Speech of His Beatitude Patriarch Gregorios III
at the First International Congress: Christian-Muslim Brotherhood
Damascus, 15/12/2010
Dear brothers and
sisters,
Greetings to you all!
I particularly want to thank Muslim brothers, especially the muftis, ulemas,
imams and preachers who have come from all Syrian regions, for being here.
Special greetings to the university students here present!
Greetings and thanks
also go to their Excellencies the Ministers of the Awqaf, the muftis and imams
who have come from different Arab countries, as well as different countries’ ambassadors
to Syria. To them I dedicate this talk about the Synod for the Middle East,
which was an Eastern Christian event, an historic event being the first of its
kind.
I thank Their
Holinesses and Their Beatitudes the Patriarchs and their representatives, as
well as His Excellency the representative of the Holy Father, His Excellency
the Apostolic Nuncio in Damascus, Their Excellencies the Metropolitans and
Bishops who have come from Arab countries and Europe, especially Eastern Europe
(Russia, Romania, Cyprus, Greece and Turkey). I greet them all, together with
the priests, monks and nuns and all the faithful from our Churches who have
come from Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine and Egypt.
A beautiful saying of
His Holiness John Paul II, who so loved our Arab countries and visited them, comes
to mind, a phrase from his last Message for the World Day of Peace, 1 January 2005,
and I quote: “Can an individual
find complete fulfilment without taking account of his social nature, that is,
his being ‘with’ and ‘for’ others?[1]”
Our Lord is described
thus in the Gospel: “Lo, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son
and they shall call his name Emmanuel; which being interpreted is, God
with us.” (Matthew 1: 23) God is with and for us, for as Saint Irenaeus
says, “the glory of God is living man[2].”
This is the faith of all Christians. They repeat it every time they say the
Creed: “I believe in one God, Father almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and
of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord, Jesus Christ, only-begotten
Son of God… who, for us and for our salvation, came down from heaven, was
incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became man… “ On the
basis of this spiritual conviction, I named this congress, “The Synod for the
Middle East and Arab countries.” That was with the aim of highlighting the
relationship between the Synod and Arab countries as well as between the Synod
and the Muslim world.
A simple calculation
shows us the following state of affairs: the Middle East is made up of Arab
countries, together with Turkey and Iran. The majority of its population is
Muslim; 350 million inhabitants, of whom there are 15 million Arab Christians. So,
the Synod for the Middle East is a Synod for Arab countries, for Arabs, a Synod
for Arab Christians in symbiosis with their Arab society. It is a Synod for the “Church of the Arabs” and “Church
of Islam,” that is, the Church existing in a Muslim setting. Lastly it is a Synod for
Christians and Muslims living together in the Arab East!
This was an important
event, of a unique kind. Thanks are due to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI who
called for this Synod to be held as the most important synodal event since the
Second Vatican Council brought the Eastern Churches to prominence!
In this Synod, the
platform was given to Eastern Churches: there were patriarchs, archbishops, bishops,
priests, monks and nuns, and lay faithful too.
It is evident that in
this Synod, the causes of the Middle East and the Christian presence in the
Muslim Arab East took first place. That is why I addressed to Their Majesties, Their
Highnesses and Excellencies, the Kings, Emirs and Presidents of Arab countries,
a letter explaining to them the topic and goal of the Synod – the situation of
Christians in Arab countries. And I ended by telling them that the only
guarantee of the Christian presence in the Arab East is that of their Muslim
brothers.
Indeed, the Arab world,
the presence of Christians in the Arab world, Christian Arab identity and the
challenges that face the Christian presence in this Arab world were the subject
of different speeches, discussions and recommendations.
After this, I
addressed a second letter to Arab leaders in which I set out the most important
issues discussed by the Synod that concerned our Arab world.
Extracts from
the Letter addressed to Kings and Presidents
Of Arab
countries after the Synod in Rome
I had the honour of addressing a letter to you (dated 18/06/2010) on the subject of
the Special Assembly for the Middle East of the
Synod of Bishops entitled The Catholic Church in the Middle
East: Communion and Witness.
