avarice on his part for worldly things or out of fear of troublemaking by Catholics in his diocese and that the patriarch "consecrated a schismatic for the See of Bayas," conceding to the wishes of the Patriarch of Jerusalem.

Asad Rustom on the Era of Patriarch Cyril al-Za'im (III): Euthymius al-Sayfi

Translated from: Asad Rustum, Kanisat Madinat Allah Antakya al-'Uzma [The Church of the Great City of God Antioch], Jounieh: Editions St. Paul (1988), vol. 3, pp. 111-119.

Part I here.

Part II here.

Rome completes its mission: Athanasius kept to the truce and was unable to return to the patriarchal see, so Rome undertook to complete its plan and in 1697 the attention of the Jesuit priest Verseau was drawn to Balamand Monastery because he was familiar with the monks and "the schism has a great affair there because they all belong to the Rum millet." Fr Verseau repeatedly attempted to enter Balamand in order to expound on the Catholic faith, but he failed. Then two disciples of the Jesuit fathers felt the monastic calling and chose Balamand as their place to serve God, "and Fr Verseau started to visit them and guide them, warning about the danger in that monastery." It was then confirmed that they were firm in their Catholicism and so he took them on as a tool for Roman propaganda among the monks. He increased his visits to the monastery and became acquainted with all the monks, taking part in the monastery's gatherings without any impediment. "In order to please them all," he praised Saint Basil the Great and read accounts of him to them. He then put into the hands of his two friends books by Fr Clisson and Fr Nau. In 1704, five of the monks of Balamand sent a petition to the Congregation de Propaganda Fide that included the following:

"We present to Your Resplendent Majesty that we are your servants, numbering five people from the millet of the Arab Rum, monks of the path of Saint Basil the Great, who were reared from our childhood in the Catholic religion, always submitting to the Supreme Pontiff, His All-Holiness. Nevertheless, in these lands we have not found the freedom to perfect the way of life for salvation of the soul as is necessary in monasticism due to the country's lack of stability and the rule of the nations over it and the disorder of the monasteries and monks. We have presented our situation to Your Resplendent Majesty so that if you decree and command us, we will come before you about this matter. We ask that you grant us, out of the charity of the Holy Church, a humble place where we may take refuge alone, either in Rome or outside it and for you to grant us there the necessary food and ascetic drink sufficient for the body and nothing else, so that we may serve God in our place as much as possible and pray for Your Resplendent Majesty.

Balamand, in the region of Tripoli of Syria on November 1, 1704. Your servant, the hieromonk Macarius. Your servant, the hieromonk Gerasimus. Your pitiful servant, the hieromonk Hanania. Your pitiful servant the hieromonk Nasrallah. Your servant the hierodeacon George."

The Monastery of Saint John, Choueir: At this very moment, two young men from Aleppo arrived at Balamand, desiring to practice chastity and asceticism. Father Nasrallah from Aleppo advised them "to go to Mount Lebanon and search for an empty place. Afterwards, we will come to you and make a canonical monastic order, because in this monastery one cannot live in freedom of faith because in it there are recalcitrant people and associating with them is not beneficial." They heeded his advice and went and found a monastery called Mar Yuhanna al-Choueir, and sent them news about it.

This monastery was humble in the beginning, only containing a small church named after John the Baptist and a humble room that was home to an ascetic from the Sawaya family of Choueir. Choueir was suffering from a feud between its two big families, the Maja'is and the Sawaya. When the dispute arose between the two patriarchs, Athanasius and Cyril, one group sided with the former and the other with the latter. The Maja'is supported Cyril, so the Sawaya decided to support Athanasius. The Maja'is won over the majority of the families of Choueir and the Sawaya were prevented from praying in the Church of Our Lady, the village church, so they began to pray in the Church of Saint John mentioned above. In this way, the Monastery of Saint John is not named merely after its being found in the area of Choueir, but also after the Choueirite ascetic who founded it and his Choueirite family members who made its church their place of worship, defending those monks claiming obedience to Rome who took refuge there.

