Paschal
Letter 2014
20
April 2014
Of
His Beatitude Gregorios III
Patriarch
of Antioch and All the East
Of
Alexandria and of Jerusalem
I You
too have a resurrection
We are celebrating
the Feast of the glorious Resurrection of Our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ
for the fourth consecutive time while the disastrous events of the so-called “Arab
Spring” are destroying thousands of citizens of several Arab countries, from
Libya to Egypt, Palestine and Iraq and especially in Syria.
It is precisely in
these countries that Christians have been designated “children of the
Resurrection.” They are all called to share in Jesus’ Resurrection.
My Paschal Letter
this year is divided into two parts: first a general section and spiritual
meditation on the Saviour’s Resurrection, in which all those who believe in
Jesus Christ have a share, or rather all believers in God and the age to come
await a resurrection or renaissance (baath) and renewal (nushur),
meaning that Jews, Christians and Muslims all share this expectation.
That is why I
address the wish expressed in the title of this letter to all our
fellow-Christians and fellow-citizens in our beloved Middle East,
affectionately and hopefully telling every man and woman: you have a
resurrection too.
The second part of
my letter is devoted to the tragic situation of our beloved country, Syria,
which is continuing its way of the cross, but which will one day soon we hope
reach resurrection joy.
Jesus’ Resurrection
is humanity’s resurrection
Arise, O man, from
the dead: the risen Christ will shine upon thee! The icon of the Resurrection
is a call to resurrection: the risen Christ takes humanity’s (Adam and Eve’s)
hands to pull them out of their tomb.
The symbol is
clear. As a human being, you are called
to resurrection. In the Eastern tradition, every Sunday of the year celebrates
the Resurrection. The Resurrection is the centre of Christian life and all life.
As a human being, you are daily exposed to death from physical sickness of
various kinds and spiritual sickness through sin. Similarly, you are called
every day to resist the seeds of mortality in your body and soul. Thus you are
in an ever-renewed walk towards resurrection. That means new life, with a new
dimension, ascension, new horizons, hope, love, aspirations, a vision of
well-being and generosity, a search for holiness. You are called to this
resurrection, because you have a share in the Resurrection of Christ.
The Resurrection, foundation
of our faith
Saint Paul says: “If
Christ be not risen, your faith is vain, and ye are still in your sins.” (I
Corinthians 15: 17) Our whole Christian faith is vain without Jesus’s
Resurrection. That is why the Resurrection is a foundational article of our
Creed: “I believe ... in one Lord, Jesus Christ ...who…was crucified also for
us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried; and the third day he rose again
according to the Scriptures…” Then there is the next article: “And I look for
the resurrection of the dead…” So Christ’s Resurrection and our own with him
are foundational pillars of the Christian faith.
Jesus’ Resurrection
also means that human life does not end in failure, sin, despair, illness,
suffering, disaster, destruction, nothingness, death and the grave. But, after this life and death, there is life...
and resurrection of human beings, body and soul. So, if the saying is true according
to which we are born to die, the other saying is even truer: We shall die to
live a deathless life without end. Thus, as we mentioned above, the Creed ends:
“And I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the age to come. Amen.” Thus,
our end is our beginning.
The Church of the
Holy Sepulchre: Church of the Resurrection
In the tradition of
the Western Church and in most European languages, this church in Jerusalem is
called the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Hence the Cross is emphasised just as
the Stations of the Cross end with the Station of the Crucifixion. (The Station
of the Resurrection was added later, after the Second Vatican Council.)
In the Christian
East, we call it in our Arabic, Greek, Syriac, Coptic, Armenian and Ethiopian
languages, the Church of the Resurrection. Easterners are emphasising through
this name the empty tomb and the glorious Resurrection. Thus the cycle is continuous in the plan of
Christ’s Passion, his Crucifixion, burial, and joyful end that culminates in
the Resurrection from the dead. Indeed, the Passion, the Cross, suffering and
death are void of hope without the hope of the Resurrection and there is no
other way to Resurrection than by passing through the stages of the road to the
Cross.
So, through this
dual appellation – Church of the Holy Sepulchre and Church of the Resurrection
– are combined the basic and loftiest meanings of the life of every human being,
as was the case with the life of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
You too have a
cross and resurrection! Golgotha is a
stone’s throw from the empty tomb. So it is with life: each person’s Golgotha, cross,
suffering, illness, disasters and death are both the way and the entrance to bliss
and joy.
