2006

The first day of the year is not an ecclesiastic feast. It is a day among others in which the church has put two feasts: The Circumcision of our Lord Jesus, and the feast of St. Basil the Great. We celebrate the circumcision of the Lord as we celebrate all the events that he lived as a human. These events, in their accumulation and sequence, led him to death. As for St. Basil, he is one of the greats in theology, asceticism, episcopate, and social work; and he has, with no doubt, collected in his person all the virtues of the episcopate. He died in 479 at the age of 49.

And since we are going into a new year, we hope that it brings with it what makes us new in the eyes of God. Perhaps the image of circumcision benefits us here if we prevented the eye from seeing what harms it or see the ugliness of people, if we helped the ear not to hear what hurts chastity and also if we lived through a simple word in asceticism in order to become stain free and satisfy Christ.

We have the right, in addition to this internal peace, to ask for the peace of the world, in Lebanon first, in Iraq, Palestine and every land. War is burning around us, and we renew ourselves through asking for peace and health without forgetting the Lord’s word: “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you”. Moreover, we say that the common expression “your health is the most important thing in the world” is not right: your health comes after your struggle to reach holiness. The Lord didn’t forbid us from seeking money, but he insisted that we should be cautious from money and afraid from its power over us. Nothing is forbidden for us as long as it is within the law.

Perhaps this is an occasion to remind the faithful that we have a divine liturgy on New Year’s Day, so if we stayed up late in the night and spent it playing we shall not be ready to pray on the first of January. Perhaps some of you still gamble despite their poverty.  This money should stay for the family and must be spent in the family or given for charity. These are the only reasons that justify our use of money. You are trusted over this money and it is a waste of money when you give it because of a playing card. Therefore, enter this new year trusting the Lord and give him your soul, your family, and Lebanon.

Renewal, for us, happens through the Holy Spirit and has nothing to do with days; however, renewal requires a huge effort because it is a common work between God and us given through his grace. Don’t only rely on this grace but fight also. On the other hand, don’t feel comfortable with your fight only but also ask for this grace. This is what we call sharing between God and you. This way, all your days shall be new.

As the civil year begins, begin your life with Christ if you were still slow until now. Do you have this determination? Do you love Christ? It is a building you should build. Read the bible at home; come to the liturgy; pray in the evening for you shall see that things changed inside you and around you. Then, these days shall become the peak of your renewal in Christ and the beginning of your journey towards him. Everything before that is just a calendar. Become a calendar that God turns and reads in a way that he finds in it every day something new and sees all your life new.

Translated by Mark Najjar

Original Text: “2007” –Raiati n^o53- 31.12.2006

There are two different things with respect to their purpose: Faith and love. In faith, our purpose is to preserve God’s word as it was shown by the Church. While in love, our purpose is to embrace all people with the power of grace, the power or faith that dwells in our hearts. Those who we should love, according to the commandment of the Master, might have our doctrine or not. From this principle, I felt real sad when I was told that some Christian groups preferred to give charity only to Christian emigrants; this means that they loved some people and not all people: This is a behavioral heresy.

If someone thought that the Lord’s words, “love one another”, meant that Christians should only love Christians, he will be proven wrong if he read the other words of the Lord: “Love your enemies. Bless those who curse you. Be good with those who hate you and pray for those who persecute you… If you loved those who love you, what regard will you get?” (Matthew 5: 43–47). If our behavior with enemies should be a loving one, then what about our behavior with Muslims that believe in God and were in severe need during the last war? Didn’t the Lord say: “I was hungry, and you fed me”? This means that He is in the heart of every hungry person and every person without clothes or shelter. Christ united Himself with every person in need; He didn’t only unite Himself with those who are baptized.

The love that is a trust given to you from the Lord must be transferred from you to all human being perhaps they would feel that they are loved by God. You shouldn’t tell them that you are giving because you are Christian. They will recognize this and know that you come from Christ. You shouldn’t ask them to thank you or to give you something in exchange. You only want them to live for a small period and want their children to have milk and their women and elders to get care.