Rome's Only Man: One of the individuals in obedience to Rome, submitting to its bishop, was Euthymius al-Sayfi, metropolitan of Tyre and Sidon (1682-1723). He was born in Damascus around the year 1643 with the name Mikhail ibn Musa al-Sayfi, growing up there. He studied in the community's school at the patriarchal residence and received special attention from the priest Jirjis Bariq, imbibing Catholicism from his youth. This priest Jirjis had traveled to Rome and adopted Catholicism there. When Mikhail was young, he frequented the monastery of the Jesuit and Capuchin fathers and they attracted him to themselves, increasing his obedience and submission. He became close with the patriarchal vicar Neophytus al-Saqizi, learning Greek and the art of Byzantine chant from him. Perhaps Neophytus himself ordained Mikhail as a deacon and then priest in 1666.

Jeremiah, the metropolitan of Tyre and Sidon died around 1680 and the Latin missionaries encouraged the Rum notables in Sidon to elect the priest Mikhail al-Sayfi. Patriarch Cyril III agreed and consecrated him as metropolitan of Tyre and Sidon in 1682, giving him the name Euthymius. The first activity that this new bishop undertook was that he hurried to send a copy of his confession of the Catholic faith to Pope Innocent XII, with the Capucin father Accursio. This father Accursio was the teacher of the new bishop's confession in Damascus. Part of what is contained in the confession is as follows:

"I have rejected the error and schism of the Rum for some time and I have confessed the Catholic faith at the hands of the missionary monks in Syria. Now, by the grace of God, I have become bishop over the See of Tyre and Sidon and I must offer the necessary obedience to you and reference to your holy see, imitating the holy fathers Athanasius the Great, John Chrystostom and all the holy fathers whom the Roman Church has received in the time of their struggle and persecution. I do not need to mention the rejection, imprisonment, humiliation, loss of money I have endured and the enmity from the Muslims, along with some of the Rum and their clergy, especially their patriarch called Cyril, on account of my confession of the Catholic faith."

The archdiocese of Tyre and Sidon was large but not very populated, so the new bishop worked to populate it by encouraging migration there. He agreed in May of 1686 with the Rum notables in Sidon to write to those Christians who were willing, to invite them to reside in Sidon. The qadi of Sidon issued a deed for this that still exists to this day. He then rebuilt the Church in Sidon with his own money and formally issued a deed for this on April 11, 1690. It is no surprise that such a deed was necessary because Islamic law forbids the construction of churches and monks' cells but permits the renovation and preservation of old ones.

The most important thing that Euthymius undertook during this initial period of his episcopacy was that he established the Salvatorian monastic order to spread the principles of union with Rome and submission to its bishop. This work started in Sidon where, before 1700, he gathered together a number of monks to live a common, canonically-ordered life with him at the Machmoucha farm near Joun. The Salvatorian priest Constantine Bacha believes that the metropolitan's disciples numbered, at the end of the 17th century, no less than ten and that they were unable to live in Sidon and its surroundings without being subject to every accusation and every hardship from the army and others, so they rented the Machmoucha farm from its owner, the qadi Sheikh Qablan, to live and work there. They did not do this for long before, by the care of the Savior, their monastery in His name was established in 1711. Euthymius composed a special rule for its monks, news of which spread among people until it reached Aleppo. His letter to a friend in Aleppo preserves some of what the Salvatorian monks practiced in the beginning and some of the principles that Euthymius had in mind. His friend, a bishop, wrote in objection to Euthymius' permitting his monks to eat oil and fish during fasts. The latter responded:

"It does not escape your knowledge, if you ponder and see the weakness and decline of the millet and its lack of the necessary knowledge and spiritual sciences. We have seen many with weak temperaments and good zeal, who had a little knowledge and wanted to have a pure life, ordered by keeping the three vows that are the foundation of all monastic orders, so that they might benefit their millet by their activity and knowledge. But they forsook entering monasticism on account of its harshness of living now among us and so fell short of completing their good intention. When I realized that this particular reason was preventing the universal good, I used the authority of binding and loosening given to me by God and His Church to issue an order, indeed to issue a compulsion, known to all on account of its being issued and entering into force. This was so that worship in this manner would be something by choice rather than compulsion. It is not as it is now, practiced by others openly and rejected by the majority in secret. Moreover, so that we would not imitate the harshness of some previous shepherds who used their authority to bind and not to loosen, nor even less should I curse rather than bless those in whom God's words through the Prophet Micah are fulfilled: 'Eat the meat of my people and break their bones.' For this reason, we see their state as they have caused great losses for this pure path and for the excellent Christian faith. My intention as well, if it so happens, is for such as these to be separated from the other monks only in their abode and means of living, and to agree with them in keeping the three vows and the rest of the other rules, since they are under the obedience of one leader. If our intention is not achieved with them, then God has proof against the stubborn."