Kiss the Cross! Accept
it! Venerate the icon of the Resurrection, and accept the mystery of the Resurrection
in your daily life! In this way you will unify in your own life the mysteries
of the Cross and Resurrection, just as the same Church of the Resurrection has
under its roof the sites of Golgotha, the Crucifixion, the empty Tomb and the
glorious Resurrection.
Blessed are you, with
the cross and resurrection! Be happy, because the Resurrection fills your life
with joy, happiness, hope and peace.
The cycle of the
Sundays after Easter: a resurrection walk
This cycle of
Sundays after Pascha is a forty day walk with the risen Christ, who, after his
Resurrection, remained with his disciples for forty days, appearing to them and
talking with them about the things of the Kingdom of God.
He is really alive.
He participates in meetings with his disciples, who are a prey to doubts and
fear. He confirms the faith of Thomas, who
doubts more than the others. He gives them his peace and strengthens their
will.
He is their
companion along the way. He accompanies Luke and Cleopas on the road to Emmaus.
He eats with his disciples. With them he shares life’s bitter-sweet.
He guides them
towards new life and delegates power to his disciples, filling them with the
Holy Spirit so they can be his witnesses to the ends of the earth.
He is the founder
of a Church which is a living community believing in his Resurrection, new life
and a new world. It is founded on Christ, and on Peter’s faith and love. “Lovest
thou me?” If you love me, you can be a real shepherd, able to give, serve and
save.
He is really alive,
as he promised his beloved disciples. He is with them until the end of the ages.
The living Christ enables
the faithful and all human beings who move towards him to share in his life and
Resurrection.
The commemorations
of the Sundays forming the Paschal cycle point us towards that.
Thomas’ Sunday is
the confirmation of Jesus’ Resurrection.
Next comes the Sunday of the Myrrh-bearing Women, together with Joseph
of Arimathea and Nicodemus, whom the Church venerates as children of the
Resurrection for their faithfulness unto death (and despite death) to Christ.
The Sunday of the
Paralysed Man is a splendid commentary on the icon of the Resurrection. Human beings share in the Resurrection
of Christ, who raises them from sickness, suffering and the infirmities of body
and soul. The Sunday of the Samaritan Woman is an indication which enables us
to understand that the beautiful proclamation of new life in Christ is not
limited or monopolised by one nation or race.
The Sunday of the
Man born Blind teaches us that Christ risen from the dead is the light of the
world and thus of our whole life.
Through our
Christian life, we are called to walk towards the resurrection, as Jesus walked
with his apostles and other companions during his earthly life, before and
after the Resurrection, since he wishes to be our travelling companion on the
road to new life. We are the sons and daughters of the Resurrection, on the way
towards our own resurrection.
The grain of wheat
“Except a grain of
wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it
bringeth forth much fruit.” (John 12 :
24)
Do you not find the
mystery of your life in the story of the grain of wheat, and in Jesus’ life,
death and Resurrection? That is what is repeated in the hymns of the Paschal Feast:
“Yesterday I was buried with thee, O Christ; but today I rise with thine
arising. Yesterday I was crucified with thee; do thou thyself glorify me with
thee, O Saviour, in thy kingdom.” (Third Ode of Orthros)
You are a grain of
wheat given by God to your fellow humans. You are the grain of wheat for your
family, society and country. You are called to be fruitful and life-giving through
your endeavour, gift of self, suffering and distress. Then you, with your
country and society, will have your resurrection.
The Feast of Pascha
means liberation
The prayers of
Pascha repeat the expressions of Resurrection and liberation: “By thy Passion, O
Christ, thou hast freed us from passions.” (Lamplighting psalm of the Paschal
Vigil) And elsewhere: “Thou art risen, O Christ, and hast freed us. Thou hast
led humanity to light and freedom.” In these prayers, we find an echo of the
saying of Jesus: “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples, and ye
shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. ...If the Son therefore
shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” (John 8: 31-32 and 36)
At the beginning of
his mission, Jesus stated that the aim of the Gospel and his divine mission was
to fulfil Isaiah’s prophecy: “The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he
hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the
broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight
to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised…” (Luke 4: 18-19; Isaiah
61: 1-2)
Jesus emphasised
human freedom, the freedom of every human being, by saying: “Ye shall be made
free.” (John 8 : 33)
Humans have enslaved their fellows, but God
has freed them. Our faith, doctrine, holy writ, and all our feasts are a call
to freedom and liberation, supporting our efforts for freedom and dignity. Furthermore,
they are a summons to free the whole human being, not merely in certain
political circumstances. This continual great call is a call to perfect
spiritual human freedom, for heart and soul to be free from sin, for liberty of
conscience and thought. It is a summons to walk in newness of life, light, real
freedom, and to restore the beauty of the image of God in man, an image of
glory, dignity, respect, justice, love and peace.
