Volos Conference on Christianity in the Middle East

Below is a summary of the conference that was held in Volos, Greece last week about Christians in the Middle East.



The Present and Future of Christians in the Middle East in
Light of the Recent Developments in the Arab World.

  On Saturday, March 30, 2013, the Volos Academy for
Theological Studies successfully concluded its roundtable discussion
entitled “The Present and Future of Christians in the Middle East in
Light of the Recent Developments in the Arab World.” The event, which
was held at the “Thessalia” Conference Center in Melissatika, Volos,
was part of the Academy’s broader program of events for the current
academic year, entitled “Theology in Dialogue.”

The speakers (who came from countries or Christian communities of the
Middle East) presented timely perspectives on the ongoing discussion
not only about the difficulties facing Christians’ very survival, but
also the new challenges posed by the so-called “Arab Spring.”

The roundtable began with introductory remarks by the Director of the
Academy for Theological Studies, Dr. Pantelis Kalaitzidis, who
moderated the event. Dr. Kalaitzidis began by noting the Volos
Academy’s enduring interest in the question of the presence of
Christian in the Middle East, highlighting the Academy’s previous
events on the topic, especially the major international conference in
Volos, organized in conjunction with the World Council on Churches, in
June 2011.

The first speaker, Bishop Elia (Toumeh) of Marmarita (Patriarchate of
Antioch, Syria), described the dramatic consequences of the ongoing
civil war in Syria, which has already last two years, for both
Christians and Muslims, while focusing particularly on the
difficulties, dangers, and painful dilemmas faced by Christians in
Syria. As His Grace emphasized in his remarks, Christian religious
leaders are called to correctly interpret the signs of the times, so
that, with the help of prayer, they are able to understand coming
events. The Orthodox Church, after the difficulties pass, must be able
to participate in the new Syrian society that will emerge. That is why
all Christians must play a constructive role in the reconciliation of
opposing factions. Everyone, he noted, Christians and Muslims alike,
fear fanatical Islam, and this is why Islam must demonstrate its
respect for minorities and present its plan for the future governance
of Syria, providing a positive and peaceful solution to the people
demonstrating on the streets. Christians’ role is to remind Muslims
that they should not behave with the arrogance of the majority, but
according to the logic of patriotism, in which all are equal citizens.

Next, Dr. Hanna Grace, Coptic Christian and Member of the Egyptian
Parliament, gave a historical overview of the position of Christians
in Egypt during both the Ottoman period and the most recent periods of
governance by Nasser, Sadat, and Mubarak, eventually focusing his
attention on the treatment of Christians today by the Islamic
government authorities in Egypt. Based on the latest developments and
the results of the recent referendum, Dr. Grace expressed his belief
that the Islamists will ultimately fail to hold onto power in Egypt,
due to the growing frustration with their governance, as well as to
the more democratic and liberal bloc of voters, as well as the Copts,
especially of the younger generation, who increasingly support the
secular, non-religious parties and movements with a view to building a
pluralistic and democratic Egypt that respects human rights and
religious freedoms.

Dr. Antoine Courban, Professor at the Saint-Joseph University of
Beirut, and an Orthodox intellectual from Lebanon, then spoke about
the hopeful signs that have come out of the upheavals in the Arab
world. The speakers stressed that the core of the message that has
sent people rushing into the streets is freedom and democracy, dignity
and respect for the human person. He also argued that, as Christians,
we must recognize Christ himself in the face of every victim of the
uprising, regardless of religion or confession. With the revolt,
Arabs—both Christians and Muslims—are attempting, albeit very late, to
enter into modernity and defend the values of freedom, human dignity,
tolerance, diversity, and peaceful coexistence, values that are
quintessentially Christian.

The final speaker was Fr. Georges Massouh, Director of the Center for
Christian-Muslims Studies at the University of Balamand in Lebanon,
who—without neglecting the risk posed by extreme Islamic
fundamentalist movements to Christians but also more broadly to all
citizens—maintained that the uprisings and revolutions taking place in
the Middle East also contain many promising signs, first and foremost
being the people’s thirst for political and religious freedom,
democracy, egalitarianism, solidarity, and tolerance of difference. He
argued, however, that only a secular—and not religious or
theocratic—government can provide a guarantee for the above, while
recalling that Christians in the Middle East have always been in favor
of secular brand of government and law which bridges the religious
divides.

