How the Patriarchate of Antioch Elects a New Patriarch

Arabic original taken from here. This translation is in no way official and I apologize in advance for any ambiguities or inaccuracies in it.



Section Three of the Statute of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch

Paragraph 32: The candidate for the office of patriarch should be one of the members of the Holy Synod who has worked in it for a period of at least five years.

Paragraph 33: The office of patriarch shall be considered vacant in the event of the patriarch's death, resignation, dismissal, or permanent disability.

Paragraph 34: In the case of death, the patriarchal vicar seals the patriarch's quarters and letters with red wax in the presence of the head of the patriarchal office and members of the community for whom it is convenient to be present. He arranges a register signed by those present. He then announces the patriarch's death by telegram to the bishops and metropolitans of the See of Antioch.

Paragraph 35: Twenty-four hours after the announcement of  his death and the attendance of the metropolitans, those of them who are present gather under the leadership of the senior in order of consecration to elect one of them as patriarchal locum tenens.

Paragraph 36: The patriarchal locum tenens immediately announces his position to Church and civil authorities and announces the date of the funeral, indicating his election as patriarchal locum tenens.

Paragraph 37: The body lays in state in the cathedral, where the funeral is held on the appointed date. He is then buried in the cemetery of the patriarchs.

Paragraph 38: The competencies of the patriarchal locum tenens are limited to carrying out activities related to the election of the successor patriarch. He remains at the patriarchal headquarters and does not have the right to initiate any change or substitution in status, personnel, property, endowments, or assets of the patriarchate.

Paragraph 39: After the ceremony of burial, within a period that is not more than ten days from the date of the vacancy, the Holy Synod gathers with not less than two thirds of its members, under the presidency of the patriarchal locum tenens, to nominate and elect. If two thirds of its members are not available, the locum tenens telegraphs those who are tardy to call them to attend. After twenty-four hours from the time the telegraph is sent, the Holy Synod gathers with those who are present. Each member nominates three metropolitans who meet the conditions delineated in Paragraph 32 of this statute.  The results are then read publicly and the three who receive the most votes are nominated.

Paragraph 40: If there is a tie in the votes between two candidates, one of them is chosen by lot.

Paragraph 41: Nomination is conducted in the following manner:
a. If a ballot contains more than three names, the first three names are taken.
b. A ballot containing one or two names is considered valid.
c. If the same name appears more than once on a single ballot, the name is counted once.
d. Illegible ballots are invalid.
e. Ballots that contain names other than of candidates are not accepted.

Paragraph 42: The process of election takes place in the church in the following manner:
If a candidate receives two thirds of the votes he is immediately declared patriarch. However, if no candidate receives two thirds of the votes, then the ballot is held again and the one receiving the majority of votes in this round is declared patriarch and the results are recorded in the official register.

Paragraph 43: The conditions of Paragraph 41 of this statute apply to the ballots for the election.

Paragraph 44: Immediately after the new patriarch is named, those present perform prayers of thanksgiving under the leadership of the patriarch-elect. Then all come forward to congratulate the new patriarch. The result is published in all media.

Paragraph 45: The installation of the patriarch takes place on a date that he himself determines and announces to the churches and civil authorities.

Paragraph 46: The patriarch presides at the divine liturgy on the day of his installation with the participation of the leaders of the Orthodox delegations. He receives the crosier from the senior Antiochian metropolitan in order of consecration and he gives a speech in which he swears to preserve the dogmas and canons and mentions the major lines of his work in the See of Antioch.

Paragraph 47: The patriarch begins his duties by giving his blessing to the people and sending a letter of peace to the heads of the Orthodox churches.

Statement by the Orthodox Bishops of France on the Repose of Ignatius IV Hazim

French original, in pdf, here.


Great grief has struck the entirety of the Orthodox Church in the world!

His Beatitude, Ignatius IV, primate of the Church of Antioch and All the East was born in heaven at Saint George's Hospital in Beirut, on this day when we commemorate Saint Sabbas the Sanctified.

The Orthodox Church of Antioch, where Christians were first called by this name (Acts 11:19-26) and which was founded by the chiefs of the Apostles, Saints Peter and Paul, now loses her primate and spiritual guide during the very sorrowful period through which the Middle East and particularly Syria are passing. Thus the entirety of the Orthodox Church loses in Ignatius IV of Antioch one of its greatest and most prominent leaders.

Born in 1921 in the village of Mhardeh, in the province of Hama, Syria, Ignatius IV of Antioch was elected Orthodox patriarch of Antioch in 1979, during a pivotal and sensitive period in the life of that Church, in a Middle East constantly menaced and shaken by wars, unrest, and greed. With great dignity, but also with unfailing courage and determination, he directed the renaissance and positioning of that eminent Orthodox Church of Antioch, whose roots go back to apostolic times and whose leaders are the successors of Saints Peter and Paul.