Children of the
Resurrection
This is an
expression familiar to monastics, especially those of Palestine. The Children
of the Resurrection are a Christian group devoted to the liturgical service of
the Church. Since they are single and
baptised, they constitute a group of monastics and hermits dedicated to this particular
service.
Baptism is
profoundly linked to the Resurrection. During the early centuries, baptism was
carried out at Paschaltide. That is why Saint Paul told us: “So many of us as
were baptised into Jesus Christ were baptised into his death. Therefore we are
buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from
the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of
life.” (Romans 6: 3-4)
Saint John the
Damascene tells us in the Paschal Canon, “Yesterday I was buried with thee, O Christ;
but today I rise with thine arising.” (Third Ode)
The Virgin Martyr
Saint Thekla addresses Jesus, her bridegroom, in a hymn, "I love Thee, O
my Bridegroom, and, seeking thee, I pass through many struggles: I am crucified and buried with thee in thy
baptism, and suffer for thy sake, that I may reign with thee; I die for thee
that I might live with thee!”
Baptism is a
covenant with the risen, living Christ, and a summons to new life in Christ. That
is why the early Christians delayed receiving the sacrament of baptism until
the day when they could really fulfil its obligations, that is, rejecting Satan
and sin and living a life of grace, so becoming real children of the
Resurrection. So, the Church proclaims itself a living community, a resurrection
community.
The Church’s sons
and daughters, since they are baptised into Christ, are sons and daughters of
the Resurrection, the New Testament, the New Covenant with the living Christ and
should constitute a holy elect body.
Baptised Christian,
child of Jerusalem, city of the Resurrection, child of the Holy Land, the land
of the Resurrection, recognize the nobility of your vocation.
The Resurrection is
a call to a keen, serious and committed Christian life. To all you sons and
daughters of the Resurrection, I address the greeting of the proclamation of
the Resurrection: Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!
The hope of
resurrection
We hope that our
departed martyrs will enjoy this resurrection and that we now on earth will
live to see it! We wish to state that as a nation we believe in resurrection
and life. In all living conditions, and despite the tragic circumstances of our
current life, we believe that
Death will be overcome
Violence repelled
Might defeated
The bow broken
The circle enlarged
Bonds loosed
Tombs opened
And shadows dispelled.
Light will shine
The sun rise
Flowers bloom
Buds grow
Shoots ripen
Children laugh and dance
Bereft mothers sing.
New humanity will be born.
The civilisation of
love will be built in the land of the prophets, apostles and saints, in the
Holy Land and city of Jerusalem, the city of the Resurrection and in our
countries of the Middle East, the cradle of Christianity, religions and civilisations.
We Christians and
Muslims will stay together on this martyrs’ walk towards a better future, on
this walk towards life, dignity and resurrection.
II The
Syrian crisis
We offer here some aspects
of the teaching of the Second Vatican Council in the Pastoral Constitution on
the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et spes. This will be able to cast
some light for us on the tragedy of the Syrian crisis:
War
destroys hopes of the resurrection
Insofar
as men are sinful, the threat of war hangs over them, and hang over them it
will until the return of Christ. But insofar as men vanquish sin by a union of
love, they will vanquish violence as well and make these words come true:
"They shall turn their swords into plough-shares, and their spears into
sickles. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they
learn war anymore." (Isaiah 2:4) (N° 78 § 6)
Certainly, war has not been rooted out of human
affairs. Nor, by the same token, does the mere fact that war has unhappily
begun mean that all is fair between the warring parties. (N° 79 § 4)
Indeed, if the kind of instruments which can now be
found in the armories of the great nations were to be employed to their
fullest, an almost total and altogether reciprocal slaughter of each side by
the other would follow... (N° 80 § 1)
The unique hazard of modern warfare consists in this:
it provides those who possess modern scientific weapons with a kind of occasion
for perpetrating just such abominations; moreover, through a certain inexorable
chain of events, it can catapult men into the most atrocious decisions. (N° 80 § 5)
International Trust
[Let
us] …become more conscious of our own responsibility and to find means for
resolving our disputes in a manner more worthy of man. (N° 81 § 3)
The
highest existing international centres must devote themselves vigorously to the
pursuit of better means for obtaining common security.... Peace must be born of
mutual trust between nations and not be imposed on them through a fear of the
available weapons and all must work finally to put an end to recourse to
weapons. (N° 81 § 4)
The
role of believers
[Church
members have to] promote among men a sharper
insight into their full destiny, and thereby lead them to fashion the world
more to man's surpassing dignity, to search for a brotherhood which is
universal and more deeply rooted, and to meet the urgencies of our ages with a
gallant and unified effort born of love. (N° 91 § 1)
Vision of faith
These evangelical
values expressed by the Church in its teachings cited above have inspired my
behaviour and statements, talks and interviews of various sorts, as well as my
pastoral letters (from 2001 onwards), participation in international gatherings,
visits to various capitals and meetings with religious and political leaders belonging
to parties of various tendencies.
