The Antiochian Greek Orthodox Patriarchate – 8/10/18

The Holy Synod of Antioch met in the Our Lady of Balamand Patriarchal Monastery, Lebanon, (October 3-6, 2018) and made the following statement:

The fathers examined the general orthodox situation. They stressed that the Church of Antioch expresses Her deep worries about the attempts to change the boundaries of the Orthodox Churches through a new reading of history. She considers that resorting to a unilateral reading of history does not serve Orthodox unity. It rather contributes to the fueling of the dissentions and quarrels within the one church. Thus, the Church of Antioch refuses the principle of establishing parallel jurisdictions within the canonical boundaries of the Patriarchates and the autocephalous churches, as a way to solve conflicts, or as a de facto situation in the Orthodox World.

The fathers of the Church of Antioch underline that any approach for granting the autocephaly of a certain church has to be in accordance with the Orthodox ecclesiology and the principles agreed upon by the Churches in a conciliar way in the past years. These principles for granting autocephaly are about the necessity to obtain the agreement of the Mother Church and the acknowledgment of all the Orthodox Autocephalous Churches. The Church of Antioch affirms the necessity to resort to the principle of unanimity concerning the common orthodox work and the stand on controversial issues in the Orthodox world, and this unanimity is a true safeguard for Orthodox Unity.

The Church of Antioch warns from the dangers of implicating the Orthodox world in the international political conflicts and the resulting harms which come from approaching the Orthodox Church’s issues on the basis of politics, ethnicity, and nationalism.
The Church of Antioch calls upon His All-Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch to call for an urgent Synaxis for the primates of the Orthodox Autocephalous Churches, in order to discuss the current developments that the Orthodox world is facing about the issue of granting autocephaly to new churches, and the efforts made to find common solutions before taking any final decisions about this issue.

The Church of Antioch highlights the necessity of spiritual vigilance in this critical period of history, and the importance of preserving the peace and unity of the Church, and to be watchful on not falling into the trap of political entanglement which history has proved to cause the Orthodox Church a weakening of Her united witness in the world.

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Syriac Orthodox Church – 10/10/18

On October 9th 2018, His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II and their Eminences Archbishops members of the Holy Synod of our Syriac Orthodox Church, visited His Excellency General Michel Aoun, President of the Republic of Lebanon, at the Presidential Palace in Baabda.

His Holiness gave a word in which he spoke about the mission of the Holy Synod. He also expressed his support to His Excellency in making Lebanon a center for religious dialogue. His Holiness also spoke about the great role of Lebanon in preserving Christianity in the Middle East.

His Excellency then welcomed His Holiness and their Eminences wishing them the best for the synod. He then talked about the importance of real dialogue in reaching peace, and the significance of education in this field. This is why he is working on creating and International Academy for Religious Dialogue in Lebanon, so that the culture of peace may be spread in Lebanon and through it all over the world.

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Assyrian Church of the East – 14/5/19

On Monday 13 May 2019 the Holy Synod of the Assyrian Church of the East commenced its deliberations in the city of Ankawa, Erbil under the presidency of His Holiness Mar Gewargis III Sliwa, Catholicos-Patriarch and prelates of the Assyrian Church of the East.

The commencement of the Synod was preceded by the celebration of the Holy Qurbana by His Beatitude Mar Aprem, Metropolitan of India and the UAE who was assisted by His Grace Mar Awgin Kuriakose, Bishop of India at St John the Baptist Cathedral, Ankawa.

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By Fr. Bedros Shetilian – OCP Articles – 7/9/19

Anthropology is the study of human beings, of who we are. There are many theories and approaches to clarify who is man, what are his components. My article is about my idea on this subject from the Bible point of view, focusing on what Christianity emphasizes regarding this issue.

In the first book of the Bible, Genesis, in the history of creation, we see the fundamental of knowing the man as it says in the Bible, which means that’s how God reveals who we are. We are created in the image and likeness of God. This is crucial and if to listen and consider this seriously, this phrase gives us an understanding about who we are, and also an incomplete idea about who God is. If we are created in the image and likeness of God, then the perfection of that image and likeness is God Himself. If we are good, God is perfect goodness. If we are wise, God is perfect wisdom. If we are just, God is perfect justice. If we are moral, God is perfect morality. If we are pure, God is perfect purity. If we can love, then God is perfect Love. In brief, we can say that the perfection of any positive and good qualities that are possible for us to achieve is God. Surely, this is not all about who God is. Complete knowledge of God is not achievable for us, but this can be a subject of another article.

Going back to the main topic of this article and that is who is man, we can take as guidance whatever we said above about God in order to try to understand who we are. Actually, we always question what that makes us different from other creatures. In the philosophy, there are many theories on anthropology. One of the most famous theories on this subject is Aristotle’s one, as he stated that we are social animals. Another famous one is French philosopher Descartes theory focusing on our minds and logic, since he said his famous words: ”I think, therefore I am”. But in religion, especially in monotheistic Abrahamic religions there is and should be another approach. God is everywhere, He is in science as the Wisdom, He is in the universe as the Creator, He is in arts as the Inspiration, and in religion He is the perfect goodness. Religion, besides being about God, is also about goodness. God’s concern is our goodness. The source of goodness and morality is God. In religion God revealed Himself, He made and makes this effort in order to make us good. The central issue for us, human beings, should be what we choose, evil or good, and not how much money we make, not what social status we have and not how many things and how many people we control. The issues mentioned above are natural, but all should be controlled by our effort to be good.

I already mentioned our ability to choose, freedom of choice or free will and that is I think the biggest gift that we received from God, a gift that is also a huge responsibility. In difference to other creators, we are not programmed. While for example lions are programmed to kill and sheep to be slaughtered and be eaten, we human beings have the choice to be both, we can be beasts, we can be Hitler, or we can be saints, we can be Saint Mother Teresa. For a lion killing is not a sin, because he doesn’t have a moral essence, he is not created in God’s image and likeness. But if we kill, that is an issue, because for us there is a moral issue, we have to choose between good and evil. The fact that we are not programmed and we are in charge of our destiny is the crucial fact of our consciousness. Being created by God image and likeness doesn’t mean that automatically we become that image and likeness, but means that we have an opportunity to become that image and likeness. This is the most important question that we have to ask ourselves. Do we want to be God’s image and likeness? In reality, this is the same question put in a different way: “What would Jesus do?” Wow, we can be gods as says in 82nd Psalm, but we also can be beasts. We can be in the middle also. Actually, most of us are in the middle. There is an Armenian saying: “To go in what direction wind blows”. That is a fact. Throughout history, Jesus-like goodwill people on the one side and devil-like bad people on the other side struggled to gain control. Between these two groups who are fewer in number, the majority of people stand, and more often they took the side of evil because of ignorance and/or fear. That is why history is so tragic and filled with wars. But history also is filled with goodness and tremendous heroism of good people who were able to stop evil from taking complete control of humanity. Free will or freedom of choice; our ability to choose between good and evil should be our main concern, and that ability what makes us different from other creatures, that ability is one of the primary reasons to define the man.