Brothers, we are not a political body and we do not have a tendency to be separated from any group of people. The circumstances of conquer and aggression on this country made most emigrants from a different color. This was an opportunity given by God to renew our hearts and make them purer and warmer; through our embracement to others, we become more embraced to God.

Apostle Paul clearly said: “Be charitable with all people”. This is what Christians in Rome did in the early centuries. We have a testimony from St. John Chrysostom, who died in 407, where he says that Rome had no hungry people (Christians and Pagans) because Christians gave food to everyone.

Our holy fathers have taught us not to reject any person that asks for food or money, because if you gave that person you would be giving Jesus that was poor Himself.

In crucial days, duty must be doubled and strengthened. Church, as an establishment, gave shelter to people during the war. However, this Christian body was acting in a way that could be at least described by being sectarian and partisan because some organizations became tribal formations that are based on loving some people and hating others because refusing to help others while having the capability is with no doubt considered hatred.

We hope not to see after today such a bad behavior in case of war or peace. Some Muslims are participating with us in building Churches or schools in order to ask for forgiveness from God through charity. I also know that some Christians help Muslims in their charity projects. This should be the standard.

Do not fall in the heresy of differentiating between Muslims and Christians in charity. You have your own faith and they have theirs, however, the Muslim must dwell in your heart if you wanted God to dwell in it too.

Translated by Mark Najjar

Original Text: “المحبة للجميع” –Raiati 36- 03.09.2006

You are invited not to be moody in the issue of the Liturgy. You might not understand everything that is going on in Church on a Sunday morning. You might not be aware of all the meanings. This subject could be studied in books that explain the Divine Liturgy or by asking a discerning priest. If you started to love the Divine service and it was sweet for you, you won’t get tired, and as much as your understanding increases, your tiredness decreases and your boredom disappears.

If your encounter with Christ was weak, the liturgy is where this encounter is strengthened. You might tell me that you pray at home, but the greatest encounter that the Lord wants is the one that he invited you to by saying to all generations including you: Take, eat, this is my body, and drink of it, this is my blood. He also said: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them”. Many other words such as these also show us that we do not live a great life unless we took part in this divine table that is prepared in front of us every Sunday morning.

Do not say: The Liturgy is long. Without taking the Matins into consideration, The Liturgy starts with “Blessed is the kingdom of the Father…”. And if the Priest and chanter knew how not to prolong the chanting a lot, the Liturgy must end in one hour. You do not get tired because of the elongation; you might get tired because of boredom which could be removed by studying and awareness.

In addition to your encounter with Christ, there is a meeting with the brothers that become one entity on Sunday by accepting the Divine Sacraments. Concerning this, Paul said: “Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf” (1Corinthians 10: 17). This is an occasion to forgive whoever sinned to you and ask for forgiveness and grow in purity and be strengthened in front of distresses and difficulties.

You might find around you people that are not great in piety, and you might not like the priest. Your relationship is with Christ and you take communion from His hands. It appears that the priest gives you communion, but actually it is the Lord who gives you his honorable body and blood.

And if you were lazy in reading the Gospel, you would hear it in Church and it might have a big influence on you and raise you up and make a radical change in you. You might have heard a lot of chants, but one chanted phrase might enter your heart for this first time. You heart might be moved with two or three words and you become a new man. Do not escape from becoming a spiritual person. You might have never dreamt of this and you wanted yourself average in virtue. You might become a great spiritual person through paying deep attention to Christ which you haven’t done in the past. Are you afraid from becoming a saint?

Why don’t you throw yourself in Jesus’ bosom as the beloved disciple did in the Mystical Supper? If He wants to make you closer to him through this method, why do you hesitate and convince yourself that you have other methods to get closer to him?