Through all that I
wished to formulate my convictions based on these faith values, and my
Christian and national vision as a bishop who, with the eyes of faith, hope and
charity, solidarity and responsibility, and wishing to engage in dialogue,
solidarity, responsibility and reconciliation, is following this Syrian crisis,
which is quite unlike anything previously
experienced in the history of
Syria and the Middle East as a whole.
On the basis of
these spiritual convictions, we are obliged to set aside all feelings of
distaste, hatred, violence, revenge, destruction or attack on the life of
anyone. Let us as Syrians all together state our faith in resurrection and
life. I believe in life, as do we all. I believe, we believe in love,
tolerance, mercy, friendship, reconciliation, peace-making, forgiveness,
humanity and reciprocal compassion. I do not believe in violence, terror, revenge
or massacre.
Danger from the
after-effects of the Syrian crisis
So many sufferings
have overwhelmed the Syrian nation in all its social constituents and faith
groups. Every day, statistics bring us horrendous numbers burdening every
Syrian citizen.
We should like
especially to draw attention to other dangers threatening our society because
of the Syrian crisis and produced by takfiri (extremist) ideas. In fact, there
is danger from an increase in feelings of hatred, rancour, revenge, hardness of
heart, violence, injustice, repression, extortions, isolation, rejection and
disdain for others’ feelings and beliefs, mistrust, suspicion, fundamentalism
and a return to the principle of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a
tooth.
We all know that this
is more dangerous for our Syrian society than any physical injuries to the
bodies of Syrian nationals, more dangerous even than the internecine war that has
ravaged Syria over the last three years. That it is why it is vitally important
to strengthen and protect our society and homeland from these noisome dangers and
destructive ideological tendencies.
We bishops of the
Church absolutely must, as I see it, dedicate ourselves to fighting these aberrant
tendencies by setting out quite clearly the Holy Gospel’s values and the Church’s
(especially the above-mentioned Second Vatican Council’s) teachings relating to
these issues and thoughts.
That is why I am
working to create a Syrian think-tank of committed Christian intellectuals concerned
by the difficulties facing Syrian society.
It will work on formulating principles, methods and programmes founded
on our national values and the teachings of the holy Gospel. That will all be set out in a charter for
Christians’ personal conduct, a programme for the practical involvement of
Christians in all sectors of our Syrian society, and for countering the
destructive ideas outlined above, which, though originating outside Syria, tend
to cause the fragmentation of our society.
We believe that
creating such a forum for such ideals and objectives will have a considerable
intellectual impact on our Syrian society.
It will outline the modalities of Christian interaction with Syrian
society and commitment to that society’s causes, within the framework of
Muslim-Christian solidarity, in order to work for a better society, founded on
evangelical and Christian and Muslim faith values.
God willing, this
forum will have a great influence in shaping and developing a Christian
perspective on the Syrian crisis, helping to ensure a future for Christians in
Syria and other Arab countries, together with their presence, role and mission
in Arab society. We hope that this
projected think-tank will be discussed and filter through into our parishes,
among our clergy and thinkers concerned by the country’s problems.
We should like to
express another thought on the topic of takfiri Muslim thought and its
consequences. This ideological wave makes Islam look ugly and quite clearly
implies an underlying conspiracy against Islam and Muslims, or rather against
the whole Arab world with its Muslims and Christians. The Ministry of the Awqaf
has hastened to defend Islam and has published two volumes of studies under the
title Fiqh [=law] in time of Crisis, rejecting takfiri
ideological extremism.
