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Six Stories Of Mideast Churches

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  • Six Stories Of Mideast Churches

    SIX STORIES OF MIDEAST CHURCHES
    By Andrea Kirk Assaf

    Zenit.org
    OCT. 19, 2010
    ROME

    St. Peter's square these days is a particularly international meeting
    point. Amidst the throngs of ever-present tourists drawn together
    between Bernini's colonnades strides an Iranian ayatollah in his
    distinctive round turban, followed shortly after by a group of Iraqi
    clerics in red and black vestments, who quietly and intently speak
    to one another as they move to their next appointment at the Vatican.

    Other soberly yet ornately dressed Oriental clerics make a brief
    appearance as they too join this international delegation of Middle
    Eastern clergy gathered in Rome for the work of the Special Assembly
    for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops, which concludes Sunday.

    In his briefing at the beginning of the synod, Archbishop Nikola
    Eterovic, the secretary-general of the Synod of Bishops, recalled
    that in addition to the Latin Church, there are six Eastern Catholic
    Churches "sui iuris" in the Middle East, each with its own patriarch,
    father and head of the Church.

    Here, we look back on the ancient stories of these six Eastern Churches
    that eventually brought these men together to pray and ponder and
    propose solutions to the problems faced by their flock back home.

    Armenian Church

    The country of Armenia was evangelized by Apostles Bartholomew and
    Thaddeus, and was the first to make Christianity its official religion
    in 301 under the governorship of St. Gregory the Illuminator. The
    Armenian Church broke away after the Council of Chalcedon in
    554, as did all the Eastern Catholic churches now referred to as
    "uniate." After several attempts at reunification with Rome by members
    of the Armenian Orthodox Church over the centuries, Pope Benedict
    XIV ultimately announced the establishment of the Armenian Catholic
    Church in 1742.

    Its patriarchate (currently led by Patriarch Nerses Bedros XIX
    Tarmouni) is located in Bzoummar, Lebanon, and its communities are
    found in Egypt, Syria, Turkey, Israel, Iran, Iraq, and Palestine,
    as well as in the global diaspora, particularly in the United
    States. There are an estimated 540,000 Catholic Armenians around
    the world.

    Chaldean Church

    The Catholic Chaldean Church originated in Edessa (in modern day
    Turkey) with the Apostle Thomas. Today its patriarchate is located
    in Baghdad, Iraq, headed by Patriarch Emannuel III Delly, and its
    members number approximately 419,000. In 2007, Patriarch Delly became
    the first Chaldean Catholic elevated to the rank of a cardinal.

    The line of patriarchs in communion with Rome dates back to 1553,
    though this line was broken on several occasions and rival patriarchs
    created their own lines of succession. In 1830, only one patriarch
    remained and Pope Pius VIII granted him the title of Patriarch of
    Babylon of the Chaldeans.

    The history of the Chaldean Church has been marked by waves of
    persecution through the centuries in Iraq, nearly decimating their
    number and scattering their population, yet the Church to this day
    maintains a firm presence and vibrant community.

    Catholic Coptic Church

    The roots of this Church are found in the conversion of an Orthodox
    Coptic bishop, Amba Athanasius, to Catholicism in 1741, along with
    2,000 others.

    Athanasius was appointed apostolic vicar to this new flock but later
    returned to the Orthodox Church. He left behind a line of Catholic
    vicars, however, and in 1824 the Holy See created a Patriarchate for
    the Copts, re-established in 1895 by Pope Leo XIII, who appointed
    the first patriarch.

    The current Coptic Catholic Patriarch of Alexandria, who heads
    a Church of 163,000 in Egypt, is Archbishop Antonios Naguib, the
    general relator of the Mideast synod.

    Greek Melkite Church

    The Melkites, also known as Byzantine Catholics, number 1.3 million
    around the world. They entered into full communion with Rome in 1729
    under the Pontificate of Benedict XIII.

