Met. Georges Khodr: Prayer is Breathing

Arabic original here.

Prayer is Breathing

The way we are with our Lord is that we are always tormented and the Lord always heals us. It is not for us to wonder why we are like this-- why we are in suffering, why we exist in suffering. Divine inspiration does not give an answer to this question. It does not say why we are subjected to pain, to pain of the body, to pain of the soul, to pain of the conscience. The Divine Scripture is content to observe this and to start off on this basis in order to reveal to us how we can leave this suffering, how we can bear it and change it into the power to create and approach God, turning it into a ladder by which we go up to heaven.

In the Divine Scripture we have promises of healing, and of sure salvation from sin. When he promised the joy and revealed the life that will come when we accept the mystery of God and obey him in all the afflictions of the world that we taste, whether in spirit or in body. When we are in such a state, in torment like what those who sought healing from the Lord were in, we cry out like them: "Lord, have mercy!"

"Son of David, have mercy on me." "Lord have mercy on my son, for he suffers greatly..." We observe that all these words are seeking mercy, which is more comprehensive than healing. When we ask for healing, most of us ask for healing of the body, which is something good, but we have not reached the point of suffering from sin leaking in to us, so we ask for it to be removed from us and we remain Christ's. What is our stance toward the stricken after we fall into evil, after darkness engulfs our souls? What prayer do we pray? Do we trust that God Himself will come down to us if we pray? Do we know that God wants us to speak to Him? For us to enter into dialogue with Him?

Naturally, God is capable of responding at all times, and he responds effectively if we ask or if we do not ask because He knows all our needs. However, the Lord prefers for us to speak to Him so that we might be trained in His friendship. He asks this boldness of us, the boldness of children with their Father. This is what we ask him in the Divine Liturgy, before we recite the Lord's Prayer, when we say, "And make us worthy, O Lord, that with boldness we may call You Father..."

God wants to be among us, to be friendly with us, so that we might know that we have risen to the rank of divinity and so we might realize that God has come down to the rank of humanity. If God has come down to our souls as they are, as we know them to be, in their weakness, in their disgrace, in their filthiness, if God visits these souls then He is their Healer.

The problem of modern, contemporary man is that he is content with himself because he has made puppets, toys that he plays with and he thinks that this is enough, especially if he has acquired some wealth and spared himself hard living and so closes himself off and does not ask about anything. This is mankind's evil in this generation that we are in and for this reason the Lord says, "You unbelieving and perverse generation, how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you?" (Matthew 17:17). If a person completely closes  all the windows to himself, he suffocates because he cannot breathe. When we are content with toys that we have made, we close the window to heaven on ourselves and we suffocate. People do not only suffocate through their lungs. Their mind also freezes, their heart withers, their conscience goes idle and they spiritually die.

What is prayer before this situation? Prayer is us opening the windows when we feel shut in. It is us opening the windows of the heart to heaven so that God can visit our souls. Only then are we able to live.

Prayer is breathing. If we are certain of this, we can conquer all the world's trials because our spirits will be filled with the air of grace.

Fr Georges Massouh: The Lamb Shall Defeat the Beast

Arabic original here.


Last week, Christians celebrated the "Week of Prayer for the Unity of Churches," during which they held various activities focusing on prayer for the restoration of the hoped-for unity, enacting the will of the Lord that they be one just as the Most Holy Trinity is one.

This year, the occasion was overshadowed by concerns on the ground.

Christians are under the difficult circumstances that Syria is going through, where Christians, alongside their Muslim fellow-citizens, are subjected to murder, slaughter, expulsion, kidnapping and rape. These things do not discriminate between Christian and Muslim or between Sunni and Alawite, Shiite, Ismaili and Druze, all victims of the blind hatred that makes no exceptions.

It goes without saying that Christians in Syria do not consider themselves greater or more important that their Muslim partners in the one nation. They find themselves in solidarity with all the people of Syria, in the calamities that they share and the strikes that fall upon all their heads. They are patient and pray at all times for the return of peace, stability and security to the land of their fathers and forefathers.

There is no doubt that Christians, when they pray for the unity of their churches, also pray for the unity of their nations and their societies and the consolidation of their bonds of affection and kinship, regardless of religion or ethnicity. Christianity and insularity are opposites that can never come together. Christianity is either a maker of peace and concord or it does not exist at all.

In this world unity on the religious or national level appears to be very difficult to realize because of human sins and moral failures. However, the blood of the righteous that is shed-- Christian, Muslim, atheist and agnostic-- is what creates unity in the world to come. What humankind cannot do, God does through His mercy and power. The innocent are God's pure ones, regardless of their religion, ideology or race.