We congratulate the
Ministry on this publication, as this is the best way to defend Islam and fight
takfiri tendencies.
Love never fails
Love covers a great
many sins. Love never fails. Love will rebuild Syria, which will be thereby renewed.
That is what Jesus teaches us in his Gospel. I think that that is the best
contribution that Christians can offer amidst the Syrian tragedy now entering
upon its fourth year.
Yes, the best
participation consists in the fact that Christians can spread and propagate this
genuine, universal love everywhere in Syria. It is the best we Christians can
offer to our beloved country, Syria, to our Syrian brethren and
fellow-citizens, without exception or exclusion, right up to the trenches of
the front-line of the fight.
Syria, resurrection
is thine! Everyone has the right to life and resurrection. May Syria, which has
entered upon the fourth year of its way of the cross, continue being the
homeland of resurrection, life and love!
We don’t want any more
martyrs! We don’t want any more orphans! We don’t want more widows and more
mothers losing their children! We don’t want any more millions of children
traumatised! Enough wounded! Enough handicapped, mutilated or disfigured!
Enough of people haunted by fear, hatred and bitterness! Enough kidnappings and
extortions!
We want living
witnesses to Syria and its history, civilisation of love, development, knowledge
and industry, Syrians who will “beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears
into pruning-hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation: neither
shall they learn war anymore.” (Isaiah 2: 4)
We too say: Put down
your weapons! Lay aside your arms! Turn them into pruning-hooks, instruments of
life, building and development! I am tired of talking about sad, suffering
Syria, about displaced persons, the homeless, the injured, victims, slain,
martyrs, refugees and the starving. I want to talk about Syrians in safety,
happy and content, about their joys, their walks, their celebrations, their
weddings. I want to experience the marriage of joyful, risen, living Syria!
I want Syrians to
be glad again as they celebrate the Paschal Feast, the Resurrection, as Peter
and the other apostles, the two disciples at Emmaus, Mary Magdalene and the
myrrh-bearing women were glad.
I want Damascus and
the whole of Syria to live again the joy of Paul when he met Christ, risen from
the dead, at the gate of Damascus.
The suffering and
praying Church of Damascus
The Church of
Damascus is proud to be known for the keenness with which the services are
celebrated during Great Lent. We can assure you, and we thank God, for the fact
that almost every day, almost all our churches are completely full during Lent.
So Damascus’ suffering
Church, like the suffering Church of Syria, becomes thousands of hands praying for
the victims of war, violence and terror, and imploring peace, security,
reconciliation, stability, love and an end to the suffering of millions of refugees
and displaced, handicapped, wounded and grieving persons.
So the Church of Damascus and all Syria has
continued its way of the cross, with courage, hope and charity during this holy
Lent and does not allow the flame of hope to die in the hearts and minds of the
faithful, as His Holiness Pope Francis recommended to us, calling upon us to
keep “the courage of prayer,” (Message for Lent 2014) hoping that the dawn of
peace and resurrection will arise for all our fellow-citizens and for the whole
country.
Address to Syrians
Dear fellow Syrians,
I love you! God loves you! God asks you to love one another. God wishes you to
be reconciled in fellowship, forming a single rank for your dear country,
Syria, our single Homeland. It has been our great common Homeland for centuries.
Let us be united! Let us be of one heart, one mind, to one end! Let us get
together for the sake of love, goodness, harmony, tolerance, reconciliation and
peace! Together we are capable of solving our problems, binding our wounds, overcoming
our differences and realising everyone’s hopes and aspirations.
Together, we can
ensure the future of our young generations. Together, we are capable of
rebuilding and renewing Syria, of enabling the refugees to return and
rebuilding our homes, schools and vital institutions, our churches and mosques.
As a Syrian citizen,
patriarch and bishop, ready to give his life and soul for beloved Syria, I turn
to you and beseech you: listen to the voice of history, the inheritance of our
parents and ancestors, who lived together, planted together, and together built
homes and palaces, wonders of civilisation, development, prosperity, security
and stability.
There is a very
beautiful doxasticon among the Paschal stichera: “Today is the Day of Resurrection! Let us shine with the light of the
Feast; let us embrace one another; let us say, ‘Brethren’ even to those who
hate us, and let us forgive all through the Resurrection, so we may cry aloud:
Christ is risen from the dead; trampling down death by death, and has freed us
from the tomb, bestowing life!”