    Melkite Patriarch Gregory refused to sign the declaration on the
    doctrine of papal infallibility at Vatican Council I, along with others
    in a minority called the anti-infallibilists, but later consented
    with the addition of the clause "except the rights and privileges
    of Eastern patriarchs." Gregory's concerns about the latinization of
    the Eastern Churches was somewhat relieved by Leo XIII's encyclical
    "Orientalium Dignitas." Following Vatican Council II, the Melkites took
    further measures to remove Latin-rite traditions from their liturgy.

    The current patriarch in the See of Akko, Haifa, Nazareth and All
    Galilee is Archbishop Elias Michael Chacour, a Palestinian who
    has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his charitable
    and peace-promoting work, namely with the Mar Elias Educational
    Institutions.

    The current Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch of Antioch and All the
    East, Alexandria, and Jerusalem is Gregory III Laham, who resides in
    Damuscus, Syria. In the Middle East his flock can be found in Israel,
    Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon, and also in Africa, South America, North
    America and Australia.

    Maronite Church

    The Maronites derive their name from the Syrian monk St. Maron, who
    was an important figure in the Christian community of Antioch at the
    same time as St. John Chrysostom, but who left the city to follow
    the example of St.

    Anthony of the Desert and took up a hermitic life.

    The Maronites voted in favor of the Council of Chalcedon in 451,
    subsequently finding themselves the sole Chalcedonian Christians in
    the region. Some 350 Maronite monks were then killed by monophysites,
    causing the Maronites to flee and settle in Lebanon, particularly in
    the mountainous regions.

    The first specifically Maronite patriarch, John Maron, was elected in
    687, in the midst of an Islamic invasion and conflict with the Orthodox
    Church and the Byzantine Emperor, Justinian II. The Muslim conquest
    of Eastern Christendom cut off Maronite communication with Rome for
    400 years, until the time of the First Crusade, when the Maronites
    re-affirmed their union with Rome in 1182, the only non-uniate Eastern
    Christian Church in the Middle East to this day. In 1584, the Maronites
    established their presence in Rome with the Maronite College, followed
    by the building of several monasteries and convents of Maronite orders.

    Today, the majority of Christians in Lebanon are still Maronite,
    approximately 930,000, and the patriarch, currently the Cardinal
    Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir, resides outside Beirut in the town of
    Bkerke. The Maronite diaspora is far greater in number at nearly
    three million, with congregations in Australia, the United States,
    Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Israel and Cyprus.

    Syriac Church

    The Syriac Church, also referred to as the Western Syriac Rite, uses
    a Syriac language liturgy that is called the "Anaphora of St. James"
    and dates back to the bishopric of St. Peter in Antioch. The Syriac
    Catholic Church made a final split from the Orthodox Church and came
    into union with Rome in 1781.

    Dramatically, in 1782, Syriac Orthodox Patriarch Michael Jarweh of
    Aleppo declared himself Catholic and in union with Rome shortly after
    his election, and then took flight to Lebanon where he established an
    unbroken line of Catholic Syriac patriarchs. During the 18th century
    the Church went underground due to persecution from the Orthodox,
    encouraged by the Ottomans.

    In the subsequent years the patriarchate was moved from Lebanon to
    Aleppo, Syria, then to Mardin, Turkey, and finally back to Lebanon
    to Beirut during the Assyrian genocide of World War I, which brought
    about the deaths of over 37,500 Syriac Catholics at the hands of
    Turkish nationalists.

    Today there are approximately 159,000 Syriac Catholics globally,
    concentrated in the Middle East in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt,
    Syria, Turkey, and also in the diaspora in Australia, Sweden, France,
    Venezuela, Brazil, Sudan, the United States and Canada. The current
    Patriarch of Antioch and All the East of the Syrians is Patriarch
    Ignace Joseph III Younan, who resides in Beirut, Lebanon.




    From: A. Papazian
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