Al-Safir on the Return of Christians to Homs

Arabic original here.

Syria's Christians: Nativity, Golgotha and Resurrection... All at Once
by Wissam Abdallah

Putting up a Christmas tree with a small crèche beside it is something normal, but it is something exceptional in the Hamidiya neighborhood of the old city of Homs in a time of war and destruction, in a time when some residents are returning to their destroyed homes. To complete the image: a Golgotha of suffering experienced by the people and a Nativity and Resurrection of their will to live.

With the conclusion of the truce in the old city of Homs and the departure of armed groups from its neighborhoods, some residents have started to return to their homes and neighborhoods to contribute to the return of life as much as is possible.

As Christmas approaches, young people in the neighborhood of Hamidiya have started to celebrate in a way fitting the situation that the country is experiencing and in a way that confirms their presence and existence in their land.

A recital of Christmas songs was held at the Syriac Catholic church and a Christmas concert was held at the Umm al-Zunnar Church. Homs' director of endowments, Sheikh Issam al-Masri and the director of the Homs project of the Jesuit Commission for the Service of Refugees, Fr Ziyad Hilal and the coordinators of the Program for the Rehabilitation of Wells all took part in the blessing and rehabilitation of a number of water wells.

The flames of war have affected places of worship.  Fadi, from Hamidiya, spoke to al-Safir about this and says, "The area of Hamidiya and Bustan al-Diwan has twelve churches of various denominations. These churches were damaged to varying degrees over the course of events. Some were completely destroyed, like the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint George, some were extensively damaged, like the Greek Catholic Church of Our Lady of Peace, the Church of the Holy Spirit, Umm al-Zunnar, and the Protestant church. Some were lightly damaged." Locals and Christian religious leaders are working together with official institutions and civil associations to rebuild homes and places of worship and to rebuild infrastructure such as electricity, telephones, water and sanitation, and to haul off the enormous amount of debris in the area.

Fadi explains the role played by Christian religious leaders in convincing the armed groups that were in Hamidiya and the old city of Homs as a whole, since they were accepted as dialogue partners by these groups. He says, "Today also they are contributing as much as possible to the special agreement in al-Waer. This does not mean that religious leaders from other communities have not contributed to these agreements. In their turn, they have put pressure on the armed groups and softened the government's demands in these settlements."

He adds, "In terms of the role of Christian religious leaders in bringing life back to the old city of Homs, it is true what is said about them, that they immediately started to provide water, supplies, meals and all the basic essentials of life in order to facilitate the return of residents to their homes. This continues even now."

Among ruined walls and burned-out rooms, residents are returning. Shops are opening and neighborhoods are being cleaned up. Around thirty thousand families are estimated to have fled Hamidiya and Bustan al-Diwan, while the number having returned up to this point is no greater than 500 families. This is due to various reasons, the most important being that their period of displacement was very long.

A young man named Amjad who is among those returning to Homs spoke to al-Safir about this situation, saying, "Voluntary return is particular to families, each according to their circumstances and capabilities. However, I can confirm the return of a large proportion of those owning homes and means, at least to repair what was destroyed by the war and then to take up permanent residence in the coming period."

According to Fadi, "the decision to return requires an active economy in order to move their businesses back there again." He adds to these factors the inability of some to bear the costs of rebuilding their homes, especially those that have been seriously damaged. For his part, Amjad says that "the basis for this return is a sense of belonging to and love for this land and nation... Here are our homes... Here are our memories... Here are our churches. The armed groups forced us to leave at the start of the crisis."

As for Fadi, he believes that the situation of Christians in Syria is like that of all Syrians, who are attached to their land, their homes and their neighborhoods and that it is natural for them to return when circumstances allow. He adds, "I do not deny the high rate of refugees outside of Syria as a result of the crisis, but i believe that it is a temporary flight in order to wait for the security situation to stabilize in Syria as a whole."

Syria's Christians are among those who have chosen to remain and to continue life in their land and their institutions. They are contributing to the formulation of a new message at the threshold of Christmas, perhaps the beginning of a "theology of stone" to express the rootedness of their presence within Syrian society. It is a theology that is not based on religious dogma so much as a social engine that is not limited to Christians but includes all Syrians, so that each can contribute to building a bridge and forging a way to raise the nation up from its bitter wounds.

Met Elias Audi's Christmas Sermon

Arabic original here.



Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Beirut and its Dependencies Elias Audi presided at the Christmas liturgy at the Cathedral of Saint George in central Beirut. After the reading from the Holy Gospel, Audi gave a sermon in which he said:

[...] More than two thousand years ago, God became incarnate to save man. What has man done? Has he understood this salvific message and accepted it or is he still languishing in disobedience and wallowing in sins? On a day such as this in a previous year, I said that Lebanon has become a house without doors and I am afraid that it will also be without a roof. Its children are close brothers who prey on each other instead of joining hands to fend off winds and adversities. Has anything changed in Lebanon and its surroundings? Perhaps, but only for the worse, because the winds have strengthened and are almost destroying everything. Hatred and blind prejudice have become more vicious and extremism captures weak souls and reaps the innocent with kidnapping, slaughter, abuse and torture. The things we have witnessed in the past year cause us sorrow: rampant terrorism in Lebanon and the region, the loss of innocent lives for no reason, unjustified assaults on people's dignity and unchecked disregard for the lives of citizens. Add to this the assaults on holy places, the destruction of churches and monasteries, the erasing of heritage and memory, the elimination of those who are different, the imposition of a single kind and a single religion, mass expulsion of people who have committed no crime other than being different, to the point that some people rival beasts in their violent tendencies and the destruction that they wreak. In the 21st century, very far from ages of ignorance and backwardness, is it reasonable for a man to kill his brother only because he disagrees with his opinion or has a different religious or political affiliation? It is very saddening that there is silence about the brutality of the killers and the barbarism of the extremist groups, as though those who kill, torture, oppress and expel were insignificant flies or insects. Even if we have heard a voice from some quarters in the world, it is a very timid voice and almost inaudible.

[...] In Lebanon, the country still has no head or it now has twenty-one heads. Regional and international rivalries are still reflected in the Lebanese parties, which prevent the election of a president for the republic. The president of the republic is a symbol of national unity who ensures respect for the constitution and preserves the independence, unity and territorial integrity of Lebanon. This is what is stipulated by Article 49 of the constitution. Now, eight years later, the unity of the nation has no symbol and there is no president to ensure respect for the constitution and preserve independence. Does this situation not impede the work of the state? Does this not detract from its reputation abroad? Does it not pose a threat at home? The Lebanese are in a strange situation. When presidential elections took place through intervention by foreign countries, they were restive. When they had an opportunity to elect a president of their own because other countries were occupied with other priorities, they missed the opportunity on account of excuses by which they camouflage their sins and private interests." [...] "Is the agreement that some call for democracy? Is the obstruction practiced by some democracy? Is clinging to a position without regard for the interest of the nation the behavior of adults?"

[...] The vacancy of the position affects all of Lebanon without exception. The Lebanese have the right to a republic with all its parts that is respected, capable and effective.

Do Lebanon and the Lebanese not deserve to be free from those who demand leadership out of private interests and minor considerations and to transcend their ego and sacrifice it for the sake of the public interest, the interest of all. We need a little humility, a lot of love, feelings of responsibility and self-renunciation on the part of those who are responsible so that the nation will be saved. Lebanon has not run out of men who are competent, patriotic, wise and capable. They are many. So why do deputies not agree on an issue that lies at the heart of their duties: gathering to elect a president from among this number of qualified men? Is this not the democracy of which they sing? Since they met to extend their term of office (and it is strange how the quorum was ensured), why did they not undertake this heroic deed once more, setting their interests and calculations aside and only looking out for the interest of Lebanon and its people, who are also their people? Here it must be stated that being a deputy is a mandate granted by the people for a specified period of time and that extending this mandate is to appropriate a decision that belongs to the people and to violate their right to elect their representatives. Did the deputies not wonder when they left the session for extension, why people were protesting in various ways? Did they not wonder why they were being called various names? Were they not affected by these protestors, despite their small number? Did they not read what was written in social media? Is disrupting the work of parliament and preventing a session to elect a president one of their rights or duties as representatives of the people that they have a duty to perform to the fullest? Is an employee in public administration or the private sector not punished if he neglects to do his duty or is absent from his job? So why do the representatives of the people disdain citizens and their rights?