At the end of this Synod, it is my pleasure to communicate the following reflections to you in this letter:
1. The Arabic language was an official
language of the Synod alongside other languages. A resolution requested that it
be adopted again in the Vatican’s Roman Dicasteries. It is a gift due to the
concern of the Arab Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops for the Arab world! Indeed
it is the language of our culture, faith and societies. It is the great common
denominator among Arab countries. This represents a great achievement!
2. The Arab Middle East, together with
Turkey and Iran, was the most important topic before the Synod.
3. To speak more precisely, the following
themes were the special subject of the Synod: living together, life together,
citizenship, modernity, faithful laity, human rights, including those of women,
religious freedom of worship and conscience, the construction of churches and
places of worship, especially in Saudi Arabia, respect for others and their
beliefs, plurality, diversity, rejection of fanaticism, violence, negative
fundamentalism, extremism, terrorism, exploitation of others, especially weaker
folk and minorities…
4. Featuring in all the discussions of all
members of Synod (about 200 persons), was especially Islamic-Christian dialogue
in all its dimensions and modalities, significance and urgent necessity, and
the support to be brought to its development and animation by all Christians
and Muslims.
5. The Synod members or Fathers dealt
with the challenges that Christians have to cope with, which include:
emigration, insecurity, economic, social and political crises, and the
consecutive wars in the region. These challenges have increased, especially
because of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They are the cause of many
misfortunes and calamities in our societies. They have sown hatred and enmity
among Christian and Muslim citizens locally, regionally and globally. Also
resulting from them are fundamentalism and terrorism, represented in the media
as though Muslim and Christian Arabs were born terrorists and fundamentalists!
This might make people think that religion is the cause of terrorism, violence
and fundamentalism, though religion is not to blame for all that. As a result
of this state of affairs our whole society has become “abused,” with these
disasters mainly striking our young generations!
6. The Fathers and members of Synod sought remedies
for these calamities: they found that the most efficacious remedy is
principally Islamic-Christian dialogue. In the Arab world, it must be our daily
bread. In any case that dialogue was the experience of our living together
throughout our shared history of the last 1432 [Islamic] years, despite dark
centuries, when problems, tensions and even massacres whose victims can be
counted in thousands, caused loss of trust in living together, in others and
their values… And in its place crept in hatred and enmity and the traditional
virtues of pity, compassion, love and fellowship became stunted…
- The Fathers and members of Synod stressed the
need to overcome crises! We must continue the journey together.
Furthermore they considered that the success of our singular and difficult
experiment in living together is the guarantee of the success of dialogue
between followers of different faiths. What is more, it became clear to
all, as was remarked on and reported often in the press, that any failure
and lack of success of our experience of living as Christians and Muslims
together in the East will have a destructive effect on all possibilities
for dialogue, and will be a bad harbinger of the fact that all dialogue
among people, civilisations and religions in East and West, will be doomed
to failure.
8. So we shall have the following result: the East,
symbol of plurality and dialogue becomes void of Christians. So the Arab East
becomes Muslim without Christians. On the other hand, the West is considered
Christian (even if only through baptism). This Christian West supports Israel,
in its turn considered the enemy of Islam and Muslims. So the final, terrifying
equation is this: the Christian West supports Israel and Jews, the enemies of
Islam and Muslims! So Christian Europe is the enemy of Islam and Muslims! And
that is precisely the great misfortune, the dark and terrifying future that
awaits us! God grant it may not happen!
9. Peace was a basic topic of the Synod’s
deliberations, speeches and proposals. For peace is both the greatest good and
a lost possession! Peace is the great challenge! Peace is most desired by all
sides! That is also why bringing it about is the responsibility of all: East
and West, Arabs, Europeans and Americans. The Synod members strongly emphasised
the role of the Vatican and the Pope or Popes, because of the global influence
they exercise. The members of Synod, Patriarchs, Cardinals, and Bishops,
emphasised their own responsibility to work for peace. Yet we think that peace
is an Arab responsibility! We think that if Arab countries were united in
fellowship and concord, and nobly, boldly and firmly decisive, they could
impose on the Israelis, with the United States of America, and Europeans, a
complete just and lasting peace. For this bold peace is the great jihad
(struggle) and the great challenge, which can give an answer to all other
challenges, issues, fears, apprehensions that afflict our Middle East. [End of
the letter.]