These presentations were followed by a fruitful dialogue and exchange
of views with the attendees, and the event concluded with remarks by
His Eminence Metropolitan Ignatius of Demetrias, who thanked the
speakers for their participation and extremely enlightening
suggestions, while also noting the Metropolis of Demetrias’ enduring
interest in and support for Christians of the Middle East. He also
recalled the important ecclesiastical, theological, and pastoral work
carried out within the Patriarchate of Antioch and the fruitful
exchanges between Orthodox from Greece and the Orthodox Youth Movement
(MJO) in Syria and Lebanon.

Orthodox anti-Sectarianism in Lebanon

Read the whole article here.



The Non-Sectarian Sect

by Samuel Noble


[...]

For the Orthodox of Syria and Lebanon, now is perhaps the most challenging period since the anti-Christian pogroms of 1860 that began the process of emigration from the Levant resulting in the majority of the world’s Arab Christians today living in the Americas and Australia. Fears of Islamist rule in Syria loom on the horizon, but there is little realistic hope that the defeat or removal of the Baathist government would actually succeed in establishing any sort of government that could put an end to the vortex of violence engulfing that country. Christians, Syria’s most vulnerable minority, often have little choice other than to seek refuge wherever they can. In Lebanon too, emigration brought on by political and economic uncertainty is a serious threat to the long-term survival of the Orthodox community. These challenges and anxieties have led to much discussion as well as certain concrete, controversial proposals for political changes purportedly aimed at strengthening the Orthodox community’s position in Lebanon. At the heart of all such discussions is a single question: can the Orthodox maintain their traditional identity as the “non-sectarian sect” or do challenges within a sectarian system require sectarian solutions?
  
[...] 

Daily Star: Christians Slowly Fade from Tripoli

Read the whole article here.



Christians slowly fade from Tripoli’s troubled landscape

 by Jana El Hassan


Recent clashes and bouts of violence have flared in Tripoli, fostering negative perceptions of the country’s second largest city, once a paragon of coexistence.

Previous episodes of fighting, dating back to the Civil War period, have pushed the majority of Christians out of the city while many of those who remain are adamant about “maintaining their roots.”
There is no official count of Christians residing in Tripoli, but according to the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Tripoli-Koura, the population has declined from 22 percent in the 1970s to 6 percent today.

[...]

The frequent clashes in the north have definitely succeeded in driving some Christians out of the city.
In 2007, following several months of battles between Fatah al-Islam, an Islamist militant organization, and the Army in the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared near Tripoli, Melissa Rahban and her family decided to move to Koura.

“We moved to Dahr al-Ain and rented a small apartment there. It was supposed to be for an interim period but I was able to get a job in one of the schools here and enrolled the kids,” she said.

“I still go there, of course. I have many relatives in Mina but I don’t think about moving back to Tripoli, It may not be Kandahar, but it certainly isn’t a place to call home anymore.”

Fr Georges Massouh on the Patriarchate of Jerusalem's Behavior

Arabic original here.


Corrupt Ecclesial Agression

The unity of the Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, according to the Orthodox understanding, is based on the unity that exists between independent local churches with recognized geographic boundaries. The diocese, which has at its head a bishop who pastors, directs, and manages it, is an independent church and no other bishop or other diocese has the right to intervene in its internal affairs.

From the first centuries of Christianity, the Orthodox Church knew the system of five patriarchates: Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. Each patriarchate has a holy synod made up of diocesan bishops and presided over by the patriarch who is the bishop of the main city, without him having canonical authority over any of the bishops who belong to the synod.

The Orthodox Church has preserved this independence after the rise of new patriarchates and independent churches: Moscow, Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania, Greece, Albania... But with the spread of Orthodox outside their mother countries and outside the historical geographic framework of the Orthodox churches, there arose the problem of Orthodox parishes in countries of the diaspora. In this way there came to be more than one bishop in a single city and this is an explicit violation of Orthodox tradition, which says that it is not permitted for there to be more than one bishop in a single city.