If you were a seasonal believer such as some people, try to come regularly to Divine Services for several weeks and you will see that you have become a lover for God’s Word and you will have eagerness to take the beloved body and blood and you would feel His love to you which will increase the level of your love to Him. If you didn’t come to Jesus, you would be leaving Him alone. He wants everyone to be His beloved ones. He doesn’t want them to sleep in laziness and create a religion for themselves in their imagination. He told us what we should do to be his communicants. Didn’t you say few times in your childhood: “Of your Mystical Supper, O son of God, receive me today”? Go to your Church and say it again.

Translated by Mark Najjar

Original Text: “قداس الأحد” –Raiati 23 – 04.06.2006

The soul cannot elevate by itself to God unless the Holy Spirit dwelled in it. He is in you and talks to himself with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Praying is a movement of Divine descending to you and then another ascending movement. This is what the Son did when he descended and then ascended.

God descends to you directly through the Holy Spirit but He descended to the whole humanity through the Gospel. The Gospel is Christ’s thought and contains everything that you could know about God’s secrets that were revealed to us. The Gospel reaches you if you read, studied and sifted it. In addition to hearing it in Church, the Gospel comes to you through different prayers and chants that express the Gospel. You are always with this Book whether you prayed with a community or alone because if you stood up in your home, street or car you would be reading prayers from the Church that were printed in the Horologion (book of hours). Even If you prayed alone, you would be spiritually present with the community.

However, you might say a simple prayer and not a complete one. You could say for example: “Lord have mercy” or “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner”. Even if you said such small prayers you will still be standing, through the Spirit, with the community.

However, the important thing is to be standing in Christ’s presence whether you were participating in a divine service or praying individually. Sometimes, you might be taken by the performance of our rituals which are essential for us. But sometimes tunes dominate words and words stop being understandable. The believer needs a lot of attention to stay focused on the meanings because those meanings put us in Christ’s presence. Ritual worships are meant to be manifestations of the Lord. Beware not to make them obscure his presence.

Excessive beautifying of the voice and competition between chanters distract people from Christ. If we really were calling Him, He could reach us with a tuneful voice and with an ugly one. We must become independent from the dominance of expression in order to stick to the essence. There is no encounter in temples or in individual prayer except with Christ.

In Church, you do not stare at the faithful that are in front of you or next to you. Every one of us is connected to his Lord. Yes, we are in communion with the brothers through one prayer and one Holy Communion, but this communion doesn’t mean that we are a cluster in which we are all molten. You are attached only to the Lord and He is the place where you encounter the brothers.

You must understand that prayer- whether it was collective or individual- requires great anchorage, and a lot of time to understand every Sunday what you missed in the past ones. In every Liturgy, you discover the Master and you find his visage more glorious. A lot of phrases pass without any influence on you. Then, this phrase suddenly glows after being turned off. Therefore, you cannot take full benefit if you didn’t persevere. Individual prayer falls under the same pattern. If you didn’t persevere daily you won’t be able to pray it with the same warmth. Yearning for Jesus cannot be strong if your prayer is cut. You cannot find Christ when your system is based on negligence.

If you sinned, don’t leave your prayer for being disgusted from yourself. On the contrary, the situation of a sin is a situation to come back to God. And you cannot come back to him except by talking to him through the words that you know or the words that you compose. Prayer is a relation between the believer and his lord. He always loves you and wants you to talk to him because you benefit from this conversation. Prayer is the only way not to forget the Lord.

Translated by Mark Najjar

Original Text: “ارتفاع النفس إلى الله” –Raiati 22 – 28.05.2006

Sixty or Seventy years ago, some Orthodox people used to severely criticize Clergymen in their councils, and I didn’t use to hear anyone blaming himself. This phenomenon, even though it became silent, still exists because man tends to believe that dereliction in our ecclesiastic life comes from others only and that the improvement of the ecclesiastic condition comes when others reform themselves. Then, some youth started to say that ‘I should try to fix myself and understand more, I should study the Orthodox dogma and teach it to others, and if people improved for Christ, they shall transfer their enthusiasm to others. These youth said: “I request things from myself, and the spiritual magnificence that descends over me will be transferred by being a model”. And if some had a great feeling for Christ, they will become priests, bishops and monks.