Yes, let’s forgive!
Let us be reconciled! How happy we are when we read or hear news of
reconciliation here and there, among citizens, in neighbourhoods and villages...
It makes for a promising future! That is the slogan that I launched in August
2012: “For Syria, reconciliation is the only lifeline.” We accompany the
efforts expended in support of reconciliation, through our prayers, our
participation in various congresses and our interviews with various social media...
We bless the efforts of the Syrian government’s Ministry for Reconciliation.
I am no longer
afraid
Pope Francis will
visit the Holy Land in Jordan and Palestine next May. This is a visit to
commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the meeting of Pope Paul VI and
Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras in
1964 in Jerusalem, city of the Resurrection. That was the first meeting between
the Pope of Rome and the Patriarch of Constantinople since the Great Schism of 1054.
After that, there were different meetings in Constantinople, Rome and elsewhere.
We wish His
Holiness Pope Francis welcome. We thank him
for his love and prayer for Syria, and the mentions he has made of Syria on
several occasions, calling the world to work for peace in our land. We shall address
a message to him in the name of the Assembly of the Catholic Hierarchy in Syria,
and we hope that he will come to visit Syria to celebrate its victory and peace.
Here I should like
to quote verbatim a splendid spiritual statement by the late Patriarch
Athenagoras of Constantinople. May it inspire all Syrians to discover that real
power is based on love, as love casts out fear:
“I have waged this war against myself for many years.
...But now I am disarmed. I am no longer frightened of anything because love
banishes fear. I am disarmed of the need to be right and to justify myself by
disqualifying others. ...I just want to welcome and to share. ... What is good,
true and real is always for me the best. That is why I have no fear. When we
are disarmed and dispossessed of self, if we open our hearts to the God-Man who
makes all things new then He takes away past hurts and reveals a new time where
everything is possible.”
[Translated by Jean Vanier in Finding Peace]
The Geneva
Conference should be held in Syria
We affirm and
declare, in truth and sincerity, with respect for all groups in Syria, for the opposition
and all factions, and I say this too to other Arab countries, the European
Union, the United Nations, the United States of America, the Russian Federation
and China: The continuation of the Geneva 2 Conference, or Geneva 3, ought to
be held in Syria! We and only we can continue Geneva 2 or make a Geneva 3! We
Syrians can enable peace, security and stability to return to Syria!
Appeal to the world
At the start of the
fourth year of the bloody, tragic Syrian crisis, I am launching this appeal
from the suffering, praying Church of Damascus, which fasted during holy Lent
and continues its way of the cross with all citizens of this beloved country, the
cradle of Christianity, religions and civilisations.
At this great feast
of the Resurrection, in love and hope we again make a heartfelt, powerful, pressing
plea.
On the basis of our
Christian faith and spiritual mission and role as pastor and Patriarch, we turn
to everyone: the President of our country and his colleagues, all Arab
countries, the United States of America, the Russian Federation, countries of
the European Union, all nations of the world, pacifists, Nobel Peace
Prize-winners, all men and women of good will, the pure-hearted, leaders of
social media, people of letters, thinkers, captains of industry and commerce, arms
merchants... and call upon you all to expend every possible effort for peace in
Syria. The Syrian tragedy has exceeded every measure and limit! It has
adversely affected nearly every Syrian citizen. We ask God to hear this appeal.
May he guide your hearts to heed this appeal from him and from us.
Death reigns in
Syria! We cannot continue the death march! We must summon up our efforts, at
home and abroad, government, opposition, all parties, and persons of good will,
to staunch the flow of Syrian blood and walk towards resurrection! We are all
sons and daughters of Syria, to whom God has given the light of life. We are called
to life, not death. As a Syrian citizen and Syrian patriarch, I beseech every
Syrian to walk, with his fellow-citizens, on the road of resurrection and life,
that they all might have life and that they might have it more abundantly (cf. John
10, 10). No more war! No more violence! No more massacres!
We all ought to try
to bring about a truce for life. We have to reject the logic of war and power
as a selfish, murderous rationale!
I am launching this
appeal to the whole world, in the name of the poor, weak, widows, victims, mortally
wounded, mutilated, disfigured, displaced persons, refugees, homeless, hungry,
children, the elderly, pregnant women, handicapped, all those in despair, pain
and discouragement, such as I often encounter at the Syrian-Lebanese border
when travelling from Beirut to Damascus, or during my visits to families of
victims and disaster-stricken people. They are burdened by fear about the
future and the fate of their families, children and young people.