[...] Here must be repeated what we always say. The people must also be aware of their responsibility and to hold their leaders to account, not be led along behind them unthinkingly. The people must know their interest because this land that is their nation is a gift to them from God and they must preserve it and not squander a single inch of it. They must choose their representatives well to govern this land that through the people becomes a nation and through its strong institutions becomes a state. If one of them fails, they should hold him to account and if one of them performs his duty completely, they should thank him. But the problem is that we are living in a state of political and social decay and general indifference. Even the laws in Lebanon have to be formulated for officials, even if it comes at the expense of citizens. [...] For example, we have been hearing about the food safety law for more than ten years, but it is still shelved because ministers cling to their powers. What about the health of citizens? Must politics corrupt everything in Lebanon, even that which pertains to citizens' health? Can you believe that the ministers still differ over the necessity of passing a law concerned with food safety? A minister's power cannot be touched, but there is no problem if citizens' health is affected, their dignity is trampled and their lives are threatened. Yesterday, we saw in the  Beirut airport storage rotten foods and medicines that one of the officials called garbage. Of course, we must thank every official who conscientiously bears his responsibility and exposes every violation of the law and public safety. We hope that all officials will have zero tolerance for anything that harms public welfare and will cooperate together for the common good. Having clean food doesn't matter. Having clean hands doesn't. Having a clean conscious doesn't matter. Having a clean environment doesn't matter. It seems that there is an ancient enmity between the Lebanese and cleanliness. In the context of talking about responsibility, I would like to draw the attention of the Lebanese media to the need to be faithful to the mission that they have chosen and that this faithfulness is reflected in telling the truth and nothing but the truth. Media is a two-edged sword. If they do good, they contribute to building up humanity and the nation and if they do wrong, their wrongdoing is devastating. So they must always search for the truth and express it in a constructive manner. The responsibility of members of the media is great because media enters into every home, so it must not be a vehicle for one person, a mouthpiece for one person, a means for violating privacy, or wantonly insulting dignity for no reason.

[...] The season of Christmas is a season of reconciliation between God and man and between man and all creation. Through Christ's incarnation, our nature is no longer the prisoner of evil, but rather the path to divinization has been opened before it. God's will is that no one remains outside the path of salvation. The incarnate God has prepared everything for our salvation. It remains for us to accept the call. Let us cast aside our old man with all his sins and failings and let us raise our eyes to Christ who bowed the heavens and came down to us to lift us out of the abyss of death and bring us into the life of the kingdom. Let us empty ourselves of our selfishness, our affiliations, and our interests and extend our hand to others and work together for our nation and its people. May God return this blessed season to you in wellness, health, peace and stability. May He return to us our bishops Yuhanna and Paul safe and sound, just as we ask Him to return all those who have been kidnapped to their families and all those who have been displaced to their homes, to heal the hearts of those sorrowing, to strengthen the resolve of the oppressed, and to accept into His kingdom the spirits of those who fell defending this nation, especially those from the army and all the security forces who were struck by the hand of evil and deprived of the breath of life.

Met Georges Khodr: The Sunday after Christmas

Arabic original here.


The Sunday after Christmas

The days of Christmas stretch on. On the second day there is the Synaxis of the Mother of God and on the 29th there is the commemoration of the children who were killed by Herod. For today, the Sunday after the feast, and on each of these three days, the Gospel reading is the same: "When the Magi departed" from the Gospel of Matthew, since as the days pass we continue to stay with the divine child.

Here stands Herod determined to kill the Lord, but Joseph fled with Jesus and His mother to Egypt. Is what was meant by "Egypt" the desert of Sinai and its eastern borderlands, which are not far from Bethlehem? In Sinai, where Herod had no authority, Jesus would have been safe from the king.

Killing the children was in keeping with Herod's character, since he killed many people on account of his policies, including his son and some of his relatives. There are many who resemble Herod. They are the ones who want to kill Christ in the hearts of those who love Him or those who want to eliminate the Christian Church. However, the God who said, "Out of Egypt I have called My Son," calls us out of the darkness of oppression into His wondrous light. In the Bible, Egypt is the image of non-being and slavery. Grace brings us out of this into the Promised Land, to our meeting with God. Liturgically, this takes place at the Feast of Epiphany.

Those children died for the baby Jesus. We must pay heed to children, our brothers, and not grow hard and not commit a sin before them, as this would be killing their souls.

"Rachel weeps for her children." She is the grandmother of Benjamin and Ephraim, whose tribes settled the region. Her tomb is there, halfway along the route between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. This is the weeping of all humanity over injustice. Jesus and those who were martyred for His sake are an image of all those who are persecuted in the world. The Lord will draw our attention to the fact that "blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake."