Beside free will, there is something else that is so important and also crucial and that thing revealed to us in Christianity. There is a widely accepted understanding in a comparison between how God is in the Old Testament to the God of the New Testament. God in the Old Testament is a ruler, is a King, is the law and that is why He often punishes, He punished Adam and Eve, He caused the flood, He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. Conversely, in the New Testament God – Jesus is a poor man, He doesn’t have any earthly power, He doesn’t make laws, and He forgives. Just to prevent any misunderstanding this doesn’t mean that God of the Old Testament is a different God from the God of the New Testament. Simply, God revealed Himself differently. The Old Testament was the first step where God revealed Himself incompletely, the New Testament is the second step and He revealed Himself if not completely, but certainly His revelation in the New Testament through Jesus Christ is the most perfect revelation known to us so far. Once, I heard that testimony from a Buddhist monk. What a powerful confession from a non-Christian clergyman. In one word God in the New Testament is a Ruler (fear and respect), in the New Testament He is a Father (Love). Accordingly, there is a new understanding of who man is in Christianity. Jesus gave us an example of who we are. Besides being God, Jesus at the same time was a man. His words, His behavior, His deeds are and should be a guide to us on who we are, or to be more correct on who we should be. Besides His supernatural power since He was God, I will put these qualities to define His human side; justice, humility, purity and mercy. All other qualities talked about are in one way or another connected and derived from these qualities. These human qualities are not supernatural and are achievable for each one of us. The combination of these qualities is good and the highest condition of these qualities is Love and that means to be good and do goodness for no reason other than Love, unconditional Love. “God is Love”, this is the most important revelation in Christianity on God. There is no word other than Love to define who God is in one word and accordingly we also should become loving people, people who have the same kind of Love that Jesus had and that is unconditional Love, Agape՛ as we call it in Church’s language. And here I will dare to challenge Descartes words of: “I think, therefore I am”, and change them to: “I love, therefore I am”. In other words to make our priority not our intellectual status, but our love, our hearts and our souls.

Besides free will and Love, there is something else that has been revealed in Christianity. The Russian Patriarch Kirill I talks on society of conscience. It is unfortunate that we don’t use this word much – we have forgotten about it. In reality, conscience is an indication to show what kind of soul someone has whether he is a Christian or not. That is why St. Paul says: “Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness”, Roman 2:14-15. St. Paul clearly indicates that everyone no matter who he is, has “the law written in his heart” and the witness, in other words, the proof of that “writing” is his conscience.

Yes, it doesn’t matter someone has a chance to know God and the law or not, conscience is natural, conscience is given to everyone no matter of his religion, race, education and living conditions. That’s why commonly we define conscience as God’s voice and that is true, since God is there and His voice is present in every soul, whether somebody believes in God or not. People who say that they don’t believe in God might be saying the truth, but they cannot say that they don’t have conscience, because initially and naturally everyone has it. Despite this fact we know that not everybody acts according to his conscience. Some people because of their egos and selfishness bury their conscience under heavy weight of their personal gains and agendas, and sometimes at the extent that there is no chance to bring their consciences back.

It’s amazing to see the example of some Turks who were few and opposed the Armenian Genocide, like the governor of Aleppo and then Konya, Mehmet Celal Bey who refused to deport Armenians and was removed from his both positions. Mehmet Celal Bey is called a Turkish Schindler. It is more astonishing in the case of Mustafa Bey (Azizoglu): “Who was the district governor of Malatya, a transit point on the deportation route. Although he was unable to prevent the deportations, he managed to hide several Armenians in his own home. He was murdered by his own son, a zealous member of the Ittihat ve Terakki Party, for “looking after infidels”, (The Armenian Weekly. July 29, 2013).

The example of such people shows that they didn’t listen and didn’t fear their governments, but taking risks acted according to their conscience, they listened to God’s voice in their soul and not the orders of their superiors who could harm them and also not fatwa’s issued by some Muslim authorities for jihad against infidels. Such examples show that it is possible to keep human dignity and integrity in the most difficult circumstances no matter how difficult they might be. Since conscience is a natural gift given to any individual, people who don’t have a chance to know God and be educated under the law, such people will be judged according to their conscience, Roman 2:15-16. In other words, such people will be judged by how they dealt with their conscience; did they listen to the voice of God, or ignored it?

Listening to our conscience and following it is the most important thing in order to be saved and that is why conscience is the most visible indication of who someone is. That is why I would like to point out that man, first of all, is conscience, or he should become conscience. In reality, conscience is connected to Love, since it’s hard to believe that if someone has Christ’s unconditional Love won’t be acting according to his conscience. Nevertheless, conscience is so important that it should be looked upon as a separate substance and also because conscience applies not only to Christians, but also to everyone whether he is a Christian, or a follower of other religion, or an atheist, a skeptic, an agnostic, and to anyone whether he lives in the jungle or in a modern city.

Freedom of choice, Love and conscience. This is my understanding of Christian anthropology.

About the Author
Fr. Bedros Shetilian was born in Aleppo, Syria, in 1963. After high school, he moved to Armenia and then to Russia to pursue a musical education and graduated from St. Petersburg Conservatory with a master’s degree in symphony conducting. Between 1992 and 2003 he successfully worked as a conductor, with concerts in Russia, Armenia, and Europe. Fr. Shetilian attended the Catholic College in St. Petersburg and the Seminary of the Catholicosate of Cilicia in Lebanon. He was ordained as a married priest in 2003. Afterward, he was assigned to serve in the US. Since 2005, he has been the priest in residence at St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Apostolic (Orthodox) Church in Springfield, Massachusetts. Fr. Shetilian continues to combine both his callings as a clergyman and a musician.