This is how every correct renaissance starts. However, those who you have raised might fall or become lukewarm and their enthusiasm might be turned off by the worries of life and therefore they won’t stay active disciples for Jesus Christ. Therefore, you have to continue the road and give the lukewarm the enthusiasm that he lost and transmit in the lazy a new energy.

Renewal or revival in Church is a continuous process, and you cannot secure that those who you called with eagerness and warmth would still have the same eagerness and warmth. Some of them might become a priest or have a higher position and become lukewarm or carless and impatient towards struggle or become impure through the temptation of money or other things. None of us is secured until the end of his life; and no human group could stay coherent forever through the beauties that were revealed to it. One might leave, the other might stay and the necklace falls apart. Therefore, the writer of the Psalms said: “Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save”.

You might have put hope in a friend of yours and then you noticed that he retreated or fell and didn’t carry anymore the first flame. You cannot put all your hope in any man. You can be ready for a fall that might happen to a person that struggled with you in Church and was a great giver. You can cry and sigh by you cannot become desperate because the success of the Gospel is neither based on one person in this world nor related to a group of friends that became soldiers together and then a person of them went away.

Your loyalty is for Christ and for every person that is not dependant on a group of people. Therefore, you should consider that the Church is based on you only and that Jesus puts his hope in you even if everyone was dispersed.

“On this rock I will build my Church”. These words are directed to you. You, who has a full faith in Jesus and who is completely submitted to his word became the rock of the whole Church. However, you will not remain a rock unless you studied the Gospel sufficiently, and unless you read a lot about Christianity, you worshiped in Churches, loved, became purified, forgave, and spread the message around you daily.

Then, the lukewarm will boil and the fallen will rise and you will be gathered again in Jesus’ love and your vertexes will be crowned after being relaxed. Renaissance is a permanent project. It might be cracked sometimes. But you, the person that wasn’t away from God’s word, have to renew the construction.

Sixty or Seventy years ago, some Orthodox people used to severely criticize Clergymen in their councils, and I didn’t use to hear anyone blaming himself. This phenomenon, even though it became silent, still exists because man tends to believe that dereliction in our ecclesiastic life comes from others only and that the improvement of the ecclesiastic condition comes when others reform themselves. Then, some youth started to say that ‘I should try to fix myself and understand more, I should study the Orthodox dogma and teach it to others, and if people improved for Christ, they shall transfer their enthusiasm to others. These youth said: “I request things from myself, and the spiritual magnificence that descends over me will be transferred by being a model”. And if some had a great feeling for Christ, they will become priests, bishops and monks.

This is how every correct renaissance starts. However, those who you have raised might fall or become lukewarm and their enthusiasm might be turned off by the worries of life and therefore they won’t stay active disciples for Jesus Christ. Therefore, you have to continue the road and give the lukewarm the enthusiasm that he lost and transmit in the lazy a new energy.

Renewal or revival in Church is a continuous process, and you cannot secure that those who you called with eagerness and warmth would still have the same eagerness and warmth. Some of them might become a priest or have a higher position and become lukewarm or carless and impatient towards struggle or become impure through the temptation of money or other things. None of us is secured until the end of his life; and no human group could stay coherent forever through the beauties that were revealed to it. One might leave, the other might stay and the necklace falls apart. Therefore, the writer of the Psalms said: “Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save”.

You might have put hope in a friend of yours and then you noticed that he retreated or fell and didn’t carry anymore the first flame. You cannot put all your hope in any man. You can be ready for a fall that might happen to a person that struggled with you in Church and was a great giver. You can cry and sigh by you cannot become desperate because the success of the Gospel is neither based on one person in this world nor related to a group of friends that became soldiers together and then a person of them went away.

Your loyalty is for Christ and for every person that is not dependant on a group of people. Therefore, you should consider that the Church is based on you only and that Jesus puts his hope in you even if everyone was dispersed.