Having said this, I am speaking with unshakeable faith and conviction to
my Christian brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, to my Muslim brothers
and sisters, and remembering words that our dear President Dr. Bashar al-Assad said,
explaining the relational dimensions between people, “In Syria, we are united. We
are a natural model for society, for humanity, and for interreligious relations.
We ought not only to provide a model for relations between religions and
citizenry, but also do this for a more noble and universal reality - humanity!”
God has created us in this holy land of the East. It was a Holy Land for
Jews, before us, and subsequently for us and for Muslims. It is an important
common spiritual heritage, which we do not value enough. This comprises the
holiness of the land, of the Scriptures and many common religious values. This
was described by the Second Vatican Council in its declaration, Nostra
Aetate, dedicated to the Catholic Church’s relations with Jews and Muslims.
The existence of these three religions in the region is unique,
important and vital. This state of affairs has significance in the life of
Christians, on the spiritual, national and cultural level… Christians must
acknowledge this fact despite the circumstances; the multiplicity of
nationalities and the different intellectual and religious trends.
We have to look for common Islamic-Christian values and make them the
subject of studies, conferences, congresses and Muslim-Christian meetings. There should result from that a programme of joint
academic and spiritual work for Christians and Muslims.
The Synod for the Middle East inspired in me the idea of an important
project: holding a Synod for the Middle East in the Middle East, gathering
Churches together: Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant.
Another idea came to my mind of organising a Muslim-Christian assembly
in the Middle East, which would study all the topics touched on by the Roman
Synod’s documents: the Instruction, the Instrumentum Laboris, the Lineamenta,
then the discussions and speeches during the Synod; the recommendations
and finally the Message to the People of God.
All these documents speak of the Christian presence in correlation with
Muslim society.
Here are some paragraphs from the final Nuntius[3]
directly to do with the subject of this congress:
I. The Church in the Middle East: communion and witness
through history
3.2. The second challenge comes from the outside, namely, political
conditions, security in our countries and religious pluralism.
We have evaluated the social situation and the public security in all
our countries in the Middle East. We have taken account of the impact of the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the whole region, especially on the
Palestinians who are suffering the consequences of the Israeli occupation: the
lack of freedom of movement, the wall of separation and the military
checkpoints, the political prisoners, the demolition of homes, the disturbance
of socio-economic life and the thousands of refugees. We have reflected on the
suffering and insecurity in which Israelis live. We have meditated on the
situation of the holy city of Jerusalem. We are anxious about the unilateral
initiatives that threaten its composition and risk to change its demographic
balance. With all this in mind, we see that a just and lasting peace is the
only salvation for everyone and for the good of the region and its peoples.
3.4. We have extensively treated relations between Christians and Muslims.
All of us share a common citizenship in our countries. Here we want to affirm,
according to our Christian vision, a fundamental principle which ought to
govern our relations, namely, God wants us to be Christians in and for our
Middle Eastern societies. This is God’s plan for us. This is our mission and
vocation - to live as Christians and Muslims together. Our actions in this area
will be guided by the commandment of love and by the power of the Spirit within
us.
The second principle which governs our relations is
the fact that we are an integral part of our societies. Our mission, based on
our faith and our duty to our home countries, obliges us to contribute to the
construction of our countries as fellow-citizens, Muslims, Jews and Christians
alike.
V. Co-operation
and dialogue with our fellow-citizens, the Muslims
9. We are united by the faith in one God
and by the commandment that says: do good and avoid evil. The words of the
Second Vatican Council on the relations with other religions offer the basis
for the relationship between the Catholic Church and the Muslims, “The
Church regards with esteem also the Muslims. They adore the one God, living…;
merciful and all-powerful, the Creator of heaven and earth, who has spoken to
men.” (Nostra Aetate 3)
We say to our Muslim
fellow-citizens: we are brothers and sisters; God wishes us to be together,
united by one faith in God and by the dual commandment of love of God and
neighbour. Together we will construct our civil societies on the basis of
citizenship, religious freedom and freedom of conscience. Together we will work
for the promotion of justice, peace, the rights of persons and the values of
life and of the family. The construction of our countries is our common
responsibility. We wish to offer to the East and to the West a model of
coexistence between different religions and of positive collaboration between
different civilisations for the good of our countries and that of all humanity.