Source:
Fr. Bedros Shetilian – OCP Articles

https://syriacpatriarchate.org

OCP News Service – 24/10/2019

Damascus- Syria: On 21st October 2019, His Holiness Mor Ignatius Aphrem II – Syriac Orthodox of Antioch and All East received His Beatitude John  – Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, at the Patriarchate Headquarters in Damascus.

The Patriarchs of Antioch discussed the situation in Syria and Lebanon, especially the ongoing civil protest in Lebanon. The Primates stated that the situation will improve and result in the total benefit of the Lebanese people. They also discussed inter-Orthodox Church issues as well.

Mor Timotheos Matta Al-Khoury – Syriac Patriarchal Vicar, Mor Anthimos Jack Yacoub – Patriarchal Vicar for the Youth Affairs and Christian Education, Mor Boutros Kassis – Patriarchal Delegate of the Archdiocese of Aleppo and Environs, and Very Rev. Raban Joseph Bali – Patriarchal Secretary and Director of the Media Office, His Grace Bishop Luka Al-Khoury -Greek Patriarchal Assistant, Very Rev. Archimandrite Georges Yacoub – Greek Patriarchal Secretary were present for the occasion.

Source:
OCP News Service

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Fr.Bedros Shetilian – OCP Articles –  29/10/2019

Who will be saved?
(On Salvation)
“Grant me my Lord, impersonal happiness”,
Misag Medzarents, Armenian poet

Whoever says that they know a complete answer to this question is not saying the truth. We really don’t know. We know only one example when Jesus said to somebody that he was saved and that one was a criminal, the one who was crucified with Jesus on his right side. That man actually did two things; acknowledged Jesus as God and indirectly confess his sin when as a response to the other criminal who was also crucified and was harassing Jesus, said that they deserved to be punished while Jesus was innocent.

Who is Man? (On Christian Anthropology)

I always say that when the time comes we will be surprised by seeing where this or that person will be. We will see that many who we thought are bad will be in heaven and many that we thought are good will be in dark. That’s why Jesus says not to judge; because of no matter how much we think, we still know little. The above mentioned example of two criminals crucified with Jesus clearly shows that the appearance of people can be completely opposite to who they really are, in other words, who they are in the deepest of their hearts and most importantly from the perspective how they deal with the voice of God in their consciousness and that is their conscience. Two criminals in appearance, but completely two different people in their essence.

Is any sin forgiven? Another question that I was asked many times how it can be that someone who lived a sinful life and confesses his sins, even though in the last moment of his life can be saved. Somehow to get an answer to this question it is interesting to see how people who committed big crimes, cruel dictators, tyrants, mafia bosses, people who perpetrated wars for their personal reasons, how such people did die? Did anyone of these people repent and ask for forgiveness? Did Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, Talaat and Enver Pashas, Saddam Husain, Usama Ben Laden acknowledge their sins? There is no single example that anyone who had such a scale of being evil did. And here is why; in sinning and doing the evil there is a line if somebody crosses, there is no way back. There is a difference between when somebody sins because of circumstances, weakness and background factors and somebody who sins intentionally, knowing exactly what he is doing. Jesus’ words of blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven, is for such people, the ones who completely cut any relationship not only with God but with goodness as a value, people who completely bury their consciences with no return. It is not that God is not willing to forgive them, but they are the ones who don’t care for forgiveness, they even don’t acknowledge what they did was wrong. In contrast, if someone is not completely disintegrated, there will be a possibility to repent since he still may have goodness in his soul and his conscience is not completely silenced.

Will non-Christians be saved? Another very important question we face especially in the US is the faith issue. Before going forward I would like to indicate that this issue is not controversial in Europe as much as it is in the US. In the US there are large numbers of fundamental Christians, Newborn Christians and others who understand the Bible literally. Actually, this is due to the lack of intelligence, education, and knowledge. The thing is that religion is a very sensitive field of our lives and if it will not be overlooked by logic, knowledge and deep knowing of science and history and other disciplines that easily and quickly become weird and extreme. Coming to salvation, these people quote Jesus’ word: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me”, John 14:6. I always respond to such claims by quoting the Beatitudes where Jesus clearly mentioned some values in order to be saved:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”.

This is so important. Jesus said many things. It is important to know the context of His each words, the language that was used, circumstances, the environment and most importantly whom His words addressed to, and actually in contrast to the Beatitudes where Jesus clearly talks on salvation, in the verse mentioned above He talks on coming to the Father, which can also mean to know God and that is right, since we believe that Christ is the most perfect way to know God. Still, there might be other ways to know God, but in contrast to Christianity, they are far less perfect and indirect.

Most importantly, if we read that chapter we can see that Jesus’ words of coming to the Father only through Him were said during the last supper to His most inner circle, His disciples for whom it is natural that faith is a must in order to be saved. For large masses, for big crowds, for humanity, in general, He has different messages. As support for my argument we can see that after addressing to the large crowds, and in the end, Jesus turns to His followers and talks to them directly by saying “blessed are you” and here He adds faith as an additional condition for survival:

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for, in the same way, they persecuted the prophets who were before you”.

We have to read Jesus’ words very carefully and always look to the large picture, to what Jesus said with regard to any issue in different verses and chapters of the Gospels.

Once I asked this question to late Archbishop Zareh Aznavourian by whom I was ordained, a sacred man, a man who was very well – educated and self-educated not only on religion but on any aspect of culture; music, history, arts, literature, etc. someone, if everything was right, should be becoming a Catholicos (Patriarch). I asked him how we can understand that everyone now in the modern world can hear of Jesus and they still not believe in Him, will that mean that they won’t be saved? He answered that there is a difference between hearing and knowing Jesus. Hearing something is not enough to know. And I completely agree with what Archbishop said. Many people didn’t and don’t have a chance to know Jesus. In order to that happen there should be circumstances which in most cases are out of the control of these people.