“On this rock I will build my Church”. These words are directed to you. You, who has a full faith in Jesus and who is completely submitted to his word became the rock of the whole Church. However, you will not remain a rock unless you studied the Gospel sufficiently, and unless you read a lot about Christianity, you worshiped in Churches, loved, became purified, forgave, and spread the message around you daily.

Then, the lukewarm will boil and the fallen will rise and you will be gathered again in Jesus’ love and your vertexes will be crowned after being relaxed. Renaissance is a permanent project. It might be cracked sometimes. But you, the person that wasn’t away from God’s word, have to renew the construction.

Translated by Mark Najjar

Original Text: “المسيحي الملتزم” –Raiati 20- 14.05.2006

The greatest miracle is the Lord’s triumph over death. Every healing is a repetition of Pascha because every sickness is a path towards death in a way. Every healing is a second presence of Christ in the body of the sick. The Lord has summarized his message through the following: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind”.

However, the Lord used to put the miracle in the second rank behind the divine word. In this sense, when He sent His disciples to the world, He told them: “Preach the Gospel to all creation”. He even said: “these signs will accompany those who believe. And when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well” (Mark 16: 15–18).

Two things are inseparable for the healer and the healed: Faith and the act of healing. This occurred a lot in the Gospel.

After resurrection, the disciples were healing; for example, Peter and John healing the crippled (Acts 3). We notice in the New Testament a continuation of Jesus’ work with the disciples. After their era, we noticed that the Church called some Saints “Miracle makers” such us Saints Nicolas and Spyridon for example. Our Church doesn’t state that every saint must make miracles after his death. The Lord gives that gift to some of them. This proves that we accept the effectiveness of resurrection.

Also in the Church there is a sacrament dedicated for healing called the “Anointing of the sick”. It is unfortunate that no one practices it in the Antiochian Church (Maybe because of its absence, the Church has decided to perform this sacrament, for the benefit of all, on Holy Wednesday).

In Christ’s thought, healing is a sign of the coming of the kingdom. Therefore, exaggerating pain was something with no real basis. As for the miracle or healing of an ordinary illness, we ask for the latter because we are afraid of being controlled by fear and also because, through health, we receive a sign of the kingdom.

In our Orthodox faith, we believe that what is called “the laws of nature” have come after the appearance of sin. For if God broke the law of nature He would take you back to the pre sin state.

In all cases, God is free and isn’t restricted by the laws of nature. He heals the blind in a way that medicine doesn’t recognize. He directly enters the journey of the life of the sick and lifts him from his sadness tenderly. Tenderness is what made Jesus heal the sick.

We never know why a person can heal and another one can’t. A priest says a prayer and another priest says the same prayer: A Person could be healed with the prayer of the first priest and couldn’t with the second. In all cases, the duty of the priest is to put his hand on the head of the sick.

However, praying isn’t limited to priests. A person committed to spiritual life can pray with a sick person or in front of him or could gather with some brothers to pray together.

The important thing is to console the sick and guide him through the words of Jesus and prepare him to endure his pain through the Savior’s words and reading the Gospel. This is what we should care about because a person that becomes healthy through the Lord’s word can become a great pious person.

The sick must accept his situation and submit his case to God that knows what benefits the sick person. In all cases, his prayers would always benefit him and will always lead to what is good whether this was visible or invisible.

Remember the words of the Lord: “I was sick and you visited me”. Christ dwells in the body of the sick that is lying on his bed. We should wake him up and let the sick embrace Him consciously when we mention Christ’s name or read His words or sing the chants of triumph. The sick awaits his resurrection.

Translated by Mark Najjar

Original Text: “العجائب” –Raiati 19- 07.05.2006

One of the meanings of the Lent is to purify yourself and become crystal-like, and not to justify yourself if you recognized your sin. Also, another meaning is to offer yourself a sacrifice for others since you are ascending on “The Ladder of Divine Ascent” which we remember its writer today Saint John Climacus that was the abbot of the monastery of Mount Sinai. We have icons that present a ladder, in which monks are ascending towards Christ, some fall from the second step, some from the fifth and others from the twentieth; and when someone obtains humility Christ welcomes him in his lap.