Euthymius, Bishop of those Submitting to Rome (1702): Some of the bishops rejected the harm that had come to the Church on account of the schism and arrogance stormed in their minds, so they wrote to Euthymius around 1694 so that he would be their leader and the flock would have one shepherd. Then an understanding was reached between Athanasius and Cyril and Cyril became the sole patriarch. His heart was set on hindering the activities of the missionaries and not facilitating their interests. He refrained from sending to the sultan recognition of the priests who befriended the missionaries and worked under their guidance. Athanasius went back on what he had promised Rome at the beginning of the affair. In 1700, Clement XI (1700-1720) took charge of the See of Rome. Euthymius wrote to congratulate the new pope and renew his submission. On February 24, 1701 he composed a new letter in which he explained the situation in the Patriarchate of Antioch and requested to be the "vicar of the pope in the East" in order to give him the authority to recognize Catholic bishops outside his diocese. He mentioned the desire of the metropolitans to install him as patriarch of Antioch and he attached the document that they had signed, but he said that he had little reach and could not accept their request because he was subject to "the authority of the Muslims." Therefore he only sought "the authority of the dhimmis."

The Propaganda Fide studied Euthymius' request in a session held for this purpose on December 6, 1701 and accepted the metropolitan of Tyre and Sidon's request for a period of seven years by a decision brought before the pope. Clement XI accepted the congregation's decision and ordered that it be acted upon and the following message was sent to Euthymius:

"To sayyid Euthymius, metropolitan of Sidon and the Rum in all the Patriarchate of Antioch where there are no Catholic bishops: On Wednesday, July 19, 1702 in the regular audience of the revered father assistant, the Most Holy Father granted, according to what was presented to him, to the aforementioned petitioner these rights for a period of seven years, such that he may in no way exercise them outside the boundaries of the aforementioned patriarchate or in dioceses in which there are Catholic bishops."

The Book al-Dalala al-Lami'a (The Shining Proof, 1710): The Jesuit father Michel Nau resorted to writing in order to convince the Rum to obey and submit to Rome and during the time of the Patriarch Macarius he composed a book entitled The Argument of the Holy Roman Church for its Orthodoxy and Right Worship. The Orthodox fathers were not convinced by this, particularly the monks of the Holy Sepulcher. At the beginning of the 18th century, they translated into Arabic a letter by Zacharias, bishop of Adana, in defense of the holy traditions, explaining Rome's program and revealing the secret falsehoods of its manner of action. They then distributed it in the territory of Antioch and it was on everyone's tongues and was circulated about. On June 10, 1704, Euthymius wrote to the Propaganda Fide saying, "The schismatic members of the eparchy of Jerusalem have prepared the book of Zacharias, the bishop of Adana, which is filled with blasphemies against the opinion of the Church of Rome. They have translated it into Arabic and published it in our country, in the jurisdiction of the See of Antioch, to spread the poison that is found within it." Euthymius adds that he undertook to write a book that "elevates the honor of the Holy Roman Church and puts her opponents to shame." He asked to be supplied with the writings of John Cariafili [?] refuting Zacharias, the refutation of Neilos [Kabasilas] of Thessaloniki, books by (Cardinal) Bessarion, the metropolitan of Nicaea, the books of Demetrius Kydones, and the book of Pierre Courfois [?] about the service of the mysteries and purgatory because they were necessary for him. Euthymius sent his manuscript to Rome and it was approved by Cardinal Barberini and so "The Shining Proof between the two poles of the Universal Church, containing the agreement of the Eastern Rum Orthodox Church with the Universal, Western Church of Rome and their unity in one opinion and one Christian faith" appeared in Rome in 1710 with a subvention from the Propaganda Fide.

It was distributed and so in 1712 the oikonomos of the Church of Aleppo refuted it in a letter which, as it appears, remains in manuscript. This oikonomos was known to Euthymius as "someone with knowledge, keeping the rites of the Rum perfectly, supporting and defending them." The book al-Dalala al-Lami'a attracted the attention of the Orthodox patriarchs and metropolitans and they mention it in the excommunication that was issued in 1718 against Euthymius and those who strayed with him, because he "composed books on his own and drew on testimonies as he saw fit and attributed them to the Holy Eastern Church."