Continuing on the subject it is hard to believe that people like Gandhi, people like the governor of Malatya Mustafa Bey, a Muslim, who was killed by his own son during the Armenian Genocide for helping Christian Armenians, such people will not be saved. To be Christian is to live a Christian life. German philosopher Karl Reiner refers to such people as “anonymous Christians”. And let see also what Billy Graham, who is highly admired by fundamental Christians, says regarding who Christians are and who will be saved. In an interview in 1998, he says: “I think that everybody that loves or knows Christ, whether they are conscious of it or not, are members of the body of Christ … [God] is calling people out of the world for his name, whether they come from the Muslim world, or the Buddhist world or the non-believing world, they are members of the Body of Christ because they have been called by God. They may not know the name of Jesus but they know in their hearts that they need something they do not have, and they turn to the only light they have, and I think that they are saved and they are going to be with us in heaven”.

Nevertheless, there will be different areas in heaven for different people from different religions and non- believers who will be saved. I think Jesus’ words of: “My Father’s house has many rooms” indicates that God’s house is very large and has enough places for anyone who lives to have God’s Love in his soul, who lives a Christian life, for unconscious Christians.

To conclude this chapter it is very important to be clear that saying non-Christians who live a Christian valued life could be saved doesn’t mean to equalize Christianity with other religions. We still believe that Christianity is the most perfect religion known to us since the founder of Christianity in contrast to other religions is not a human being, but God Himself. Religion is not an ideology to have the same kind of discussion as we have in other aspects of our life. Before and besides anything else, religion is about our hearts and our souls. We have faith or not. We respect and love people of other religions and people who have no faith, but we openly and clearly confess that Jesus Christ is the Incarnated God, God in flesh, who descended from the heaven to save us and by His resurrection gave us a real hope of our resurrection and we wish that every human being will have a chance to know Jesus and believe in Him.

Does God judge? Going back to the judgment and the subject of who will be saved and who not, it is very important to understand that we are the ones who in charge of our destiny; God just confirms who we are. By our free choice, the ability to choose between good and evil while we are still here, we make our destiny where to go after we leave this world.

What will happen after we die? Somehow to get an idea of what will happen, I believe everyone understands that words of fire, burning are all material understanding, these are words were used at the time when the Bible was written to describe what the hell is. In reality, we don’t know exactly, we don’t know how and on what scale someone will be punished or not for sins that he committed.

We know about some people have no chance, the blasphemers against the Holy Spirit as Jesus put people who themselves cut completely any relation to God and goodness, people who throw themselves intentionally out of God’s presence. We know also that any sin that is confessed sincerely in our hearts, not in words, will be forgiven. Any sin:“And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven”, Matt.12:31, and the case of the criminal on Jesus’ right side during the crucifixion is a proof. We also know in general that Jesus talks about two things in order to be saved faith and deeds. But those are general words and there are many things in between these words that we don’t know because we don’t know what is going on in the deepest of any human being heart. I think that what matters most is not the appearance of someone or something, but motivations, backgrounds, knowledge of God’s morality, circumstances, etc. All these things matters and that is why we cannot judge anyone. Not judging someone doesn’t mean to identify evil, to keep distance and to protect ourselves. These are different realities.

Heaven and hell: What we think of heaven and hell? How do they look like? I think heaven is easier to identify. Heaven is to live in the presence of God, and God is LOVE, the big love, unconditional LOVE, Agape. If we live by this Love while we are still here, that is in part a foretaste of what heaven is. But in contrast to our life here, this condition of love, peace, and tranquility will be permanent. In heaven, there won’t be our everyday concerns, stresses, survival struggle that we experience here in the world.

The issue of hell is more complex and that is coming from pictures used in the Bible of hell; fire, burning, etc. Before going forward I would like to point out that hell is not a place where the devil is in charge, in Jesus’ words hell was “prepared for the devil and his angels”, Matt. 25:41. This is important to know since many think that the devil is the one who punishes the condemned ones, that the devil “burns” people and also to show that the devil is not powerful enough.

Somehow to understand what the hell is, we have to see what Jesus Himself said about hell. Before going forward I believe everybody understands that hell is out of God’s presence zone. In the hell there are no benefits that come as a result of God’s presence; peace, tranquility, happiness, clear conscience and of course Love. When Jesus talks on hell He describes it sometimes as darkness and sometimes as fire. Actually darkness and fire contradict each other. And several times after He uses darkness or fires. He continues saying:” where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth”. This last sentence is repeated seven times in the Gospels by Jesus; in Matt. 8:12; 13:42,50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30; and Luke 13:28. Actually, what these words mean it’s hard to understand. Certainly there is a punishment for the condemned ones, and certainly, these things are not material realities. And here we come to one of the most controversial issues related to salvation and that is “Universal Reconciliation”.

Universal Reconciliation: This is a theological and philosophic idea that says,in the end, everybody whoever they are will be saved. The idea indicates that God’s Love is unlimited so He cannot let anyone of His children, anyone to be punished forever. Even the evilest ones.

Here People may ask a justifiable question: Will Hitler, Talal, Pol Pote, and similar people be saved? Actually this idea started with Origen one of Church’s early well-known thinkers. However, Origen was not elevated to be saint mainly for this reason, although he has some other valuable ideas and writings. There is more, “Universal Reconciliation” was condemned by the fifth ecumenical council in 553 AD (Oriental Orthodox Churches were already split from other Churches). Nevertheless, I couldn’t avoid mentioning this phenomenon in this article, because still, some highly respected Christian thinkers in one way or another follow it. Personally I don’t accept it. I will seriously question God if people who committed big crimes and didn’t regret will be saved in the end, and I will base my rejection on Jesus’ words of blasphemers against the Holy Spirit not being forgiven. But I believe that won’t happen because if that happens God’s longtime revelation to us won’t make any sense, the Bible won’t make any sense.

Who will be saved? Having said that I still don’t know what will happen to the people who are in between the most evils and most goods ones. Personally, I believe that Hitler is in hell and Saint Mother Teresa is in heaven, but there are billions of people who are not completely evil and not completely good and those are in the vast majority, actually I think around ninety percent of people are in this category, people who are weak, people who are not stable, people who are not morally and religiously educated, people who might trapped with a serious sins but are still bare goodness in their souls, what will happen to such people? What will happen for example to Martin Luther King Jr., an American Gandhi, a Christian pastor, a martyr for justice and peace, who was also a womanizer while he was married? I have no answer to this question and I will doubt anyone who says that he certainly has. I can only guess that as the most-just judge God will look to the whole picture and He will put on a scale and measure our good and bad sides, and if people who in general are good but have some failures they will get some kind of punishment, but in this case the punishment won’t last forever in the opposite to the blasphemer against the Holy Spirit. My idea mentioned above should not be confused with purgatory, most common to Catholics since purgatory doesn’t apply to the ones who committed “mortal sins”. In my idea I am talking on a possibility of God’s forgiveness after punishment for people who committed serious sins, especially if they were not deliberate, and if such people were still connected to God or/and if they didn’t lose completely their understanding of goodness and conscience. This is just a guess. We will know when the time comes. We have also to be careful of the word eternal since there is no time in the other world. What eternal means, in this case, we also don’t know.