The humble person is the person that saw his defects, admitted them and did not count his advantages and was from this aspect clear in front of others. A person that covers himself from the examination of others is nothing but shy, and hanging on to defects that he see as a part of his personality.

One way of preventing others from examining us, is to see them as we want them to be and not as they really are. This creates an attitude that changes between slander and gossip. Gossip is a defect found in us and we activate it. Slander is a lie that we use to attack another person because we don’t like him or have some reasons to become furious and block him or go away from him to reach schism. By this we would be breaking into pieces Christ’s body whose members are united through Christ the head.

We are not one due to my attraction towards you or your attraction towards me through pure human emotion. Christ is our cohesion and we have no loyalty to anyone. We can also say that we have love towards the person that reflected Christ’s light on his face; who, in his turn reflects it to other people. However, this is not possible except if we destroyed the detestable ego in its loneliness, and discovered the ego of the group which is the spirit of God in Christ’s body.

What is true on all the faithful is first of all true on the servants of the temple because if the grace guided them, they will be able to guide the people. The word of the Lord on himself is applied over those: “I am the good shepherd”. Yes, no priest or bishop can call himself a good shepherd; this is what the just judge will say about him or not. Nevertheless, transparency is a main attitude for clergy so that they illuminate others as much as they can and not shock them. The situation of priests is similar to that of bishops, as Saint Cyprian bishop of Carthage said about them: “the episcopate is one”. It’s bonded through love and trust; and you should first trust your partner in service before assuring your doubts and telling him about them and present your knowledge.

Transparency is to ask him about what he said and about his attitude, and admonish him when necessary. If you heard that he has said something about you, it is ok to admonish him as the Lord said in the Gospel of Matthew: “and if he didn’t hear you tell the church”. The church here refers to beloved partners for you or the bishop that gives birth to us in Christ.

This way we succeed through this transparency and simplicity to become each one in the heart of the other and all in Christ’s heart.

Translated by Mark Najjar

Original Text: “الشفافية” – 2.4.2006

The mutual committee for the dialogue between our Churches and the Western Churches has stopped working few years ago. Recently, two meetings were held between the two teams in Istanbul and Rome. They decided to restart the dialogues and maybe try to face the big problem which is the presidency of the Roman Pope and his immaculacy. This surely needs a lot of time. It doesn’t seem that the two Churches are interested today in assigning a common date for celebrating Pascha.

Supposedly we solved this issue quickly; this doesn’t change anything in the main difficulties. The Armenians celebrate with the West, but this didn’t lead to a rapprochement in doctrine. Celebrating at the same day between Catholics and Protestants also didn’t lead to a rapprochement. The solution needs patience.

I don’t feel that the unity will come soon. The difficulty of forming one Church with one administration lies in the fact that the Orthodox do not accept, theologically, to be subjected to the Roman Pope because this has never happened before. The Pope has never interfered in the issues of the East. If they accepted the leadership of the Roman Pope over the whole world they would be leaving their heritage and fixating something that they have never known in the past. The doctrine of Orthodox Christians is based on the seven Ecumenical Councils and their Holy Fathers didn’t consider that Peter’s priority over the apostles has been transferred to the Popes or Rome. They do not accept that someone other than Christ could be considered as a head for all the Church through a delegation from Christ. The pastoral care performed by the apostles over the early Church was a communal care in which Peter appeared as a premier. However, this prominence didn’t continue in the form of a sequence.

We believe that every bishop is the head of his local Church and that a group of Churches or archdioceses is led by what we call a Patriarch or Archbishop who would be a premier among equal people. The relationship between the Patriarch and the Bishops is lived in the Holy Synod in a visible form in addition to the life of communion. However, the Patriarch is not a president over any bishop or over all bishops when they meet, but he could interfere or give suggestions if the ecclesiastic life in an archdiocese was ruined. The Patriarchs are also brothers, and the one that is considered as the premier among them after the schism is the Patriarch of Constantinople; if a conciliation was fulfilled then this kind of leadership will be given back to the Pope.