Here we can make reference to the Revelation of John, where its writers says of the Kingdom, "Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain" (Revelation 21:3-4). This kingdom was not realized by anything other than the blood of Christ shed upon the cross, "Because you, O Lamb, were slain and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation" (Revelation 5:9). The Lamb was victorious over the beast and over those who behaved like the beast.


The two kidnapped bishops, who without a doubt are praying without cease for the Church and the nation, the captured nuns of Maaloula, who have no consolation save the power of the life-giving cross, and all those who have been kidnapped and unjustly detained who have no support save the the Help of those who Sorrow, the innocent victims whose blood cries out to their Creator, they are the ones brought together by the one, invisible Church, made by God alone. They also are the makers of the Syria of land, history, and shared future.

Met. Georges Khodr on Christian Unity

Arabic original here.


Towards Unity

This week we renew our commemoration of the Christian unity for which we yearn. We say that we have one faith in the essentials. It is true that in visible reality we are not one church. This reality is sorrowful, because it is an image of our being torn apart. However, those capable of seeing our innermost parts know that all those who love Jesus Christ, He Himself makes one in Himself.

I do not expect us to ever become one monolithic church with one canonical structure. Did Christ really want that sort of unity? At the very least, He wanted us not to fight each other, even as debate is inevitable. However, there has come to be little debate between us. It is not that we are intellectually content with disagreement-- and there is some disagreement-- but that our hearts have become intertwined despite regarding the other as being in error, great or small. We have come to see that Christ loves us all, even with our differences.

What does it mean for us to become one in reality? What the Catholics yearn for-- the submission of all Christians of all their various races, dogmas and countries to a central authority that commands and forbids is unreasonable in the foreseeable or unforeseeable future. The Orthodox vision, to which I subscribe, appears to me to be the image of unity as Christianity lived it before the schism: the convergence of the world's churches in unity of faith and worship in a universal system of bishops. It does not appear to me that the churches are capable in the foreseeable future of adopting the system of a supreme executive bishop over all the churches. This sort of Christian internationalism has never existed. Apart from all theological discussion, I do not see contemporary human mind accepting the authority of one person over the entire world, bearing in himself divine infallibility, even if it is supposed to derive from the Church's infallibility.

Toward what goal are we yearning, if we speak of the unity of Christians? No one among the Catholics or anyone else dreams that Christians all want to live under one authority. The Orthodox consider themselves to have perfect unity in the existence of churches that are administratively independent and one in faith. Catholics, despite their belief in their unity, know that there is a French theology and a German theology and that the unity of Catholicism itself is a wish and not actual unity before the last day. Humanity is always in a process of making effort.

What appears as visible unity among the Catholics exists along with the multiplicity and diversity of many. What brings together in psychological reality the German Catholic and the South American Catholic? What brings together the Maronites of Bcharre, with whom I have lived and loved, with the Latin Catholics of Munich?

I think the great onus in the effort for unity lies with the Catholic Church, in terms of her recognizing diversity in the administrative concept of the Church. It has become an affront to the feelings of freedom among the peoples for there to exist one sole executive authority in the universal Church. The dominant pattern in humanity is the diversity of nations and their gifts and different styles, despite the quest to unify their consciences and efforts. Thus the Catholic notion of unity based on the infallibility and executive power of one leader in the whole world is unwelcome by most people. For this reason it seems to me that all the papal efforts to unify theological thought, styles of administration, and programs among the peoples, every notion of centralized authority and internationalist vision of governing the Church have become relics of the Middle Ages. Thus the Catholic Church has become perplexed between her authoritarian heritage and the aspirations of local or minority churches to affirm their particular natures in the Holy Spirit.

For Rome to believe that she comes from the churches and does not just go out to the churches is the start of her salvation and of our own. For Rome to uphold the first millennium for us, this is our desire. For the Orthodox churches to become one in their approach to Rome and less fearful, this is our hope. 

For the Orthodox churches to realize that if they are strong in theological knowledge, another church cannot swallow them up and that they have within themselves greatness of spirit and holiness which makes them face the entire Christian world, this is the start of our path.

My prayer to God during this season is that the churches of our region become convinced that they are called to contribute to unity at the regional and global levels. It is not that each group of us has to fall in line behind its counterpart abroad. Rather, we must innovate in our theological output-- and in this we are not lacking training and acumen.

No group among us has to be content with relying on their counterpart abroad for their thought. What is needed is our contribution to creative thought. Friendly relations are good and we have promoted them. But there must be a theology on the global level. It is not good for us to be satisfied with translations. We are capable of innovating.