My personal imagination: Since we don’t know exactly what the hell is, we can just sometimes think of it based on our limited minds. I’ve been thinking about this issue. The thing is if someone’s priorities in this life are his ego, power, and money, what will such a person do in the other world. We have to remember that the moment we leave this world we will be transferring in the same condition as we were here. We won’t be able to change anything. Now, what such a person will do in the other transcendent world where there is no power issue, there is no money? At least he will get bored because there is nothing that may be in his interest. This sounds logical. The result is eternal boring, what a horrible punishment. In contrast, a person whose priorities while he is still living are spiritual life and goodness, such a person will be living in an environment good for him, he will be “busy”, he will be happy. Logically this might look right, but it is just a personal imagination. Certainly, heaven and hell are parts of God’s plan. Again, we will know when the time comes.

Heaven starts in this world, we can foretaste heaven. A perfect religious life is when someone does good, sin little not because of fear, but because that how he is because he cannot be another way, because he lives under God/Jesus’ Love, unconditional Love. Such an individual’s salvation journey starts in this world and when the time comes it just continues into the other world. Let’s try to be such a person. That is really what happiness is, not self-directed happiness, but impersonal happiness that leads to salvation.

About the Author
Fr. Bedros Shetilian was born in Aleppo, Syria, in 1963. After high school, he moved to Armenia and then to Russia to pursue a musical education and graduated from St. Petersburg Conservatory with a master’s degree in symphony conducting. Between 1992 and 2003 he successfully worked as a conductor, with concerts in Russia, Armenia, and Europe. Fr. Shetilian attended the Catholic College in St. Petersburg and the Seminary of the Catholicosate of Cilicia in Lebanon. He was ordained as a married priest in 2003. Afterward, he was assigned to serve in the US. Since 2005, he has been the priest in residence at St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Apostolic (Orthodox) Church in Springfield, Massachusetts. Fr. Shetilian continues to combine both his callings as a clergyman and a musician.

Source:
Fr. Bedros Shetilian – OCP Articles

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Fr. Bedros Shetilian – OCP Articles – 25/12/2019

“To err is human, to forgive, divine”, – Alexander Pope

What a popular topic. People talk about it a lot, people speculate about it a lot, people say something, but indeed do the opposite a lot. When I think about this topic, I always remember Jesus’ words in Luke chapter 17 of forgiving your brother seven times in one day if he repents. If, but what if not? Should we forgive someone if he doesn’t ask forgiveness? Actually, Jesus in another chapter, Matt. 18 doesn’t put repentance as a condition for forgiveness.

“Who will be saved?”

The criminal’s case: As you may remember in my previous article on salvation,  I brought up the example of the criminal crucified with Jesus who was told by Him that he will be with Jesus in paradise the same day, accordingly his sins were forgiven in one moment although we can assume that since he was executed he committed serious crimes. This raised some questions. Some people had a hard time accepting the idea of somebody who all his life being a criminal, and suddenly because at the last moment was able to believe and to repent, such a person’s sin could be forgiven and he could be saved. People may ask how it comes that they who devoted all their lives to Christ will have the same destiny as this criminal? Accordingly, they say people can live a bad life and do whatever they want and just at the last moment say they believe and repent and can go to heaven.

Who is Man? (On Christian Anthropology)

First of all, what makes this case unique is that it is directly coming from Jesus, so there can be no doubt on the judgment. Second; we have to point out that it is not about saying, even more, it is not about following the ritual, confessing and receiving communion. People may fool other people, but can they fool God? So, it is about how much a person can really repent, how sincere he is. In reality, it is not that easy or possible for someone who was all his life deeply degraded to sincerely confess and repent even though if he knows that he is about to die. It is very difficult to change our souls in one moment. The souls are the most complicated and the most mysterious components of human beings. In fact, such things happen rarely. As support for my argument, I would like to bring up the example of Hitler, who near the end of the war saw the collapse of his system, who knew that the defeat is imminent and in one way or another he will die, after all this did he repent? The opposite, he blamed for losing the war his own German people and made them the last victims of his barbaric and sick ideology and then committed suicide. Another major example is Judas who betrayed Jesus. His biggest sin was not that he betrayed, but that he didn’t repent and like Hitler committed suicide. Even Judas could be forgiven if he sincerely was able to repent. But again, this is the question. Was he able to do that? A person who deeply becomes under the control of evil gets to a place where he loses any ability to repent, a place where there is no way back.

Some scholars say that Judas was upset with Jesus because in the beginning, he thought that Jesus was the liberator of the Jewish people from their conquerors, Romans, a national hero and when he realized that was not the case he thought that Jesus was dangerous and He must be condemned. If that was the case and he was betraying Jesus for a good reason, then why did he take the money as a price for his action? This shows that Judas was deeply a corrupted person, someone as Jesus would put as a blasphemer against the Spirit, whose sins cannot be forgiven. Opposite to Judas, Peter, who also betrayed Jesus, repented and he was forgiven, although his sin was less severe since his betrayal was a result of weakness and not a result of an intentional directed evil act. Peter was not only forgiven but became the Rock of the Church.

The scene of the Crucifixion: Coming back to the scene of the crucifixion we can see the case of the second criminal who was exactly in the same situation as the first one, but who was behaving completely in a different way saying to Jesus: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”, in other words, saying to Jesus that you are not the Messiah, you are a liar. The case of these two criminals is a whole story about human nature, to show how extreme situations trigger to expose the real nature of human beings. The one on the left side of Jesus is angry and is throwing out his negative emotions, there is no sign that he is sorry for his crimes although he is also about to die. The other one answer to him: “Don’t you fear God, since you are under the same sentence?  We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong”, in other words, he indirectly is confessing that he is a sinner. Then more interestingly, he turns to Jesus and says: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom”. This means first, he acknowledges Jesus at least someone from God’s side since he talks of Jesus’ Kingdom and most importantly, he thinks that he cannot be in that kingdom because he is a bad person and so that’s why he asks Jesus to remember him. Amazing, I wish all evil people were like this criminal. I think Jesus was moved by seeing this man’s behavior. In a moment when Jesus was betrayed by the closest people to him, his disciples, in a moment when he was condemned as a fake prophet by the crowd who just five days before on Palm Sunday was glorifying him, in a moment when He even felt that He was forsaken by His Father, at that moment he saw someone who was able to see who Jesus was and to say that openly, someone who was showing mercy.