If the presence of more than one bishop in a single city that is not under the authority of any of the independent Orthodox churches is considered to be an unambiguous theological violation, how much more so is it when one of the churches infringes upon a sister church? This is what happened when the Patriarchate of Jerusalem appointed a bishop as "Archbishop of Qatar", which falls within the historical and canonical boundaries of the Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East and is dependent on the Antiochian bishop, the Metropolitan of Baghdad, Kuwait, and the Arabian Gulf Constantine Papastephanou. The metropolitans of the See of Antioch met under the presidency of Patriarch John X and decided that this appointment "violates the canons of the Orthodox Catholic Church because each patriarchate is independent and it is not permissible for one patriarchate to interfere and elect a bishop for the territory of another patriarchate." Patriarch John sent a letter to the Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos XIII in which he expressed his shock at the decision and asked for it to be reconsidered. The letter was then sent to the heads of all the independent Orthodox churches.

Jerusalem's infringement upon the Patriarchate of Antioch is added to the black record of the leaders of the Church of Jerusalem. They-- Greeks and not Palestinians-- undertook to make long-term leases of thousands of acres of Palestinian land from its endowment to Jewish colonists  at symbolic prices in exchange for the Israeli authorities' condoning their domination over the Church of Jerusalem and preventing anything that might return to Christian Arabs their right to manage their local church. They forge an alliance with the Israeli state that oppresses their Arab Orthodox children and pay no attention to the Christian presence in Palestine, content with the religious tourism that brings in wealth for them and for the occupying state.

This "Greek colonialism" of the Church of Jerusalem now has a boundless appetite. Thus this colonialism has appropriated territories of the Antiochian Church. The question is: would the Church of Jerusalem be concerned with the church in Qatar were it not for lust for money? Why did the Church of Jerusalem not think of the poor Palestinian Christians in camps and in Arab slums as they are only interested in Qatar? Will the Holy Light come down, as some Orthodox believe, this year to light the candle of the offending patriarch, knowing that God neither loves aggressors nor their candles?

The Independent on the Plight of Syria's Christians

The plight of Syria's Christians: 'We left Homs because they were trying to kill us'

 By Kim Sengupta  

   The red Mitsubishi Lancer GT with "go faster" stripes was a source of great pride to Hamlig Bedrosian. It was the only one of its kind in the city, pointed out on the streets as he roared along, an object of admiration and envy among his friends in Aleppo.

The car may have been the reason why the 23-year-old student was ambushed and taken hostage, along with a female friend, as they were travelling to a shopping complex. The revolutionary fighters with Kalashnikovs who led them away subjected Mr Bedrosian – blindfolded and tied up – to savage beatings and threats of execution before the pair was finally freed in exchange for a ransom.
Or there may have been a different reason for the attack: they were targeted by the Sunni Muslim rebels because they were Christians. Mr Bedrosian did not wait long to find out, leaving – along with his brother – for Lebanon. Others from the Syrian Armenian community followed, abandoning their homes.

The Haddad family had no doubts about why they had to escape from Homs. "We left because they were trying to kill us," said 18-year-old Noura Haddad. She is now staying with relations in the town of Zahle in the Bekaa Valley. "They wanted to kill us because we were Christians. They were calling us Kaffirs, even little children saying these things. Those who were our neighbours turned against us.
"At the end, when we ran away, we went through balconies. We did not even dare go out on the street in front of our house. I've kept in touch with the few Christian friends left back home, but I cannot speak to my Muslim friends any more. I feel very sorry about that."

Mr Bedrosian and Ms Haddad are among thousands who have left Syria as the 20 month-long civil war gets increasingly vicious and increasingly sectarian. The prospect of reconciliation between the Alawites, from which the ruling elite are drawn, and the overwhelmingly Sunni opposition, gets more remote by the day after each round of strife. But now it is the Christians, who have largely sought to remain neutral, who are on the receiving end of abuse and attacks. For many, the choice now is between leaving the country or risking an uncertain and hazardous future.

[...]

Read the rest.

Met. Ephrem on the 71st Anniversary of the Youth Movement

Arabic original here.