After this retreat to Egypt, the baby Jesus returned with His parents to Palestine because Herod had died. Herod was king over Judea, the region around Jerusalem. There were fears about the new king Archilaeus, so Joseph wanted to go to Galilee and live in Nazareth.

The city of exile became the city where Jesus grew up in human terms and where he learned to work with his hands. That is, he appears as an ordinary person, as a simple person. There he was obedient to His parents. Joseph taught Him the Holy Bible according to the traditions of the Jews. When the Jewish scholars debated in the temple when He was twelve years old,  He was equipped with the knowledge that He received at home and that which He received from the Jewish scholars in Nazareth.

His reputation spread that He knew the Holy Bible and that He was a teacher. Thus, "He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.  And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah" (Luke 4:16-17). "Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him" because they were waiting for Him to preach to them and explain to them Isaiah's prophecy that He had read.

After Nazareth, He taught in Capernaum on Sabbaths, and then went out to all the synagogues of Galilee. We should not be surprised that the blessed Lord studied the scriptures. This is part of His humanity. The Bible says that "He grew in wisdom, stature and grace before God and men". His divinity did not devoid His humanity of progressing according to the laws of growth for all humans. This is part of the mystery of His humility which will also be manifest on the Feast of Epiphany when He goes down to the river to be baptized.

Patriarch John X's Nativity Message

The text can be read here.

al-Monitor Interviews Patriarch John X

If you do not already regularly read al-Monitor, do so!  Full interview here.

Syrian patriarch: To help Christians, stop flow of weapons

Al-Monitor:  Metropolitan Joseph has been described as a “son of Damascus” with a particular interest in protecting Christians in the Middle East. Do you foresee the US church playing a greater role in addressing the plight of Christians in the region?

John X:  We have a huge archdiocese here, with about 270 parishes, 500 priests and deacons, and nine bishops. We have a lot of hope for the ecclesiastical work this archdiocese can make for all our people to bear witness to Jesus Christ. We are one church, one family and all our people here have roots in Syria or Lebanon or Jordan or Palestine or Iraq and they help spiritually and financially. On the financial side, they send [aid] to the patriarchate to help our people there, in Syria especially these days. There are about 2 million Christians in Syria [and] we have a lot of needs these days. We try to help all without distinguishing between Muslims and Christians — we give to the Muslims and the Christians.

Al-Monitor:  Earlier this year a conference focusing on protecting Christians in the Middle East was held in Washington. Has it had any impact?

John X:  We are waiting. We are waiting. We are waiting to see some action. We finished the conference with a communique [urging] the governments [of the world] to find a peaceful solution, a solution through dialogue, not through other kinds of ways — the most important issue is to press all to find a peaceful solution for Syria.
Al-Monitor:  What has been your message in your meetings with US and other officials?

John X:  Our message is for peace, how to find a peaceful solution for Syria — that’s the most important thing. And the second is that we as Christians, we are not transients — we are not visitors. We are from these countries, and we live there, and we will still live there. Everywhere we go they ask us, are you remaining in Syria, or Iraq, or Lebanon? It’s a very sensitive and difficult topic. But we believe the solution is not to send war ships or ships for transportation to take us abroad. We ask all the governments to push for peace. If you want to help us as Christians, to protect us as Christians, you have to find a peaceful solution for Syria and for the Middle East. You can’t protect me only, if my neighborhood is not well.

Al-Monitor:  A key aspect of US policy is to empower so-called moderate rebels to help achieve such a political solution. What is your view on this?

John X:  We hope to find a peaceful solution through political dialogue, and to cut off all these sources of money and weapons to all these rebels.

Al-Monitor:  You’ve personally been impacted by the violence. Have you had any news of your brother [Paul Yazigi, Metropolitan of the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of Aleppo] and Syriac Orthodox Bishop Mar Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim, who were kidnapped last year? Have you found out who is responsible?

John X:  Unfortunately, we do not have any news. We are afraid because we see this international silence. All [foreign officials] say to us is they do not know anything, unfortunately. It’s a shame for all the world, for all the governments, because they’re speaking about human rights and about democracy, but in this case where is the democracy and where are the human rights? Some governments have information, absolutely, but they don’t give it to us.

Al-Monitor:  How are you counseling other victims of violence? Are you worried about a cycle of sectarian revenge?