If this Papal presidency stayed as a doctrine, as it was declared by the Vatican Council in 1870, then conciliation is not possible because Eastern Christians would be deviating from their ancient faith. Is there any way out?

Scholars from both Churches have thought about this issue and noticed that the West differentiates between the Seven Ecumenical Councils and the General Councils that they held alone in the second millennium, i.e. after the Great Schism in 1054. The Seven Ecumenical Councils are mandatory and this is our clear statement. As for the Western councils, we cannot force Eastern Christians that didn’t attend and didn’t acknowledge the councils to accept them. However, after discussing we might accept some issues from them and refuse others.

Among these general western councils (non-ecumenical) we mention the First Vatican Council that acknowledged the presidency and immaculacy of the Pope. The Western Church has met in this council as a local or regional Church.

If the West accepted this characteristic to be given to the Vatican Council, then the presidency and immaculacy of the Roman People would not be mandatory for the East. Then, the Pope and the Eastern Patriarchs would communicate by considering the Pope as the bigger brother exactly as the Orthodox Patriarch and his bishops communicate today i.e. he cannot command or decide but they all consult each other.

This is the image of the united Church in the future as it appears to me. This is based on the first millennium without changing anything from it. May God inspire all Christians not to deviate from this mutual heritage.

Translated by Mark Najjar

Original Text: “الوحدة المسيحية إلى أين؟” –Raiati 7- 12.02.2006

In this bad time that we are living in, people can approach each other through love because no one can add anything to love. Love requires two things: The first is to stick to the righteous faith and not deviate from it in order to satisfy human beings; and the second, to love all those who believe in Jesus regardless of their doctrine because this shows mutual respect and that no one feels that he is better than the other or disparages the other but we all try to be better in honoring. Those who have good knowledge in our doctrine must clarify this doctrine to whoever wants to learn it. Explaining it is a must, yet it is also a must to avoid controversy and to stay calm.

Participating in each other’s joys and sorrows is a well-known habit among the Lebanese. But we should add to it charity towards the poor from another Church. We are not allowed to ask a poor person to go back to his Church if that Church couldn’t help him. By this, I am not talking about individual giving that you might be practicing but about a giving from our Church as a whole if it was available.

As for worshiping, it is not our habit to participate with others except in exceptional conditions. The important thing is for every one of us to be sanctified and to love his rituals and participate in the Divine service with those who have the same belief as him. Rapprochement doesn’t happen through admixture but through practical love. To stand next to each other and to exchange visits among Churches isn’t our way to get to know each other deeply. Meeting the other happens in the depth of the soul and not visibly. As for when we should appear together, this needs more organization and should be done by those who are responsible.

I feel sorry when I see some of our children not praying in their Churches on Sundays because they have to drive their cars for extra five or ten minutes to reach an Orthodox Church. They say that we are all the same. This is my hope, in God’s grace. However, now we are not united in what we say and what they say. We are in front of a scene of two divided Churches that we hope for their unity after dialogues between Churches and overcoming difficulties that exist to this day. These are theological issues and cannot be overcome easily.

Saying that we want to become united today whatever it takes is rejected because Church issues are serious issues and problems cannot be solved without the opinions of Patriarchs, bishops and scholars. Those who know and those who don’t are not the same. In this sense, nothing is impossible to agree on. Agreeing requires us to be all according to the faith “that was delivered once to the saints”.

The journey is long and hard and needs lots of endurance. The expression that I always hear – “We, lay people want unity now” – can only be replied by saying “guide me to the solution of the problem”.

There also exists the issue of celebrating Pascha. Churches are seeking to do that and have established a global committee to solve the dilemma. While following this issue, I say that the delay isn’t from the loitering of spiritual authorities. There are nations that still refuse this agreement and in an inveterate Orthodox country, a great number of believers split from the Church when some Churches adopted the western calendar for fixed feasts (Christmas, Annunciation).