Some people may say that this man was afraid because he was about to die. If that was the case, then why the other criminal didn’t act like this one? So, it is about the differences between people. The first one, on the left side of Jesus, is Judas type and the second one on His right side is Peter’s type. Jesus saw that the second one had heart, he was not completely degraded, that he didn’t completely silent, his conscience and in a moment of truth he was opening his heart to Him, to GodHimHi. Jesus reads that man’s heart, He as God didn’t look for the appearance but to the real intention and what is going on in the heart of that individual. What a beautiful picture which gives hope to the people who think that they have committed so many sins that there is no chance for them to be saved. Actually, there is. The most important thing is to open our hearts to God. Pay attention, that person didn’t ask Jesus to be saved; in the opposite, he showed to Jesus that he didn’t deserve to be saved, he showed humility (the tax collector case, in the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector). It is shocking to see Jesus’ response: “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise”. Not that he will wait or go through purgatory, but directly the same day he will be in paradise together with Jesus. This is the only example when Jesus said directly to somebody that he is saved, and that one was a criminal who repented, a sinner who confessed, a lost sheep that was found. What an impressive and beautiful story. God just wants us to be sincere and live with a conscience, He knows that we are imperfect and we are sinners, and He is just ready to forgive for a sincere change in our hearts. The story of this criminal, the one who was crucified on the right side together with Jesus, indicates that person became a criminal most likely because of circumstances and bad luck, rather than being an evil person in his essence, he just needed a chance to turn to God and the Crucifixion gave him that chance.

Statistically, we can say that people who are like this criminal are rare in comparison to the other one. In order to more deeply understand this issue, I will advise you to read the novel by Feodor Dostoevsky, the most Christian writers among the great ones and a writer who is also known to be a great psychoanalytic, to read his novel “The House of the Dead” was being in jail Dostoevsky describes and explains the nature of some criminals he had a chance to know and amazingly he shows that in reality, some of these criminals are good people. To finish saved criminal’s story, it is important to know that there will be a hierarchy in heaven. Certainly, this saved criminal won’t be as much as close to God as a saint or someone who devoted all his life to Jesus and goodness.

Forgiveness: There are different understandings of forgiveness. The Christian approach is clear; to forgive. Actually there is no other religion where there is such focus on the sinners and forgiveness. Jesus told many parables on forgiveness like the Prodigal Son, the most popular one among His parables. Jesus forgave sinners like the woman who committed adultery and should be stoned according to the Old Testament law (he also told her:” Sin no more”), he sat down with prostitutes and tax collectors who at that time in Judea were considered as bad as prostitutes because they were corrupted and were working for Romans, the enemies and the conquerors of the Jews. His words of forgiving seven times could be understood as not to limit ourselves. Some people say that they forgave already once and are not going to forgive anymore. This is quite common. Jesus just wants to show that we have to forgive more than one time to the same person, in other words, to give a chance more than one time, many times if it’s needed. If we are expecting God to forgive our sins, and we know that some of our sins are repeatable, especially if they become habits, then we have to do the same to the others: “And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us”. All this could be done in case of sincere repentance from the other side.

To forgive anyone? Because of this unprecedented approach in forgiveness, people sometimes get a wrong idea. They take the idea to the extreme, like to forgive anyone and for anything. The common perception is that people say Jesus forgave his enemies on the cross by saying: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing”. Well, it is not as simple as it seems to be. We have to carefully read what Jesus says. He forgave only people who didn’t know what they were doing. His forgiveness was addressed to the crowd in front of him since they were misguided and to the Roman soldiers, since they had no idea who Jesus was, they were simply following orders. His forgiveness doesn’t apply to those who knew what they were doing, to the religious leaders. These people were corrupted and what they were doing was not for good reason, it was a result of power struggle from their side since they felt that their positions have been shaken because of Jesus’ ministry. In addition, these leaders were the enemies of their own people, the Jews since they made a deal with their conquerors, Romans, to share the power with them in order to control their own people and wealth and to do it in a corrupted way.

In Jesus’ words to these people, to religious leaders, there is not any forgiveness. In Mathew chapter 23 He calls them hypocrites, snakes, the blood of vipers, He says: “How will you escape being condemned to hell” and other terrible things. It is shocking to see that Jesus’ main conflict was with the clergy or to be more correct with the religious leaders including the council and the High Priest (the equivalent to Popes or Patriarchs today). This is a prehistory of what the institutional Church later turned to be, and that is a failure of Jesus’ plan. The conflict between Jesus and this group started because they were after Him, challenging Him, trying to trick him with controversial questions. Then it grew to something much bigger until they plotted to send Jesus to death. Actually, Jesus was not the first one, they did the same thing to some of the prophets before Jesus. They cannot be forgiven, first because they knew the Law and second because they knew very well what they were doing. Their evil acts were well planned and deliberate. And there is no evidence of these people or some of them have been repented and asked for forgiveness. Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea were exceptions.

General rules: The topic of forgiveness is wide and each specific situation may have a different solution. But if we want to put it in one sentence, we can say that Jesus’ whole preaching is about not to respond to evil by doing evil, but by trying to fix things, and especially not to hate. Loving and forgiving our enemies doesn’t mean let them to eat us, but try to correct them and if that is not possible then wish good for them, pray for them. In our acts, we should not do more than what it’s needed to protect ourselves and particularly never to be vindictive. If you see that someone is not talking to you because of a misunderstanding or because he is misguided then go and talk, at least try and even he doesn’t ask for forgiveness, forgive in this case. That’s how I understand Jesus’ words of forgiving in case if there is no apology. But if someone is evil indeed and you are certain that he knows what he is doing, then this is completely a different situation. In this case, complete forgiveness can be achieved only when such a person asks for forgiveness and you can see that he is sincere and you also see that he is changing his behavior to a good one. In real life, such things happen very rarely. Nevertheless, this should not stop us from praying for such people, to wish them good and that is they may change and become good human beings. I will put the issue of forgiving the Turks for our nation, Armenians, in this last category.