Ignatius IV, who often loved to repeat that, "without love we are corpses and our world, cemeteries," was a great pastor, a guide for the Christians of the Middle East, but also a tireless builder. His contributions to the spread of the Orthodox Church of Antioch are many and innumerable, as they are for the entirety of the Orthodox Church in the world. He was notably one of the founders in 1942 of the Orthodox Youth Movement of the Patriarchate of Antioch, which contributed to the renewal of the spiritual and liturgical life of the Patriarchate of Antioch. Then, he founded the Saint John of Damascus Institute of Orthodox Theology at Balamand, Lebanon, as well as Balamand University, which has since become one of the most important academic and university campuses in the Middle East. He was also one of the founders of the world Orthodox Youth Movement, Syndesmos. The late patriarch was also close to France, a country that he often liked to visit, from the time he began his theological studies in 1945 at the Saint Serge Institute of Orthodox Theology in Paris.

The Orthodox bishops of France share the Orthodox Church of Antioch's pain. They relate to her grief and address our deepest brotherly condolences to all the hierarchs, pastors, and faithful of the Orthodox Church of Antioch, particularly His Eminence Metropolitan John (Yazigi), as well as his auxiliary bishops, including His Excellency Ignatius (El Hochi) in Paris, and all the clergy and faithful of the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of Europe.

The bishops and all the Orthodox faithful of France share in the prayer of the Orthodox Church of Antioch for the repose of the spirit of His Beatitude Patriarch Ignatius IV of Antioch.

Memory eternal!

Paris- December 5, 2012

ليكن ذكره مؤبداً

From the Daily Star, here.

Other news sources have announced that the funeral will be held at the Church of St Nicholas in Beirut at noon on Sunday, after which his body will be transported to the Maryamiyya Cathedral in Damascus.


Greek Orthodox Patriarch Hazim passes away

BEIRUT: Greek Orthodox Patriarch Ignatius IV Hazim passed away Wednesday morning at a Beirut hospital after suffering a stroke a day earlier. He was 92.

Hazim, who served as the head of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of the Levant and Antioch for 33 years, was admitted to Saint George hospital in Ashrafieh Tuesday after suffering a stroke, sources told The Daily Star.

Following news of his death, churches in the northern region of Koura tolled their bells as Lebanese officials arrived at St. Nicolas Church in Beirut to offer condolences.

Lebanese leaders described Hazim’s passing as a loss for Lebanon and the region and praised his role as a religious leader who believed in the principle of coexistence.

Prime Minister Najib Mikati announced that the day of Hazim’s funeral would be a national day for mourning and praised the late patriarch for the role he played in the region.

“The absence of Hazim represents a great loss not only for the Orthodox Church and the sects in Lebanon and the world but also for the Lebanese, the Arabs and the Eastern churches,” Mikati said in a statement.

He also described Hazim as a role model for “spiritual, humanitarian and social work.”
“With the passing of Hazim, Lebanon and the Arab world loses a man of moderation and consensus who believed in inter-faith and inter-sect dialogue as well as coexistence rather than extremism and isolation,” Mikati said.

The prime minister, who is currently in Italy, also praised Hazim's role in defending the Palestinian cause and their right for an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital, saying that his struggle for such an issue made him deserve the title of "the patriarch of the Arabs."

During a ceremony at St. Nicolas Church, a group of priests carried Hazim’s coffin and lowered it near the alter at around 3:30 p.m. Beirut Metropolitan Orthodox Archbishop Elias Audi took part in the ceremony where the prelates paid their respect.

President Michel Sleiman, in a statement, offered his condolences to the Orthodox Church in Lebanon and Syria.

“[Hazim] is a loss not only for his sect but also for Lebanon and the Arabs given his wisdom, courage and repeated calls for dialogue,” he said, according to the president’s press office.

Born in the village of Mhardey near Hama in Syria in 1920, Hazim was the son of an Arab Orthodox family and was attracted to Church service from an early age.

After finishing school in Hama, Syria, Hazim moved to Beirut where he studied literature and started serving the Orthodox Church in Lebanon.

Hazim helped found the global Society of Orthodox Youth Organizations and he became a member of the Sacred Convention of Orthodox Patriarchs in 1961 and in 1971 he was appointed Orthodox Metropolitan of the Syrian city of Lattakia.

Deputy Parliament Speaker Farid Makari described Hazim Wednesday as a historic figure who led the Orthodox community through a difficult time in the region.

“The Orthodox community has lost a great, historic man who led his people with great wisdom in a difficult phase of the region’s history,” Makari said in a statement.

“We assure him that his community will be fine ...and its role will remain one that is primarily aimed at building a new, democratic Syria and in strengthening stability in Lebanon and nation-building,” he added.

Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Saad Hariri said the passing of Hazim represented the loss of a national and spiritual pillar of Lebanon.

