Eastern

Christianity

Eastern and Western Christianity

 

Melkites and Oblates of Mary: Help

The Eastern Church which descends from Antioch with Byzantine/Greek heritage, including an Arabic dimension, and is in union with Rome, is the Melkite Church. The current Patriarch, Gregory III Laham, is known to many Oblates from his days as a student priest in our International (Roman) Scholasticate, when he was Lufti Laham (1959-61). Part of his responsibility then was to provide Divine Liturgy for the 7 seminarians of his order, the Basilians of the Holy Savior, who lived with the Oblates and studied at the Gregorian University.

 

The editor is attempting to find out what happened to these seminarians and three more who arrived in 1961.  His classmate, Fr. Said Aboud, was tragically killed in the bombing of his church (Lebanon or Syria) in the 1980’s, but what has happened to the following is very difficult to learn, despite several attempts:  Arsene Dagher, Euthyme Moussa, Elie Assaf, Nakle Makoul, Saba Fakouri, Georges Nachef, Georges Abou-Zeid, Adil Fakouri, and Jean Frejatte.  Any information may be directed to the editor of this website.

 

 

Most people who view this website are Western Christians, i.e. belonging to a Church with its main roots in Western Europe or North America such as Protestant Churches and Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church.  By Latin Rite, we mean those Catholics who used Latin at Mass until the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) encouraged the use of the vernacular.  Although fewer in number than Latin Rite Catholics, Eastern Catholics (who do acknowledge the pope’s authority), and the Oriental and Eastern Orthodox Christians (who do not acknowledge the pope’s authority), have a rich and precious heritage which we Western Christians desperately need.

 

Pope John Paul II expressed it this way: “The church must breath with her two lungs” (That All May Believe, #54).  We cannot be effective missionaries or witnesses to Jesus’ love, unless we have both the Eastern and Western lungs healthy and working together.

 

If you have a friend who belongs to one of the Eastern Churches ask them to take you to their worship.  You will find a vital expression of Christianity which goes back to the earliest days of our faith.

 

Ron Roberson CPS, The Eastern Christian Churches, A Brief Survey (Washington, D.C. U.S.A. Catholic Conference, 7^th ed. 2008) is available in paperback for $19.95;  It is also available online through this link.  Fr. Roberson explains lucidly the complexity of Eastern Christianity.

 

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The Icon of Peter and Andrew embracing symbolizes the growing unity of the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches.  Andrew, brother of Peter, is the patron of Constantinople; Peter of Rome.  On the feast of St. Andrew (Nov. 30), each year a high papal representative travels to Constantinople to take part in the observance. On the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul (June 30), each year a high patriarchal representative travels to Rome to take part in the observance.

 

Let us join in prayer and action that all Christian Churches may converge without compromise for the sake of better witness to the message and person of Jesus Christ.

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Pope Benedict has invited 12 "Fraternal Delegates" from the Eastern Churches not in union with Rome, to attend the synod.  They quickly accepted.  Less than 50 years ago, when the first session of Vatican II opened on Oct.11, 1962, it was extremely difficult to get any "observers" from those Churches.

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The Catholic Near East Welfare Association produces a remarkable magazine six times a year, ONE.  The issue for September, 2010 (36, 5) is a marvelous summary of the religious and economic situation in each of the 11 countries of the Middle East and Jerusalem.  See the website www.cnewa.org.

 

 

And businesses that are infused with a philosophy of social responsibility founded upon religious principles likewise can have an enormous impact, according to Adnan Durrani, chief executive officer of American Halai Co,, a food company based in Stanford, Conn. Durrani worked for many years on Wall Street, where he saw “materialism on steroids:’ Yet he learned a lot about the importance of social responsibility from his Jewish partners, he said, and he strove to build the first socially responsible company in America based on Islamic values of justice and responsibility toward society, employees and clients. Values-based businesses like his can be like “weapons of mass enlightenment, the real smart bomb,” he said.

  at your hand, I see it is like mine, and I see you were born a baby, too;’ he said, looking at Levine,   Archbishop regularly counsels conciliation, When tourists express their disappointment with the Israeli security wall, he said he tells them, “Do not try to destroy the wall, it’s too strong for you:’ He added, “I try to hide the wall with bridges” by creating connections of friendship and understanding between one Jew and one Arab at a time.   The archbishop turned to Levine and said, “Convince your Jewish brothers that we are not your enemy. We will never be your enemy:’ But Christians, Arabs and other non-Jews are tired of being second-class citizens in Israel and “are looking for integration;’ he said.

Hillel Levine, founding president of the International Center for Conciliation in Boston, works with Arabs and Jews in Israel. He emphasized the need for both sides to talk about their “pained memory:’ Bygones should not be bygones, he said, and the past should be dealt with in order to “siphon off the hatred.”   The Melkite Archbishop Elias Chacour of Haifa, Israel, shared his memory of pain with conference participants. As Palestinians, he and his family were forced from their homes after the creation of Israel and wandered along the Jordan River for months, because even bordering Arab countries did not want to take in refugees, he said. “But thank God I was not born a Christian; I was born a baby. And I don’t know about you, if you were born a Jew or a Muslim, but I look

Source: America Nov. 1, 2010 p.8

RO M E  
Interfaith Efforts Build Bridges for Peace

While Eastern Catholic bishops gathered for the synod for the Middle East in Rome, an interfaith meeting titled “Building Bridges of Hope: Success Stories and Strategies for Interfaith Action” brought together Christians, Jews and Muslims at Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University on Oct. 12, “We believe that interfaith strategies can help solve many of the world’s biggest problems;’ Miguel H. Diaz, U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, told participants. The event was hosted by the U.S. Embassy to the Vatican.   Keynote speaker, Joshua Dubois, head of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, told the religious leaders that every day, brick by brick, men and women of faith “lay the moral and intellectual foundation of our public life and dialogue, and you are the ‘first responders’ when...that foundation is shaken:’   Trusted religious leaders have the power to persuade people to choose the more difficult and sometimes unpopular path in combating major crises when politicians cannot do that, said Fazlun Khalicl, founder and director of the Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Science.