Failure: Nevertheless, it is unfortunate to see that there are still societies especially in the eastern countries where Christian people and families don’t talk to each other for a long period of time. It seems that they are missing this important part of Christ’s message. Some of these cases are serious, like when one child by cheating takes the entire will of the parents after their death without sharing it with other siblings. These cases are serious and they ruin people’s lives. For such serious cases, it is a must that the mistaken side should correct his mistake. But even here I will follow Jesus’ words to say hello to each other. To continue on this subject, besides such serious cases I have seen many examples when people don’t talk to each other for stupid reasons. This is connected to culture and ignorance.

This means that Christianity is less important for these people in comparison to their customs, understandings and to their pride. Once, I knew two people who have been not talking to each other for about twenty years. I found out that the reason was not serious. I tried to interfere. My attempt ended up that I was blamed for my effort not only by these two individuals but by certain numbers of people. However, in the West, this is less problematic since civilization makes people be more tolerant and forgiving towards each other. Actually, forgiving if it’s done in the right way, and that is with no humiliation after the mistaken side asks for forgiveness and fixes his mistake, makes people look stronger and that is for both sides. “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong”, was said by Gandhi. The opposite side of this is something I have seen in Russia when people say that they forgive someone who is still continuing to hurt them and showing no sign of changing in his behavior. I was shocked when people called this humility, which completely contradicts human dignity and Jesus’ message. I think that happens because people in Russia were for a long time under the harsh repressive pressure of communism, especially during Stalin’s period, which resulted in people to be hopeless and paranoid.

Social convenience: One of the biggest and most common realities regarding forgiveness is that after a conflict and after a certain time people just continue to talk to each other without an apology from the mistaken one. This is dominant and it is a result of social convenience. But this is far from being fair. A perfect outcome would be when people explain to each other, apologize and sincerely, with all their hearts, forgive each other. This is the Christian way, but this happens rarely because of pride. I think since most people ignore to go to the root of their problems, that is why conflicts get repeated and there is always insincerity in our social lives. Well, we are not in heaven.

Forgiveness and history: The paragraphs above are about our personal lives. When it comes to evil that has a larger social and political dimension then fighting evil is a must, forgiving, in this case, doesn’t work, history proves this. Forgiving and not acting result in a disaster. You got to fight and stop evil. Jesus set up an example when he cleansed the temple from the merchants. He was radical and violent; He overturned the tables but didn’t touch the people, he used as much force as was needed in order to accomplish His goal, He didn’t overreact. The issue of disrespect to a sacred place, the Temple, is not personal. In this case, it is deeper. Jesus was upset when he saw that the corruption went to the point that it was not hidden, and that was happening in the most sacred place. His message is, it is a must to fight social evil, an evil that is affecting large numbers.

In such political cases forgiveness and reconciliation come after peace is achieved and deals made between the conflicting sides, or when one side is completely defeated like what’s happened to Germany at the end of WW2. Allies’ behavior after Germany’s defeats in two World Wars is a great example and a big lesson on how to resolve historical problems in order to make a long-lasting peace.

After WW1 Allies punished Germany, they didn’t forgive, they put harsh reparations and restrictions on Germany which resulted in an economic downfall and that was one of the main reasons for Nazis to come to power. In the opposite, after the WW2 Allies didn’t punish Germany, but helped Germany to rebuild its economy and become a prosperous country again. In other words, Allies forgave Germany and the credit goes here mainly to the US for the Marshall Plan, a plan to help Europe after WW2. We know now that the second approach, to forgive, has proven to be the right one. Although there is politics in all this, nevertheless, it doesn’t mean that we cannot look to such historical events from a Christian perspective. God is in good politics, God is in politics based on morality, and God is in politics aiming to make peace and justice. The problem is that we see less of God-oriented policies, rather than man-oriented. When there is God-oriented politics, there is peace, stability, and prosperity, when there is man-oriented politics there is injustice, instability, and wars.

To finish I would like to quote Nelson Mandela who said: “Forgiveness liberates the soul. It removes fear. That is why it is such a powerful weapon”.

About the Author
Fr. Bedros Shetilian was born in Aleppo, Syria, in 1963. After high school, he moved to Armenia and then to Russia to pursue a musical education and graduated from St. Petersburg Conservatory with a master’s degree in symphony conducting. Between 1992 and 2003 he successfully worked as a conductor, with concerts in Russia, Armenia, and Europe. Fr. Shetilian attended the Catholic College in St. Petersburg and the Seminary of the Catholicosate of Cilicia in Lebanon. He was ordained as a married priest in 2003. Afterward, he was assigned to serve in the US. Since 2005, he has been the priest in residence at St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Apostolic (Orthodox) Church in Springfield, Massachusetts. Fr. Shetilian continues to combine both his callings as a clergyman and a musician.

Source:
Fr. Bedros Shetilian – OCP Articles

Pic -Wiki

OCP News Service – 25/8/2020

Beirut-Lebanon: The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria has sent several tons of humanitarian aid to Beirut, the blast ravaged capital city of Lebanon. The Coptic Church joined hands with Al-Azhar to sent 27 tons of aid to Lebanon. The aid consists of food items and medicines and was delivered in two cargo flights. It has been reported that Egypt will continue to support the Lebanese people.

Two huge explosions rocked the city of Beirut on the 4th of August Tuesday killing more than 78 people and injuring over four thousand. The blasts (at Beirut’s port) took place as a result of the ignition of an estimated 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate.

Source:
OCP News Service

His Holiness Catholicos Aram I of Cilicia. Pic – Wiki

OCP News Service – 22/01/2021 

Lebanon: Catholicos Aram I, the Primate of the Greater House of Cilicia of the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church has declared 2021 as “the year of Artsakh.” The declaration Encyclical was read in all parishes of the Catholicosate of Cilicia.

The declaration is in response to the recent atrocities committed by the Azerbaijani forces, and Turkis mercenaries against the republic of Artsakh. During New years eve, the Catholicos urged the faithful to donate to help the needy children in Artsakh.