Uniting the fixed feasts didn’t let us take a step closer to rapprochement. Theological difficulties are still there. Also, the Latins and evangelicals celebrate Pascha in one day yet they didn’t get closer to each other.

The only thing that could be done on the regional level, and not on the global level, is for others to adopt the Orthodox date for Pascha because the global solution didn’t come yet and because we cannot be divided from our Orthodox brothers, while Catholics who live with us in Lebanon were allowed by the Pope to celebrate with us.

Translated by Mark Najjar

Original Text: “قربى المسيحيين بعضهم لبعض” –Raiati 6- 05.02.2006

In today’s Epistle (1Timothy 4: 9–15) Paul addresses his disciple Timothy after making him a bishop or overseer in Asia Minor. After telling him that God is the savior of all people, he asks him to teach that to the faithful. The first job of the priest or bishop is to teach. Therefore, he must know the dogma which is the substance of the Holy Book and its interpretation; he must also know what our fathers said about the bible while interpreting it knowing that they based their interpretation on the statements of the Councils.

It is required from the priest then to go deep down our tradition, at least in the main issues if he wasn’t able to know everything. We add to these main issues the history of the Church, the Divine services and knowing the most famous Saints. How could a person teach if he doesn’t know anything or if he knows just a little? Therefore I will not respond to the request of those that want me to let a person with little knowledge into priesthood just because he is pious. We all invited to piety.

However, education is not enough. The apostle assures that the clergyman must be a model in speaking, in pure speaking that carries no anger, tension, prejudice, bias or gossip. Then he continues: in behavior, and here comes an endless list of virtues containing chastity in the love for money which is something the priest is exposed to while performing the divine sacraments. Here, the believer differentiates between a clergyman that desires money in a sick way and a clergyman that is satisfied with what he is given and that doesn’t object on any amount and if he wasn’t given anything, he doesn’t nag and ask. And if the priest felt any deficiency, he complains to his bishop so that he wouldn’t owe favors to anyone.

After that, Saint Paul the apostle highlights three qualities that seem the most important for him: Love, faith and purity. Love is the peak because “God is love” as the Evangelical John says in his first catholic epistle. He must love all the sons of his parish. He must love those that love him and those that have a reticence or complaints towards him. He must go to those and confront them to understand what they have towards him; he must accept their remarks if they were right and be patient towards them if they remained on their enmity and distance from him, and must strengthen his service to them in order to gain them for Christ.

And finally, he mentions purity. This virtue means purity in money and also in behavior with the women of the parish through staying away from joking with men and women and in general avoiding being funny.

After that, the apostle asks his disciple to devote himself to reading. In the times of Paul, they read the Old Testament because the New Testament wasn’t written yet. But today, the commandment to read means reading all the Holy Book and different spiritual books including, of course, the available old and new theological books for the priest and bishop in the languages he knows. He can also read what he can from different cultural books, and for me, he must also read newspapers in order to know the conditions of the country and the world to know the pains of people and their worries in this world.

Then, Paul urges his disciple to preach and teach. As for preaching, the Holy Canons makes it obligatory in every service especially in the Divine Liturgy. And in case the priest couldn’t master the methods of giving speeches, and didn’t have enough knowledge of our teachings, and hears the faithful complaining about his preaching and was convinced with their arguments, he must then not preach or just say a few simple instructive words without taking much time because our Liturgy has no place for a long sermon.

And what Paul calls “teaching” is a different thing than preaching. It is the organized teaching for children and adults, and we must not neglect the adults. This happens through Bible study evenings or in Christian education classes in schools or in lectures. And not every clergyman is qualified to do this.

Finally, Paul asks Timothy not to neglect the gift that he got in ordination but to develop all his powers because we learn everyday and we try to gain virtues also everyday so that our development becomes obvious to the faithful and they glorify God in us.

Translated by Mark Najjar

Original Text: “فضائل الكاهن والأسقف” –Raiati 05- 29.01.2006