John X:  We believe the only way to live with the other is in a peaceful way, and to accept the other. We do not believe in extremism or takfirism or this kind of thinking. For these reasons as Christians we try to remain in our homes, in Syria and Lebanon and all the Middle East, and we do not believe that you can use the religion to divide families, to divide brother from brother. For these reasons we have to live in this spirit and to accept the others, to respect the others. We still live this sprit [and] have a very good relationship in our patriarchate with the Muslims.

Al-Monitor:  What kind of support do you need from the US and the rest of the world to achieve peace?

John X:  We still hope that we will have a good result and we will find a solution, despite all these catastrophes and tragedy. We still hope. And we still hope that some governments and institutions in the world want truly to find a solution. This encourages us to continue our mission, our work. We live with this hope that after the cross there is the resurrection. We are passing now in a very difficult cross, but we believe in the resurrection. We ask the international community not to think only about their interests in the Middle East — to know that the people of the Middle East is a lovely people, and they seek and ask for peace. And to help us to live all together peacefully.

Al-Monitor:  What are you doing to get across this message that the situation is salvageable?

John X:  We try to communicate [how] we try in the patriarchate to help the others, not only the Christians but the Muslims. That is the way we express our mission; that’s what we are, that’s what we believe. It’s very important for the outside world to know this is true. And I think they know.

Al-Monitor:  The Antiochian church is among the oldest Christian churches in the world. What are some of your plans for its future?

John X:  The church always has to be alive. And when we say has to be alive, that’s two things: You have roots in the past, your traditions for example, and you have a vision for the future. And you have to connect the past with the future. Now the youth have mobile phones, iPads. We have to change and speak their language. That is not a problem for us, because the truth is the truth. It’s the same content, in a different way. We have a lot of converts — Protestants, Anglicans. They realize they don’t have the true meaning of a lot of things in their life and they find it in the orthodox church, because we have this kind of thinking to connect the past with the future.

Met Georges Khodr: The Divine Child

Arabic original here.


The Divine Child

What shall we offer to the divine Child who is born for our sake after the magi recognized Him in their traditions as God, King, and one prepared for sacrifice? What more can we say than this, when the texts read to us at matins have taught us that what Christ wants from us is expressions of correct theology, that we confess Him as Redeemer, eternal God, light of light, true God of true God, begotten not made. I say these things that we confess because some people here and their claim that they were raised Christian, do not confess this faith, do not celebrate the birth of God Incarnate or His Theophany, but rather commemorate Him as a great man.

There are many even in our midst who, if you asked them, would say that Christ was a prophet, a great man, a social reformer or expressions like this. However, we who gather in His temples come together to confess Him first as God and to accept Him as Lord. We affirm  that God alone can redeem man, that man is stumbling in ignorance and death and that if we want to escape this cycle of despair and spiritual death, then we only have to confess that the table is prepared for us at every feast we celebrate and at every divine liturgy, bringing grace from God Himself to heal us. Christ brought good news of this grace, poured it out on the cross, and caused it to dawn in the resurrection. The birth that we celebrate today is nothing other than the beginning of that path that He will follow from cave to cave, from the cave of birth to the cave of death: Christ in swaddling clothes, then Christ in graveclothes. Christ is a sacrifice from beginning to end, in order to show people a light that shines upon them as fire. In Arabic, light [nur] comes etymologically from fire [nar]. He in whom the love of Christ is aflame is in Christ the light of the world.

If we know this, then we will surmise from it the words of the Apostle that are read to us in the Epistle on Nativity, where he said "When the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born[a] of a woman, born under the law,  to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons" (Galatians 4:4-5). This means that Christ is the fullness of time and that we are not waiting for any time other than Him. We are not waiting for any place where we can live apart from the place of Christ. We are not waiting for any other idea. We are not waiting for another feeling. All things have been realized and now there is nothing we must do other than to receive, other than to listen to Him, to contemplate His face, to live from this face and to inspire others to Him.