Account: W-502039.005
Beneficiary: Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia
Iban: CH93 08755 0502 0390 0500
Bank: Banque Pictet & Cie SA, Route des Acacias 60, CH-1211 Geneva 73
Swift: PICTCHGG
Reference: Fund for the Needy Children of Artsakh

Source:
OCP News Service

OCP News Service – 27/6/21

Lebanon: Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II consecrated three new Archbishops on the 25th of June 201 at the Patriarchal Residence in Atchaneh, Lebanon.

Rev. Raban Roger Youssef Akhrass was consecrated as Archbishop Sevarious Roger (Patriarchal Vicar for Syriac Studies), Very Rev. Raban Cyril Babi was consecrated as Archbishop Kurilose, Patriarchal Vicar for the Patriarchal Archdiocese of Damascus, and Very Rev. Raban Joseph Bali, was consecrated as Archbishop Joseph (Patriarchal Secretary).

Patriarch John X of Antioch, Ignatius Joseph III Younan of the Syriac Catholic Church, Bishops and representatives of various Christian Churches and several faithful were present for the occasion.

Source:
OCP News Service

OCP News Service – 27/06/21

Lebanon: Patriarch John X of Antioch has urged unity with the Syriac Orthodox Church. The Primate of the Antiochian Greek Orthodox Church was speaking at the consecration ceremony of the Syriac Orthodox Archbishops in Lebanon (25/6/21). Patriarch said he was hopeful in evading obstacles to achieve unity with the Syriac Church.

According to a report published by the official portal of the Syriac Orthodox Church Patriarch John X in his speech stated that “I assure Your Holiness that your celebration is ours. When I heard the Homologia, except for the part about the ecumenical councils, I felt as if I am declaring my faith as a Greek Orthodox.” “Allow me, Your Holiness, to consider with you this day as a decision to relaunch the Joint Committee between our two Churches to continue its serious work and to increase its efforts to remove all remaining obstacles in face of our unity.” Together, we may give common witness for our one Orthodox Faith to our Christian communities but also to the whole world.”

After the concentration ceremony, Patriarch John presented the newly ordained Archbishops with Staffs and gifts.

Source:
OCP News Service

PIC Courtesy @https://syriacpatriarchate.org

Pic – www.vaticannews.va Video

OCP News Service – 1/7/21

Vatican City: Pope Francis of Rome, Patriarch Moran Mor Ignatius Aphrem II of Antioch and All East, Catholicos Aram I of the Great House of Cilicia of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Patriarch John X of Antioch of the Greek Orthodox Church,  Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi of the Maronite Catholic Church, Patriarch Ignatius Youssef III Younan of the Syriac Catholic Church and Patriarch Absi of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church gathered at the St. Peter’s Basilica and prayed for the end of the political and economic crisis in Lebanon.

The Christian leaders held a closed-door discussion on the current situation of Lebanon. Lebanon is going through one of the worst social, political and economic crises in the last 150 years. The leaders are also holding a summit to seek various options for recovery. Pope Francis will visit the country once the new government is formed.

Source:
OCP News Service

Pic -Wiki

OCP News Service – 7/7/21

Beirut-Lebanon: The Russian Orthodox Church has delivered the ‘Sputnik-V’ vaccine to the Antiochian Greek Orthodox Church. It was delivered with the blessing of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and with the help of the Department for External Church Relations of the Russian Church. The handing over ceremony on the 1st of July at the University of Balamand. The vaccination will be given at the University of Balamand’s centre of vaccination.

According to a report published by patriarchia.ru, Mr Farid Makari (the former deputy speaker of the Lebanese  Parliament) stated that “We are grateful for this long-awaited and long-desired gift from such a great Orthodox country as Russia. Lebanon is undergoing a hard time in its history and needs aid, and Russia is rendering us necessary and different kinds of assistance. Also important for us is the role Russia is playing in the search for a way out of the current political and economic crisis.”

Source:
OCP News Service

Pic – Youtube

OCP News Service – 8/8/21

Athens – Greece: During the 3rd International conference in support of the Lebanese people, Nikos Dendias the Greek Foreign Affairs Minister stated that Greece will contribute to the restoration of the St. George Orthodox Hospital in Beirut. The conference was held online on the 4th of August 2021.

The hospital is owned by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All East and was severely damaged during the tragic explosion that took place on the 4th of August 2020 due to mismanagement and corruption at Beirut’s port. Saint George Hospital University Medical Center is the oldest Lebanese hospital founded in 1878 and one of the three leading medical centres in the country. A restoration program of 40 Million US dollars is underway.

Source:
OCP News Service

Pic – https://syriacpatriarchate.org/

OCP News Service – 26/8/21

Syria-Damascus: Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II received Rev. Dr. Joseph Kassab, the Head of the the National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon and a high-level delegation on the 24th of August 2021 at the headquarters of the Syriac Orthodox Church in Damascus.

Both parties discussed the situation in Syria as well as the important role played by various Christian denominations in aiding the poor and the needy. Mor Cyril Babi (Vicar of the Patriarchal Archdiocese of Damascus), and Mor Joseph Bali (Patriarchal Secretary and Director of Media Office) was present for the occasion.

The National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon is a compendium of  nearly sixty Arabic-speaking congregations. They follow expression Evangelical faith and Reformed tradition in Presbyterian polity.

Source:
OCP News Service

Deputy Prime Minister Saadeh Al Shami of Lebanon. Pic – Reddit

OCP News Service – 28/9/21

Beirut-Lebanon: Greek Orthodox Christian Saadeh Al Shami has been appointed as the new Deputy Prime Minister of Lebanon. He is one of the 11 Christians who are part of the new Lebanese government led by Najib Mikati. Among the Christian Ministers, 5 are Moroanites, 2 are Greek Orthodox, and 2 are Greek Catholics. There is one  Armenian Orthodox and one Latin Rite Catholic Minister as well. Apart from them, there are 9 Muslim Ministers and one Druze.

Shami is a member of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party. Earlier he has served in different capacities at the International Monetary Fund, chief economist at the National Bank of Kuwait, as the head of Capital Markets Authority in Lebanon as well s the head of as the head of the reform commission in Lebanon.

The UN security council welcomed the formation of the new government and urged the Lebanese leaders to implement swift reformation to successfully encounter the deep financial and political crisis.

Source:
OCP News Service