At the high level of innovation, the features of intellectual unity will start to appear, just as pastoral relations in love will appear.

Love is not limited to us performing religious celebrations like weddings and funerals together. It is us mingling in theological life in terms of presence and production. It is us not being afraid to mix elements of instruction, professors and students. It is us admitting that the other is better than us in this field or that. It is us examining the best theological production from all. It is us frankly criticizing what comes out from us. It is us seeing the Church of Christ in her reality appearing in this church or that. It is us loving the signs of holiness in all of our churches and for us to insist on what brings us together in upright faith among all. 

The Church of the future does not spring from my church alone. It comes from us all, first in love and humility and second in theological study. Some of us like simple rapprochement, after the manner of friendships in Lebanon. This is good but it is not enough. Understanding is the basis of encounter.

The path to unity lies in seriously striving for the truth that is in Christ. That is, in making life holy and deepening theological thought. You will arrive at true theology if you love your Lord. There is not only revelation. There is study. Do not be afraid to rub up against the other's thought. It will discipline you and bring you up to your Lord. Understand that the best way for you to see unity is effort in constant theological study, which will liberate you from isolation and bring you into the freedom of the children of God.

Striving for unity in reality is striving to see God in all His manifestations in the Church and in the world. If you love Him much, you will see much and you will walk a long path.

Carol Saba on Day One of Patriarch John X's Visit to Moscow

French original here.


The Irenic Visit of Patriarch John X to the Patriarchate of Moscow and All Russia: Day One

Moscow-- Saturday, January 25, 2014-- His Beatitude Patriarch John X of Antioch, primate of the Orthodox Church of Antioch and All the East, left Beirut today to begin, in response to his official invitation from the Russian Orthodox Church, an irenical visit to his brother His Holiness Cyril, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia. This important visit which will continue until January 30 comes in the context of the irenic visits that Patriarch John X is making according to tradition to the primates of the autocephalous Orthodox churches following his accession to the See of Antioch. The importance of this visit lies in the fact that it is an irenical, ecclesial visit that aims to reaffirm the fraternal, bilateral relations between the two churches and the lines of communication between them. It also aims to strengthen relations between the churches in order to face the challenges of today's world by means of a good and edifying understanding of the many changes occurring in this world.

An important delegation from the Orthodox Church of Antioch is accompanying His Beatitude John X of Antioch during this visit. It is composed of Metropolitans Basil and Ephrem, respectively the archbishops of Akkar and Tripoli, Archimandrites Philip (Yazigi) and Parthenios (Ellati), Archdeacon Gerasimos (Kabbas), former minister and ambassador Hassan Richi, Dr Georges Nahas, vice-president of Balamand University, Mr Carol Saba (responsible for the visit's communications), and Mr Taki Louka, photographer.

His Beatitude John X was welcomed at the Moscow airport by a delegation of high dignitaries from the Moscow Patriarchate consisting of Metropolitan Juvenaly of Kroutitsi and Kolomna and Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Patriarchate of Moscow's Department of External Relations. Likewise, Metropolitan Niphon Saikali, the Patriarchate of Antioch's vicar for the Patriarchate of Moscow, was also present. Patriarch John X and the accompanying delegation went directly to the patriarchal residence of His Holiness Patriarch Cyril at the Danilovski Monastery, where they were welcomed by His Holiness, along with numerous bishops, priests, deacons and monks who accompanied them to the chapel of the patriarchal residence as they chanted to the Mother of God "It Is Truly Meet To Bless Thee". At the request of His Holiness, Patriarch John X presided at the service of thanksgiving from the throne. Following the service, there was an exchange of speeches during which the patriarchs mentioned the historical relations between the two churches and ways of developing relations further, as well as the difficult situation and trials that the Patriarchate of Antioch is experiencing during the conflict in the Middle East, especially in Syria. Then in the throne-room the two delegations held profound bilateral discussions which, in a frank and brotherly manner,  covered topics as diverse as relations between the two churches and the means of developing them even further, inter-Orthodox relations and the imperatives of Orthodox unity and of Orthodox witness in the world today, the difficult situation of the Middle East and of Syria in particular and the means of dealing with it as well as the need to establish peace in these countries beset with trials, the importance of Muslim-Christian coexistence, the need to establish societies based on citizenship in the Middle East which preserve unity and diversity and guarantee for everyone all freedoms and fundamental rights in terms of equal treatment with regard to rights and responsibilities for each citizen, regardless of religious affiliation. The issue of ecumenical relations was also raised, as well as the imperatives of Christian witness in today's world together with the irenic relations between religions for the service of humanity, their freedoms and dignity of life. All these issues will be raised more extensively during the discussions of the coming days.