Since the
appearance of Islam in the seventh century and to the present, we have lived
together and we have collaborated in the creation of our common civilisation.
As in the past and still existent today, some imbalances are present in our
relations. Through dialogue we must avoid all imbalances and misunderstandings.
Pope Benedict XVI tells us that our dialogue must not be a passing reality. It
is rather a vital necessity on which our future depends (Pope Benedict XVI,
Meeting with Representatives from the Muslim Communities, Cologne, 20 August
2005). Our duty then is to educate believers concerning interreligious
dialogue, the acceptance of pluralism and mutual esteem.
VI.
Our Participation in Public Life: An Appeal to the Governments and to the
Political Leadership in Our Countries
10. We appreciate the efforts which have been expended for the common
good and the service to our societies. You are in our prayers and we ask God to
guide your steps. We address you regarding the importance of equality among all
citizens. Christians are original and authentic citizens who are loyal to their
fatherland and assume their duties towards their country. It is natural that
they should enjoy all the rights of citizenship, freedom of conscience, freedom
of worship and freedom in education, teaching and the use of the mass media.
We appeal to you to
redouble your efforts to establish a just and lasting peace throughout the
region and to stop the arms race, which will lead to security and economic
prosperity and stop the haemorrhage of emigration which empties our countries
of its vital forces. Peace is a precious gift entrusted by God to human family,
whose members are to be “peacemakers who will be called children of God.” (Mt
5:9)
VII. Appeal to the International Community
11. The citizens of the countries of the Middle
East call upon the international community, particularly the United Nations
conscientiously to work to find a peaceful, just and definitive solution in the
region, through the application of the Security Council’s resolutions and
taking the necessary legal steps to put an end to the occupation of the
different Arab territories.
The Palestinian people will thus have an
independent and sovereign homeland where they can live with dignity and
security. The State of Israel will be able to enjoy peace and security within
their internationally recognized borders. The Holy City of Jerusalem will be
able to acquire its proper status, which respects its particular character, its
holiness and the religious patrimony of the three religions: Jewish, Christian
and Muslim. We hope that the two-State-solution might become a reality and not
a dream only.
Iraq will be able to put an end to the consequences
of its deadly war and re-establish a secure way of life which will protect all
its citizens with all their social structures, both religious and national.
Lebanon will be able to enjoy sovereignty over its
entire territory, strengthen its national unity and carry on in its vocation to
be the model of coexistence between Christians and Muslims, of dialogue between
different cultures and religions, and of the promotion of basic public
freedoms.
We condemn violence and terrorism from wherever it
may proceed as well as all religious extremism. We condemn all forms of racism,
anti-Semitism, anti-Christianism and Islamophobia and we call upon the
religions to assume their responsibility to promote dialogue between cultures
and civilisations in our region and in the entire world.
Dear brothers and sisters, friends,
We are called to academic and prophetic advances, in all sincerity, friendship
and mutual respect: for the uninterrupted growth of fundamentalism and
extremist movements are geared up and capable of leading the Eastern Arab world
into disasters, of which young Christians and Muslims – who form 60% of the
Arab population - will be the chief victims.
That underlines the vital and capital importance for the future of
opening ourselves to each other, Christians to Muslims and Muslims to
Christians. This openness will define the dynamics of our Arab world’s
evolution in respect of:
-
The concept of state
and of religion and their interaction
-
Modernity
-
Rights of man and
woman
-
Freedom of worship and
of conscience
-
The idea of “better religion”
We, Christians
and Muslims, must reach joint positions about the danger of the growth of
various fundamentalist concepts, whether Christian, Muslim (or Jewish). It is
up to us to safeguard righteous religious, spiritual and humane values, and
especially the values of human dignity and freedom.
That is what
will guarantee a better future for our societies and for all our Arab countries
together. I dare say that the evolution of our Arab Christian and Muslim
society conditions the success of all the efforts that the Churches are making
in the pastoral, cultural, social and economic fields; for young people; and
for halting emigration. This evolution, linked to the promotion of values
mentioned above, is a joint responsibility for Christians and Muslims.
The
realisation of our objectives will be proportionate to our efforts, carried out
together, for adopting these values and putting them into practice.
On all that our future, our
existence, our presence, our communion, our witness and the future of our Arab
society depend.