"Lebanese, with the loss of Patriarch Hazim, have lost a great, national and spiritual pillar as they look forward for the Greek Orthodox Church to remain a source of giving and love and which can remain loyal to its heritage in the Arab world,” Hariri said in a statement.

Hariri, the head of the Future Movement, added that Hazim confronted several challenges in the region with a solid stance aimed at preserving the principles of coexistence, moderation and openness.

Fr Georges Massouh on God's Generosity

Arabic original here.

Divine Generosity

For Muslim theologians, the question of Christian belief in the Holy Trinity is not the fundamental dilemma hindering Muslim-Christian dialog on the dogmatic level. Rather, the dilemma is found in Christian belief in the dogma of the divine incarnation. That is, in the Son of God or the Word of God becoming human. In contemporary Islamic thought, efforts are put forward to admit that Christian belief is monotheist, since when Christians mention the three hypostases: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, they affirm that they are one God.

In the Arabic Christian tradition, we find many texts that attempt to defend belief in the incarnation, relying on the concept of "divine generosity." Paul, the 12th century Orthodox bishop of Sidon, believes that God's generosity was manifested in His Word's dwelling in man, the most noble of God's creatures. He says, "Because God is generous, He must be generous with the most exalted thing in existence. There is nothing in existence better than His Word, that is His reason. For this reason, He must be generous with His Word, so that He will be the most generous. He was generous with the best thing in existence (...) Since among the things He created there was nothing nobler than man, He took on human nature from Our Pure Lady Mary, chosen over the women of the world." Ammar al-Basri (a little-known writer of the 9th century) adds on the very same topic, "God's generosity, munificence, goodness, and might, which called Him to create and to bring forth His creation are what finally called Him to complete His benevolence by becoming incarnate as a human."

The Arabic Christian tradition criticizes those who deny the incarnation and judges their position to stem from "man's miserliness" which rejects God's generosity and rejects God's honoring him.  The Syriac philosopher Abu Zakariya Yahya ibn Adi al-Tikriti (d. 974) says, "If it is possible for Him to unite to us, where for us in it is the ultimate  and for Him in it is the perfection of generosity, nothing would prevent it other than weakness or miserliness. They are attributes of imperfection and He is above both of them. Thus He must unite to us."

Theodore Abu Qurrah (9th century) believes that the primary reason for the incarnation is for God to draw near to man, which allows man to come to know God. The second reason, which is no less important, is to redeem man and save him from Satan's influence. For this reason "God sent His Word and Spirit to the pure Virgin Mary. She bore the light of God which is of God and He appeared incarnate (...) the Word of God came to be like man without sin, though He is God."

Abu Qurrah confirms Christ's divinity when he says, "Christ, the spirit of God and His Word, is of His essence and His substance, Creator and not creature." Here it should be mentioned that Theodore says that Christ is "the Word and spirit of God" because the Qur'an says this of Christ. In this way Theodore uses the Muslims' expressions and Qur'anic verses in order to show the the Christian faith and to eliminate any possible confusion.

The Son of God honored all humanity when He visited us in the body and dwelt among us. He did not want to remain above, but rather made Himself humble to the point of accepting the cross, the peak of divine generosity, "And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross" (Philippians 2:8-7). Divine generosity and its fruit, the incarnation, is the perfection and definitive proof of love.

Patriarch Ignatius IV Hazim Suffers Stroke

Please pray for Patriarch Ignatius!

From the Daily Star, here:

Patriarch Hazim in hospital after stroke

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Greek Orthodox Patriarch Ignatius IV Hazim, 91, was admitted to a hospital in Ashrafieh Tuesday after suffering a stroke, sources at the hospital told The Daily Star.

The sources added that Hazim, who is currently in the Intensive Care Unit of Al-Roum hospital, is in critical condition.

Born in the village of Mhardey near Hama in Syria, Hazim was the son of a pious Arab Orthodox family and was attracted to Church service from an early age.

Other news reports mention that the Patriarch had been transported from Damascus to Beirut (at least a 2-hour trip) for treatment following the stroke, which is worrying.

UPDATE, from the Arabic here:

 St George's Hospital in Beirut just announced, "Patriarch Ignatius IV Hazim is suffering from a stroke that affects his consciousness and his ability to move. He is in a stable condition and is undergoing intensive treatment in the hospital's intensive care unit. He is being treated by a team of specialists from St George's Hospital."

The office stated that a number of political officials have visited him in the hospital to check on him, the most prominent of which are: Minister of Health Ali Hassan Khalil, deputy Atef Majdalani, former ministers Ibrahim Najjar, Michel Eddé, Bechara Merhej, and Elie Salem, chairman of the Lebanese Forces Samir Geagea, and Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Beirut Elias Audi.