The 71st Anniversary of the Movement
Mar Elias School, Mina
Saturday, March 16, 2013

The Lord Jesus says in the Gospel of John, "The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit" (John 12:23-24).

These words completely apply to our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for the fruit of our salvation. However, it also applies to us who believe in Jesus if we want to resemble Him and strive to purchase our own salvation and the salvation of those around us today.

The issue is that of our witness. It is no longer limited to and focused on spreading the word, preaching, excessive advertising and controversy on Facebook and emails... We are in need in the Church of people, and especially of youth who in their lives defy the pattern of worldly consumerism in order to embody the Gospel and move beyond these electronic media and even fast from this information technology that often occupies our children without nourishing their souls.

Beloved brothers, let me speak to you frankly and say that the Movement is not a party that is closed in on itself, struggling to persist and continue within the Church. I will day to say what Father Elias Morcos, of eternal memory, once said, "The Movement was created so that a time might come when there is no longer any need for its existence." I do not at all mean that we are not in pressing need today of Movement youth. On the contrary, what I want to say is that we are in need of good leaven in our society today, and good leaven dissolves in order to leaven the entire dough so in the end it will become good to eat. Let us resemble members of the Movement who sacrificed themselves and bore good fruit according to the model of the righteous Metropolitan Boulos (Bendaly) and our beloved brother Elie Obeid who recently departed from us.

The Gospel of the righteous ones whom we celebrate today says, "when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly" (Matthew 3:4-6).

God alone, if He desires to reveal our good work, allows people to see the light on our faces: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 5:16).

Finally, I will mention what Patriarch Ignatius, of thrice-blessed memory said, "An Orthodox is someone who lives as a monk wherever he is, in the midst of the world." This is what we need today, monks in the midst of the world. This is how I envision the Movement...

Peace and forgiveness, and have a joyous feast!

+Ephrem
Metropolitan of Tripoli, Koura, and their Dependencies

An Interview with Bishop Luka Khoury on the Situation in Syria

Read the entire interview with Russia Today here.

Outsiders are killing Syrian People, destroying Churches and mosques - Christian Bishop

[..]


NK: Do the militants target Orthodox Churches?
BL: They kill people. They do not care about people, about human lives. And that's more important than churches and cathedrals, because if there are no people, there's no need for cathedrals. They do not care about having killed hundreds of our people, let alone destroying churches or mosques. Our churches have been attacked in all provinces. In Saidnaya the monastery was under fire, but, thank God, a miracle happened - the shell landed in the yard, breaking through the wall, but didn't explode. It broke in two, with all the gunpowder in one half of it. If not for this miracle, the shell would've killed 30 orphan girls. I've been there and saw everything. Everywhere - in Harasta, Arbin, Zabadani, Daraa, Aleppo, and around Damascus - our churches and our people have been attacked. They are suffering. Our cathedral in Raqqa has been severely damaged. These outlaws assault parishioners, kidnap and kill priests. Father Fadi Haddad from Qatana was kidnapped and killed when he attempted to rescue his people. They tortured him and killed him. The same happened in Hama. Currently we're trying to rescue the two priests that remain abducted.

[...]


NK: What are the sentiments within the parishes of the Patriarchate of Antioch in the USA, Canada and Australia?
BL: Metropolitan Philip Heads the parishes there. He is even a bigger patriot of Syria than I am. He works in the best interests of the whole community - the whole Church of Syria. The Supreme Mufti and I were supposed to pay a visit to the USA, but unfortunately he was denied a visa. To express solidarity for him, I decided to call off the trip. There surely can be a couple of people in any parish abroad who have their own views of the situation in Syria. But overall, there are mainly Syrian patriots within the Patriarchate of Antioch all over the world.

NK: Is there any pressure exerted on the parishes abroad attempting them towards the position of the West on Syria?
BL: There hasn't been any direct Political pressure so far. But there is pressure and a threat of attack by supporters of the Syrian opposition. Some of our parishioners were beaten. Our female Honorary Consul in Montreal was attacked - her chemist's shop was raided and her husband was beaten. Another attack was on a restaurant owner in Ottawa - for his involvement with the Syrian diaspora.

 [...]