Following the discussions, the two parties exchanged gifts. His Holiness Cyril then granted His Beatitude John X the Russian Church's highest honor, presenting him with the first rank of the Order of Saint Vladimir. He likewise granted Metropolitans Basil and Ephrem the second rank of the same order and each member of the delegation the third rank. His Holiness then showed the Antiochian delegation the hall of the Holy Synod of the Russian Church before hosting, with His Beatitude John X, the dinner offered to the Antiochian delegation in the dining hall of the Russian Orthodox Synod.

Fr Georges Massouh: Devotion to God or Devotion to Religious Leaders?

Arabic original here.


Devotion to God or Devotion to Religious Leaders?

It is not enough for a person to have correct belief in order to have true faith. If a person does not practice his belief in his daily life, it becomes merely theoretical and impracticable, a dead thing that is of no use. True faith presupposes a life in harmony with dogma, without any sharp separation between the two. Heresy or error, then, does not only come from dogmatic deviation: it can also result from moral deviation.

What does it mean for someone to believe in the dogma of monotheism when he practices polytheism in his everyday behavior? How can he be a polytheist when he worships his passions and his sins? He worships money. He worships authority. He worships sex. He worships himself... He makes every effort to satisfy his desires, even if he tramples people on his way towards reaching what he aims for.

He says that God is the Provider, even as he spends his life amassing riches out for fear of treachery in days to come.  He says that God is the Generous One at the very same time as he doesn't mind being a miser. He says that God is merciful, but then he spends his days without turning to the poor who are in need of someone to have mercy on them.

He says that God is the Creator while he strives to wreak destruction, murder and corruption on this earth. He says that God has granted him the earth in trust but he does not hesitate to neglect it and to make it an unbearable hell. He says that God is the Lord of Life, then he permits killing, slaughtering and dismemberment. He says that God created man "in His image and His likeness" and created him "in the best form" but then makes people into an object for his perverse pleasure.

If we want to be brief about the reasons for which a person assigns partners to God, we would say that, in addition to pride, which is the root of all evil, there is extravagance in bodily pleasures, vainglory and bowing to money, power and greed.

Error becomes even more influential when religious leaders-- from the lowest to the highest ranks-- place themselves above reckoning or when they when they attempt to dictate every aspect of their followers' lives, ruling over their wills and their conviction and leading them as though they had no other recourse. They have wealth and authority and if this leads them toward their lusts, their pleasures and the illusion of glory, then this is the great disaster.

At that point, the religious and spiritual leader becomes for his followers who are devoted to him a pure and infallible idol. Some of them confuse devotion to God and devotion to their religious leader, even though the two have nothing in common, since "there is no obedience to the creature with regard to the infallibility of the Creator."

The cult of personality is not exclusive to those who are addicted to politics. Indeed, it affects many who claim that they are monotheists who worship no one but God alone. The image, sermons, sayings and praises of the spiritual guide replace God, His prophets and apostles, to the point that some people attribute miracles to the object of their worship.

The religious guide must bring his followers to God and not to himself. He is not the object of desire, but rather God alone who is the beginning and the end. God is the first and the last, the Alpha and the Omega. He is all in all. The great heresy is when the religious leader takes himself to be the end, leading himself and those brought into false worship of him into perdition.

an-Nahar on Patriarch John X's Upcoming Visit to Moscow

Arabic original, in today's an-Nahar, here.


John X to Moscow for the First Time as Patriarch, In Conjunction with the Start of Geneva 2


by Pierre Atallah

In his first visit to Russia since his enthronement as Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, Patriarch John X is leaving for Moscow to meet with Orthodox Church leaders, chiefly Patriarch Kyrill.