In the face of this
dark and bloody image of our beloved country, Syria, I turn to the nations of
the whole world and beseech them: Have pity on Syria! Leave Syria to Syrians! That’s
enough of your weapons, your fighters, your mercenaries, your armed adventurers,
your jihadis, your takfiris!
We tell everyone
quite frankly: War has not succeeded! Violence has not succeeded! Weapons have
not succeeded! Arming groups with all sorts of weapons hasn’t succeeded! Your
visions, theories and prophecies from the beginning of the crisis in 2011 about
the fall of Syria’s president and government have not been fulfilled. Your
falsified publicity propaganda has not succeeded. The projects and plots of
certain Arab and European countries have not succeeded. Economic sanctions have
not succeeded. Threats of iron and fire have not succeeded. Alliances have not
succeeded.
Given all these
failures, isn’t it time for the world to realise that no-one wins through war, that
political resolution is best, and that Syrians alone will decide their future and
say who ought to be their President and government and what their Constitution
ought to be?
Or is the world
really determined, as seems to be the case, to continue a war of extermination
of the Syrian people and destruction of its institutions, heritage, churches
and mosques, a war that starves, impoverishes, scatters and kills our people
and children, breaking their resistance and morale, in order to realise its own
interests and plans?
And who is the
victim? The suffering, wounded Syrian nation, as described above.
In the name of
Syria, I beseech the world: Hands off Syria! Stop the war-mongering! Let Syria
and all peace-loving countries of the world work together, to allow peace to
prevail in Syria, because Syria’s peace means peace for the whole Middle East
region, and especially the Holy Land! Syria deserves the interest, love and
trust of the whole world!
We do not want
Syria to be the land of war, murder, violence and terrorism; but rather, as we
read on posters in the streets of Damascus: “Syria, your land is holy, a land
of love and peace.”
O Syria,
resurrection is yours
Syria is the land
of the Resurrection. At the gates of Damascus, Paul of Tarsus saw Christ risen
from the dead. He came to Damascus as a persecutor. He left it as an apostle
and preacher of the Resurrection. That is why Syria is the land of the Resurrection.
As we said: the title of its children is “Children of the Resurrection.”
Today, we are
speaking to our fellow-citizens, Syria’s sons and daughters, giving them this
splendid historic appellation, O sons and daughters of Syria! You are the
children of the Resurrection, children of life. You are neither children of
death, nor instruments of death. You are not children of violence, terror,
torture and massacres. Be for ever children of the Resurrection and life!
Let those who seek
to destroy our love, our living together, by killing and causing bloodshed in
our land, and sowing ideas of takfirism, hatred, enmity, division and sedition
leave the pure earth of Syria ! They are just agents of death!
We tell Syria what
Jesus said in a certain synagogue, when he healed the woman bent double: “Woman,
thou art loosed from thine infirmity.” (Luke 13: 12)
We tell Syria: you
have a resurrection! You have a resurrection, my fellow-Christian! You have a
resurrection, Muslim fellow-citizen! You have a resurrection, who lie hidden
under the sod! You have a resurrection, my brother in arms!
Good wishes for the
feast
Here I offer my
good wishes for the Feast of the glorious Resurrection, this Feast of the
Lord’s Pascha, celebrated this year on the same date by all our Churches. I
offer these good wishes to my brother metropolitans, archbishops and bishops, the
members of our Holy Synod, to my brothers and children the priests, deacons,
monks, nuns and all the faithful of our parishes in Arab countries and in
countries of the expansion (especially those receiving recent Syrian emigrants.)
I offer these good wishes to all Christians as we celebrate Pascha together
this year, and also to our Muslim fellow-citizens who believe in resurrection,
as we can read in this Qur’anic verse: “Peace upon me on the day I was born, and
the day of my death and the day when I will be raised to life.” (Surah 19: 33 Maryam)
I end this letter
with one of the most beautiful hymns of the celebration of the glorious
Resurrection, in which we address the risen Christ, proud of his Resurrection (Ninth
Ode of Orthros): “O divine delight, O ineffable
sweetness of thy voice! For thou hast truly promised, O Christ, to be with us
unto the end of the age; having this foundation of hope, we the faithful exult
with joy.”
With my affection and blessing
+ Gregorios III
Patriarch of Antioch and
All the East,
Of Alexandria and
of Jerusalem
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