Euthymius Gets Ready: Euthymius issued commands according to whim and in September 1713 observed that "the eparchy of Antioch is good soil in need of workers" and that its patriarch, Cyril, was "a man lacking knowledge who hates the Roman Church" but he did he did not dare to offer offer obedience before the patriarchs of Constantinople and Alexandria. He believed that the bishop of Saydnaya, Gerasimus al-Shami, was "a man at God's gate, his holiness is a measure of wine and the wine remains in his cell, Christ be pleased with him;" that the bishop of Maaloula and Qara was "a recalcitrant, heretical Cypriot;" that the bishop of of Baalbek was "a Cypriot with good intentions, if God blesses him with a teacher he might agree with everything we want;" that the bishop of Homs was "hapless in religion and this world;" that the bishop of Hamat was "a Cypriot strong in unbelief and in insulting the religion of the Church and of us. For two years, he has been present with us in activities of his. We honored him and gave him abundant charity and advised him as much as possible. From that day, he ceased the insults but he remains in his unbelief;" that the metropolitan of Beirut "previously believed in the Church and honored and glorified the Church of Rome. For this reason, we conferred upon him some charitable support and invited him to Sidon. We explained to him the shortcomings and the error that has befallen the Church of the Rum after the schism;" that regarding the bishop of Tripoli "some of the missionary monks have testified that he is Catholic, but I have not discerned any signs of Catholicism in him. Perhaps he had confessed the truth under the influence of a certain hope and when the hope was lost, he returned like a dog to his vomit;" that the metropolitan of Lattakia was a "heretical Chiot, ignorant of religion. He barks and snaps with heresy without being aware of it;" that regarding the Patriarch of Aleppo [i.e., Athanasius Dabbas] "he is known in Rome as a Catholic and is known to me as a climber [? مساقل ];" that the metropolitan of Adana was "an insolent Cypriot, an enemy of God and His Church;" that the metropolitan of Diyarbakir was likewise a Cypriot, that the metropolitan of Erzerum was from its eyalet and the metropolitan of Cyprus was from the eyalet of Erzerum. It is well-known that this traffic was widespread at that time and existed on both sides.

In this way, Euthymius, Rome's only bishop in the dioceses of Antioch, attempted to attract bishops to Catholicism with methods that might not all be legitimate. As for the Jacobites, attracting them was far-off in his view "and would be more attainable through force." Here it should be remarked that true unity is not achieved through money and force, but through the Holy Spirit and love, which does not seek for itself and does not think ill, but takes its time, accompanies, trusts and is patient.

Asad Rustom on the Era of Patriarch Cyril al-Za'im (II)

Translated from: Asad Rustum, Kanisat Madinat Allah Antakya al-'Uzma [The Church of the Great City of God Antioch], Jounieh: Editions St. Paul (1988), vol. 3, pp. 106-111

 Part I here.

Part III here.

The beginning of the Jesuit mission: Rome continued to demand unity of the Church by means of submission and obedience to a single bishop, which it considered to be the "bishop of bishops". It sharpened its desire for this unity, according to her resolution at the Council of Trent (1545-1563), and started to prepare for it. In 1553, it issued a bull for the establishment of three colleges in Jerusalem, Constantinople and Cyprus. In 1576 Gregory XIII established the Greek College of St Athanasius in Rome and in 1584 a college for the Maronites was also established in Rome. France set as one of its chief objectives in the Middle East the protection of the "Catholic religion" in the lands of Islam, revealing the concern of its followers to "bring the schismatic Christians back into obedience."

Urban VIII wished to take advantage of the friendship that existed between France and the Ottoman Empire, so he opened discussions with the government of Louis XIII about bringing "schismatic" Christians back into obedience. It agreed with him, and so he issued an order to the Carmelites, Capuchins and Jesuits to send their priests to the Near East, especially Syria, to bring its Christians back into obedience. Louis XIII ordered these missionaries to go and wrote to his ambassador in the Ottoman capital, de Césy, who in turn issued the order to the consuls of France in Alexandria, Sidon, Damascus and Aleppo. The missionaries began their activities in Aleppo, the most important city of Syria and Lebanon at that time, as well as the closest to Asia Minor and Iraq. In the years 1625-1627, they established there centers for their activities, in cooperation with the Franciscans, benefiting from their long experience and advice. They then went out from Aleppo and were active in Damascus, Sidon, Tripoli, Chios, Smyrna and Naxos. "They practiced medicine for free and meddled in the affairs of bishops and priests. They frequented Orthodox churches and the homes of Christians, feigning love, meekness and unity of faith, spreading the idea among ordinary people that their beliefs were Orthodox, no different in any way whatsoever from the beliefs of the Eastern Church, apart from a few unimportant issues. They defended many things in Eastern dogma and ritual that today the Westerners consider to be errors. They publicly declared that they rejected the most important dogmas held by the non-Orthodox. This is what led Patriarch Euthymius IV al-Saqizi to house some of them in the patriarchal residence." He permitted them to teach members of the community, to offer the sacrament of confession in Orthodox churches and to visit the homes of Christians.