Why are we able to live in the face of Christ and to extend Him to others around us?! This is because in Him we have become children of God. He has breathed the Holy Spirit into us, who will cause us to call Him "Abba", by which Jesus means "Father". This is a word of tenderness, a word of familiarity from a child to his father and mother. Therefore, we have entered into God's family. After having been born into a family of flesh and blood, we have been transported from everything that is earthly and fleshly and from every relationship in flesh and blood to a relationship of worship. In Arabic, worship [3ibada] is from slavery [3ubudiyya]. That is, we have made ourselves slaves of God. It is not that we are slaves, but that we have made ourselves slaves of the One whom we love insofar as we look at God Himself alone and obey Him. In this way we are born anew. We are born of the vision of love by which we see God. If He looked at us as we are in our sins, we would die, but He looks at us with mercy and encounters us in His fatherly heart.

Let us proceed in this way to the blessings of Christmas, born anew in a world that does not know God, that does not know the beauty of the Gospel, so that we may be a little bit of light in a darkened world and that people may see our works and praise our Father in heaven.

How Bishop Qais Sadeq Entered The Patriarchate of Antioch

From an interview in this month's Majallat al-Nour. Arabic original in pdf here.

Who is Qais Sadeq?

I was born in Amman, Jordan in 1954. My father is Fuad bin Georges Sadeq who put on the robe of Christ in the baptismal font of the Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus in Kousba, al-Koura, the village of his fathers and grandfathers. My mother is from Ramlet al-Bayda, Palestine. I received my general Jordanian secondary diploma in literature in 1972 from Taj High School in Amman. On the Feast of the Cross, September 14, 1986 Patriarch Ignatius IV ordained me as a celibate deacon at Holy Cross Cathedral in Damascus and as a priest in the same cathedral on September 14, 1988. I was elevated to the rank of archimandrite by Patriarch Ignatius IV on March 11, 1990 and was appointed as an advisory judge for the spiritual appeals court in Damascus (Patriarchal Decision no. 84/1990). On May 6, 1992, I was appointed pastor of the Church of Saint George in Damascus and pastor of the Romanian Orthodox in Damascus. With the blessing of Patriarch Ignatius IV, I returned to Amman to be a consultant at the Crown Prince's Office for Christian Affairs (1995-1999).

How did you come to the Patriarchate of Antioch?

In June, 1972, I came to Balamand from Jordan for the first time to participate in summer training workshops held by the Orthodox Youth Movement. Among those I met there were the Metropolitan of Mount Lebanon, the engineer Michel (now Metropolitan Ephrem) Kyriakos, Hani (now Patriarch John X) Yazigi, members of the Holy Synod of Antioch and senior members of the Youth Movement.

After two months, with the blessing of Patriarch Elias IV I returned once more to Balamand as a patriarchal student at the Saint John of Damascus Institute of Theology. Among those under whom I studied were Patriarch Ignatius IV of thrice-blessed memory, then Metropolitan of Lattakia and dean of the Institute; His Eminence Metropolitan Elias (Audi), his assistant; Sayyedna Georges Khodr; Nadim (Fr Paul) Tarazi; and Dr Adib Saab. Among my colleagues during my studies then were Metropolitans Elias (Kfoury), Samih (Mansour), Georges (Abu Zakhem) and Paul (Bendaly) of blessed memory. However, God's will was that I leave Balamand before the end of the first term and go to Bucharest in order to receive theological instruction at its theological institute as a student from the Patriarchate of Antioch.

How did you come to Romania?

Through the World Fellowship of Orthodox Youth  Movements (Syndesmos) and with the blessing of Patriarch Justinian of thrice-blessed memory (the patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church), I received a scholarship to do theological studies at the Orthodox seminary in Bucharest, Romania. Because of the position of the Orthodox spiritual leadership of Jerusalem toward Arab members of the Church, the bishop of the diocese (Diodoros, later patriarch of Jerusalem) refused to grant me a certificate of his blessing, claiming that the Church of Jerusalem was not in need of theologians and that the priests and servants that it already had were enough for it. Because of Patriarch Justinian's understanding of the pastoral situation in the See of Jerusalem, he regarded me as a member of the Romanian Church and so did away with the need for a recommendation from Jerusalem. With the blessing of Patriarch Elias IV and the encouragement of the dean of the Saint John of Damascus Institute of Theology at the time, Metropolitan Elias (Hazim), the future patriarch, I entered the Orthodox seminary in Bucharest at the end of the first term as a member of the Antiochian and Romanian Churches. This provoked a protest from the Church of Jerusalem, headed by Patriarch Venediktos, his vicar Metropolitan Basilios and the bishop  of Jordan, Diodoros against the Church of Romania. However, the unity of the position of Antioch and Romania resolved the issue.