Patriarch Kyrill is strong and influential in Russian public life and has pointed stances with regard to rejecting a secular Western-style distancing of the Church from politics and national affairs and with regard to determining the course of the Russian state on various internal and external levels, especially in matters pertaining to the issue of minorities in the Middle East, both Muslim and Christian, since his famous visit to the Syrian capital at the beginning of the Syrian Civil War remains fresh in the mind. Sources following the positions of the Antiochian Orthodox Church see in the visit to Moscow a stance that the Antiochian Orthodox Church has needed to take for a long time, especially after it became clear the American-Western role is indifferent to Christians in the Middle East and that American and European politics place financial and economic interests over any humanitarian or moral considerations, as evidenced by the suffering of Christians during Lebanon's extended civil war and by the post-war period when American policy gave its blessing to the reduction of the Christian presence in the political, economic and administrative institutions of the state, under various pretexts. Sources following the Christian issue are of the opinion that Patriarch John X, who is known for his firm nerves, prudence and calm approach to things, may have chosen to delay the visit in order to distance it from any form of political or even narrowly sectarian investment. This is at the threshold of a new phase initiated by the Geneva 2 conference, which is intended to move toward a political solution to the Syrian Civil War, especially given the Russian role in supporting minorities and announcing their protection and promoting this issue as a strategic issue about which there can be no bargaining. This is something whose effects and aspects the head of the Catholic Church has completely internalized, as evidenced by Pope Francis' position rejecting the war on Syria whose repercussions weighed on the American-European position about attacking Syria, alongside the grave moral harm brought by the Salafi-Jihadi course taken by the Syrian opposition.

The sources are of the opinion that the patriarch of Antioch's visit to Moscow is further confirmation of the importance of the Christian presence in the Middle East, whether in Syria or Lebanon, in conjunction with the beginning of the discussion over the future of Syria, where ten percent of the population is considered to be Christian. Christians and Muslim minorities constitute a heavy weight in the internal Syrian equation, which has been confirmed by events since the beginning of the war in Syria. In this sense, Patriarch John X, by meeting with the head of the Russian Church and her leaders brings with him the concerns of Syrians in general and Christians in particular and their desires, goals and views of Syria's future. This is something that is not the exclusive preserve of the ruling regime nor of the groups that have declared their opposition to it and combat it. Rather, there are forces whose presence should no longer be ignored in the search for the future and its options and no one is better than Russia, as a state, a government and a church to transmit this perspective and place it on the negotiating table and in the proposed formulas.

It should be pointed out that Patriarch John X is one to take the initiative and surmount difficulties, as evidenced by his visit to Pope Francis and their extended meeting to discuss issues between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches and their people, which is said to have contributed to changing the pope's view of many issues related to the Middle East.

Met. Ephrem Kyriakos on the Priesthood

Arabic original here.


The Mystery of the Priesthood

The Church is a theandric organization: divine because she is the living body of Christ and human because she is a particular human society. As a human hierarchical organization, she is tied to the mystery of the priesthood and the synod of bishops. The head of the Church is Jesus Christ, the God-Man and her visible head in the local church is the bishop, the image of Christ locally.

The bishop is a spiritual father and shepherd, on the model of Jesus Christ, "the Good Shepherd." He shepherds his flock "rightly dividing the word of truth." Next to the bishop, there is the priest and the deacon. The priest performs the mysteries such as the divine liturgy and the mystery of baptism, except for the mystery of chiertonia (ordination to the clergy).

The priest is a spiritual father and pastor for his parish. As spiritual father he administers the mystery of repentance and confession.

The deacon helps the bishop or the priest in performing the mysteries and in performing social work.

The priest, according to Saint John Chysostom, enjoys a service that surpasses the service of the holy angels. This come, not from the priest's personal worthiness, but from the divine grace that "in all times heals the sick and perfects the lacking." Thus the Church becomes a hospital where the Gospel of the Kingdom is announced and where the bishop (or priest) pastors the people of God as a spiritual guide and physician of souls by means of the mystery of repentance and confession and psychological and spiritual guidance.

It must be mentioned that the Church, in human terms, is not made up of the clergy (the bishops, priests and deacons) only, but also of the lay faithful. All of them constitute the people of God, the communion of Jesus Christ, the God-Man. According to St Dionysius the Areopagite, the deacon is required to be free of passions, the priest enlightened, and the bishop united to God as "a saint." This is true, but in practice we are all sinners struggling through repentance for the salvation of our souls. Hence we seek inspiration from the following observations: that the clergy without exception remain weak and sinful humans who themselves are also struggling for the salvation of their souls. However, they must, as much as possible, be a model for other people and far from significant, scandalous sins. Thus Saint Gregory the Theologian said that their work is pedagogical in guiding souls to salvation. From all this we understand that the priest's work is not limited to performing the mysteries (the liturgy, baptism, marriage, funerals...) in a routine manner, but rather it also includes, as we mentioned, teaching, guiding and pastoring souls. He is not an employee but rather a pastor and father.

As we said above, this comes from the divine grace that they receive at the time of the laying-on of hands. Last but not least, the Church teaches in all wisdom that the holy mysteries (such as the Eucharist) are active in the faithful by virtue of the grace of priestly service, and not by virtue of the purity of his soul and his general behavior.