These missionaries sowed the sees of their teachings through the sacrament of confession. They did not ask of the simple, ordinary masses of Orthodox believers anything more than the faith of their fathers and the decisions of the councils, but they spoke openly with educated people in specific circumstances, compelling them to return from error. Here is what one of the Jesuit fathers said in 1650 about his method for attracting souls:

"When an Orthodox comes to confess with us, we ask him if he believes what the Greek fathers-- Basil, Athanasius, Gregory and Chrysostom-- taught and he responds 'yes'. Then we ask him whether he repudiates and anathematizes every teaching that is not in agreement with what those holy fathers taught, and he responds 'yes'. Since their Creed only differs from our Creed by the word "and the Son" and since we regard this word as merely an explanation of the Creed, we ask him whether or not he understands the Creed as the fathers of the Church and the holy councils understood it, and he responds 'yes'. Then he recites the Creed and we absolve him. All the intelligent, rational Orthodox confess the primacy of the Pope because they read in their books how Chrysostom took refuge with the Pope during his time of trial and how the Pope returned him to his see, excommunicating the emperor and empress. They then deduce that the Orthodox and the emperor himself submitted to the Pope during the era of Chrysostom."

In this way, while the Orthodox leaders were quarreling and dividing the community, these Latin missionaries were working to draw hearts and minds toward Rome and its pope. The ambassadors and consuls of the Catholic countries did everything in their power to support them with the means to implement Rome's desire to make Catholics.

Athanasius IV [in modern reckoning, III] (1686-1694): The Archdiocese of Aleppo was widowed and its children began in earnest to seek a worthy clergyman. The Latin missionaries were interested in the matter and directed their gaze to Jerusalem, pointing to Procopius, abbot of the monastery of Bethlehem. Procopius (or Paisius) was born in Damascus to Orthodox parents. He grew up there with the name Paul al-Dabbas and studied with the Jesuit fathers, emulating their faith. Embarking on adult life, he practiced the trade of weaving for some time. He was good-looking and "was afraid of being enticed by wicked people" and so left Damascus for Jerusalem to consecrate himself to God. He took the schema at the Monastery of Saint Saba, mastering the Greek language and religious sciences. He was ordained as a priest, then appointed abbot of the monastery of the Greeks in Bethlehem. He came into contact with the Franciscan friars "and among them renewed and consolidated his Roman faith after his laxity in frequenting the schismatics" [both quotes from a work by the contemporary Maronite Archbishop of Aleppo Germanus Farhat]. Lay notables from Aleppo went on pilgrimage to Jerusalem, getting into contact with the missionaries' candidate and finding him meek, jovial, mastering the religious sciences and well-versed in both Arabic and Greek. They sought his election as bishop of Aleppo and convinced him to leave the monastery and accompany them there, passing through Damascus to be consecrated on the way. When they reached Damascus and discussed the matter with Patriarch Cyril, he agreed at first and then declined. He detested the Aleppines and so the Franciscans acted, "wanting to establish Procopius as patriarch of Antioch because of his holding the holy Roman faith, in place of Cyril, who was a schismatic. So they worked for this and set him up as patriarch by order of the sultan" [ibid.]. Procopius had an uncle whose name was Mikhail Tarazi, who was one of the local notables, and he went to Constantinople bearing a petition signed by the notables of the community in Aleppo and letters of recommendation from some of the consuls of the Frankish countries in Aleppo to their ambassadors in Constantinople. When he arrived there, he presented his papers to the synod and so the synod deposed Cyril and issued to Procopius the decrees from the sultan as was the custom. The uncle returned to Damascus and informed the governor and the qadi of the sultan's decrees. At the time, Cyril was touring his diocese, and so Procopius' consecration as patriarch of Antioch took place in his absence on Wednesday, August 25, 1686, in the presence of three metropolitans: Leontius, metropolitan of Saidnaya; Joasaph, metropolitan of Nablus; and the metropolitan of Hawran. He took the name Athanasius. When news of this reached Cyril, he wrote to the capital and requested decrees and a berat from the sultan, entered Damascus and took possession of the patriarch's residence. As for Athanasius, he resided in the metochion of Mar Mikhail and then moved to Aleppo.