Other visitors included: Adib Forzoli, Anis Nassar, Mazen Abboud, Alfred Aramouni, Nicholas Tueini, Dr Michel Najjar, Dr Camille Nassar, and Brigadier General Walim Majali.

Likewise, the following bishops got in contact: Paul Yazigi, Youhanna Yazigi, Antoun Shadrawi, Joseph Zahlaoui, and Alexander Mufarrij.

Fr Georges Massouh on Gaza

Arabic original here.


In Gaza, an Appointment with Christ

Metropolitan Neophytos Edelby considered Gaza to be one of the ten oldest cities in the world.  He said, "It was inhabited by Caananites from ancient times, and perhaps they were its first builders (Genesis 10:19). Then, around 1800 years before Christ it was settled by Arab tribes. They added to it a particularly Arab character that still lasts until today. It is mentioned in the Tel Amarna letters in the fourteenth century before Christ. Then the tribe of Judah gained control over it after the Hebrew exodus from Egypt, and then the Philistines did not hesitate to regain it (Judges 4:6)...

Christian tradition recounts that as a child, Christ, His mother Mary, and Joseph passed through Gaza shortly before their flight to Egypt from the wrath of the bloodthirsty Herod, or on the way during their return from Egypt to Palestine. Gaza is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles when the deacon Phillip, "along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza, which is desert" (Acts 8:26) met an Ethiopian man who was an official of the queen Candace, he told him the good news of Christ and baptized him. According to Christian tradition, the first bishop of Gaza, Church tradition states that it was Philemon, after whom is named one of the letters of the holy Apostle Paul.

Christian history testifies to the many martyrs from Gaza who fell defending the faith. Among them are Saint Silouan (d. 310) and the three brothers Saints Eusebius, Zenon, and Zenas. Paganism did not go extinct in Gaza until the time of the martyred bishop Porphyrius, who died in the year 420. The First Ecumenical Council (325) mentions the presence of bishop Asclepas of Gaza.

At the end of the sixth Christian century an Italian pilgrim named Antonius visited Gaza. He described it as being "a marvelous city, with five beautiful churches. Its people are famous for their hospitality to strangers." At that time there was a prestigious theological school there. Among its famous alumni were Porphyrius of Gaza (d. 528), the great historian and collector of the holy fathers' commentaries on scripture. But the most shining image of Christ in Gaza then was the great ascetic Saint Dorotheus.

Over the generations, the number of Christians in Gaza diminished, especially under the shadow of the Ottoman Empire which imposed a heavy jizya upon them, to the point that they could not bear it... Today their number is no more than two thousand. However, some Christian monuments remain standing to this day in Gaza City, the most prominent of which is the Church of Saint Porphyrius.

The Christ-child did not leave Gaza. He remained living there. He did not just pass through there coming and going between Palestine and Egypt. He settled there. He came there as a child, He walked in her streets as a youth, and He taught there as a man. He joked with her children, had mercy on her widows, fed her hungry, healed her sick, and raised her dead.

He bore His cross in her alleys. He was crucified on her walls. He rose there from the dead and has not departed from her for a day. He wakes up with her people at every daybreak. He accompanies them along their paths. He is the carpenter, son of the carpenter. He is the fisherman. He is the poor. He is the generous. How can He not be a citizen of beloved Gaza?

Every day He is whipped and nailed and crucified. Every day He rises from the tomb. Today is His turn to be in Gaza and He does not break the appointment. He is there. Let those who want to see Christ today go to Gaza.

A non-Chalcedonian Bishop Converts to Orthodoxy in 1912

The following is a translation from Asad Rustum's History, vol. 3 pp. 357-362. It is not only interesting in terms of the description of the ceremony, but also because the conversion seems to have occurred through the Syriac bishop's contact with Russian pilgrims. Recalling this moment of hope for Christian unity in Syria-- just 100 years ago-- can only bring sadness, as Christians have now been virtually eliminated in Homs. The catastrophe that brought Bishop Boutros' Syriac community to the brink of extinction is now being completed.



A Syriac Bishop Joins the Orthodox Church in Homs (1912)

As Beirut was rejoicing over [a letter from] the Patriarch, Shepherd of Shepherds, the Thirteenth Apostle, Homs rejoiced at the reception of Cyril Boutros, bishop of Sadad, and his flock into the Orthodox Catholic Church. On March 4, 1912 all the Orthodox people of Homs gathered in the Cathedral of the Forty Martyrs. After the chanting of "Pasa Pnoi", Athanasius, Metropolitan of Homs, went from the bishop's throne to the royal doors, vested in the epitrachelion and omphorion, then walked to the western door of the church to receive Boutros, Jacobite bishop of Sadad, accompanied by two priests. Boutros made the sign of the cross and waited for the metropolitan to approach as the choir chanted the troparion for the Forty Martyrs.



 The rest of the account is below the jump.