I will also venture to say that,
internally, the success of all our pastoral, apostolic, catechetical, academic,
pedagogical, clerical and monastic activity depends on the evolution of the common
Muslim-Christian journey.
In other words, the religious
development of our society depends on the religious evolution of our Christian
society which is dependent upon the religious evolution of Muslim society. And
the preservation of our Christian values depends largely on the evolution of
Muslim society.
That was all
highlighted throughout the course of the Synod, whose recommendations must be
applied in our Churches, in collaboration with our Muslim fellow-citizens. Since
people are the product of their social environment, the different components of
that environment were invited to take part in this Synod, including Muslims and
a rabbi.
There should
not be forgotten the existence of a major obstacle lying in the way of this
journey and evolution: the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Peace must be made in
the Arab region: peace that will have a great influence of the evolution of the
above-mentioned values and will halt Arab Christian emigration.
Allow me to
add an intuition which, over days, has become a certainty for me:
1-
I believe that it is
most important to examine in depth the ideology behind the religious fundamentalism,
terrorism and increasing violence perpetrated here and there against Christians.
2-
Genuine Islam is
foreign to that ideology.
3-
That ideology is the
biggest danger to Islam. It can destroy that religion showing a hideous image
of it.
4-
There is a big danger to
the Arab world with its Muslim majority, tending to show Arabs in general and
Muslims in particular as fundamentalist terrorists and assassins. This makes it
permissible to refuse any legitimate claim, especially coming from Palestinians.
That explains the refusal of the international community to find a solution to
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and recognize an independent Palestinian State.
5-
Another component of
this danger is the increasing harassment of Christians; the prohibition which
is made, in some countries, against their building churches; the denial of
freedom of conscience, most recently in Egypt and Iraq.
6-
All those things are
so many aces in the hands of Israel for establishing a State exclusively for
Jews. The argument put forward by Israel in that regard is as follows, “See
how Muslims treat Christians and other minorities! How could we live with them
in this country? And if we allowed the creation of a Palestinian State, it too
would become an Islamic, fundamentalist, terrorist State.”
7-
It is in the aim and
intention of Israel, as an exclusively Jewish State, of creating in the Middle
East a dust of confessional statelets: Sunni, Shi’a, Druze, Kurd.
That is the dreadful
danger menacing the Arab world and Islam and even Christianity.
I conclude with the closing
section of my letter to Arab Kings, Emirs and Presidents:
In our preceding letter (18
June 2010), we spoke to you as follows: “You are the guarantee of the Christian
presence in the Middle East!” You are indeed our
warranty! We said it again in the Synod, a prominent platform for the Arab
cause, as we faced the media from all over the world! ...
Today at the Synod’s end,
we say to you, dear, most esteemed friends: you are the guarantee of the
success of the Synod held in Rome. You are the warranty of the decisions,
proposals and hopes of this Synod being followed up and put into action in our
Arab countries!
The sessions of the Synod
were preceded by prayers according to the different liturgical rites and
languages of our Eastern Churches, whose main language is Arabic.
We shall continue our
prayers, in our churches and monasteries for peace, for all our fellow-citizens
and for you personally! You have care for the sons and daughters of our
parishes! Care for our many churches, monasteries, institutions, which are at
the service of our Arab countries that we love and for which we have laboured
and will continue to give our all in the service of their prosperity and
development, with the Blessing of God and through your vigilance!
We are praying to Almighty
and Merciful God, for our Arab homelands, and for Christians and Muslims to
remain together and together be salt, light and the leaven of faith, hope and
love!
We put our hope in God, for the Synod to be the beginning of a Arab national
way of faith and dialogue, common to Christians and Muslims, for a better
future for all of us, in Syria, our dear country, and in all our dear Arab
countries.
Gregorios III
Patriarch of
Antioch and All the East, of Alexandria and of Jerusalem
Translation from French: V. Chamberlain
[1] Message for the World Day of Peace 2005
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/messages/peace/documents/hf_jp-ii_mes_20041216_xxxviii-world-day-for-peace_en.html
[2] Irenaeus Against Heresies 4: 34, 5-7 http://www.earlychurchtexts.com/main/irenaeus/glory_of_god_humanity_alive.shtml
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