On April 10, 1687, Athanasius wrote to the ambassador of France in Constantinople, stating that he grew up Catholic in Damascus thanks to the Jesuit Fathers and that a few months previously he had sent his Catholic confession of faith to the Pope in the care of the Franciscans. He then asks the ambassador to be under the protection of the king of France, to receive this protection at the necessary time and to enjoy this protections whenever he asks for it. He adds that he seeks to keep an eye out on his opponents, the opponents of the Roman Church, and to prevent them from causing harm to him at the Sublime Porte.

Athanasius' Catholic confession of faith was written on July 4, 1686, seven weeks before becoming patriarch. It is entitled "The Confession of Athanasius, Patriarch of Antioch for the Community of the Rum" and here are some excerpts, as taken from the book of the [Catholic] priest Constantine Basha, History of the Melkite Community, translating from the original that is kept in Rome:

"I firmly believe and hold everything contained in the articles of faith used in the Holy Roman Church... then [I confess] the Fourth Council of Constantinople which is the eighth general council. I believe that Photius was repudiated there and was justly and truly judged and that Saint Ignatius took his place on the See of Constantinople....  [I confess] the Council of Florence and I believe everything defined at it, namely that the Holy Spirit is eternal from the Father and the Son and that He Himself remains together with the Father and the Son forever that He proceeds from both as from one principle and one breath. For this reason, the phrase 'and the Son' was necessarily and truly put in the Creed in order to explain this great and necessary truth... Now, freely and gladly, with all my heart I believe it and I truly and honestly hold it, free of blame until my life's last breath, firmly with the help of God almighty. I preserve and confess it and seek for it to be held, taught and preached by those who are under my jurisdiction and who are in the flock subject to me. I, Athanasius, Patriarch of Antioch for the Rum community promise, declare and swear, may God help me, by the holy Gospels, praise be to God always."

Evils and strife arose, with some taking the side of one and some the other. Each excommunicated the other. On June 6, 1687 Rome recognized Athanasius as Patriarch of Antioch "despite the irregularities surrounding his election" and "Sylvester Dahhan was appointed as bishop of Beirut, with the idea that he would be installed by Athanasius. And he said, 'Our patriarch is a Frank and I do not wish for my episcopacy to be by his hand." [This latter quote is from the Chronicle of the Metropolitans of Beirut].

This split resulted in great losses, upheavals and disturbances. Some bishops and local notables threatened to elect a third patriarch. "Athanasius was greatly saddened by these events and by the expenses of administration. He desired peace and calm for the Church and so he conceded to Cyril in October of 1694" [this is a quote from Athanasius' own history of the Patriarchs of Antioch, written in Greek]. The two sides agreed that Cyril would have the patriarchate and that the Archdiocese of Aleppo would be given to Athanasius, who would live there and receive its income and the income of Idlib and Kilis, keeping the title of 'patriarch' until one of them dies. Then the other would hold the patriarchate and no one else would be elected. All of this was decided at a council of bishops, with the agreement of the ordinary people of Damascus and Aleppo. Rome, however, was not pleased with this agreement and Pope Innocent XII did not recognize it, but rather encouraged Athanasius to return to the patriarchal see.

After the truce was made between Cyril and Athanasius, Athanasius went to Constantinople, Wallachia and Moldavia to seek support in March of 1700, during the reign of the right-believing Prince Constantin [Brâncoveanu]. The prince was sympathetic and offered gifts. When he learned that the books of the Church of Antioch were still copied by hand, he was seized by zeal and he ordered Arabic type to be produced and Arabic printing was honored with the printing of the Orthodox liturgy and the Horologion.When Athanasius returned to Aleppo, he brought this press with him and it was then transferred to Balamand Monastery. The tradition of Balamand is that this press was later moved to the Monastery of Saint John in Choueir with the monks loyal to Rome who went there, while the Choueirite tradition claims that the press there was independently established by Abdallah Zakhir.