Sophia - Melkite Eparchy of Newton

Volume 38, Number 2 • Winter 2008SOPHIAHow great are your works,O LORD! In wisdomyou have wrought them all!(Psalm 103:24)THE JOURNAL OF THE MELKITE GREEK CATHOLIC EPARCHY OF NEWTONInside:It is Between Melkite Bishop Salim Ghazal A New EraYou and God Receives International Award for Stem Cells?Page 16 Page 22 Page 31

ContentsSOPHIATHE JOURNAL OF THEIN THE UNITED STATES3 VFW Parkway, Roslindale, MA 02131 • www.melkite.orgPhone: (617) 323-9922 • Fax: (617) 323-0188 • Email: paulleonarczyk@aol.comEPARCHY OF NEWTON FORPublished bimonthly by the Eparchy of Newton. ISSN 0194-7958.Made possible in part by the Catholic Home Mission Committeeand a bequest of the Rev. Allen Maloof.MELKITE GREEK CATHOLICSPUBLISHER:EDITOR-IN-CHIEF:ASSOCIATE EDITOR:PRODUCTION:DESIGN AND LAYOUT:MOST REV. CYRIL SALIM BUSTROS, EPARCHRt. Rev. Robert RabbatJoseph A. Bou-SlimanDeacon Paul LeonarczykDoreen PiersonThe Publisher waives all copyright to this issue. Contents may be distributed free and withoutspecial permission in publications that are distributed free. Wherever possible, pleaseinclude a credit line, indicating the name of SOPHIA magazine.Unsolicited manuscripts, articles, and letters to the editor are welcomed. The editors assume noresponsibility for lost manuscripts or photos. The content of all articles, past, present and future,remains the expressed personal opinion of the individual author and may not reflect, in its entirety,the opinion of the Melkite Eparchy of Newton.Christ is Risen!He is Truly Risen!Christos Anesti!Aleithos Anesti!Al Massihu Qam!Haqqan Qam!SOPHIA welcomes and encourages lettersfrom readers. Please send them to SOPHIALetterbox, 3 VFW Parkway, Roslindale,MA, 02131. Or send them via e-mail topaulleonarczyk@aol.com 2 SOPHIA • Winter 2008In This IssuePascha: The Season for Inner Transformation ..................................................3The Resurrection of Jesus..................................................................................4Food for the Soul ..............................................................................................5Serving Local Shelters for Over Two Decades ..................................................6ACentennial Celebration..................................................................................7AChristmas Gift Drive......................................................................................9Thank You, Beloved Pastor................................................................................9Parish Marks Its 50th ......................................................................................10AJoyful Community........................................................................................13AReflection....................................................................................................14ABlessed “Encounter” with the Lord..............................................................15APrayer Gathering..........................................................................................15It is Between You and God..............................................................................16NAMY News....................................................................................................17Melkite Bishop Salim Ghazal of Lebanon receivs international award ..........18Repentance: A Transfiguring Experience ........................................................24Longing for God ..............................................................................................25Why an Early Date of Pascha? ........................................................................25Archbishop Elias Zoghby’s Vision of Christian Unity ......................................26Saint Cyril of Jerusalem: Catechism and Christian Faith ................................30The Holy Grail of Reprogramming: A New Era for Stem Cells? ......................31St. Anthony Charity ........................................................................................33Renew a Steadfast Spirit Within Me................................................................34Culture, the Catholic Church and Homosexuality ..........................................36Mary’s Well ....................................................................................................38Mary’s Well in Arabic......................................................................................39

Pascha:The Season for Inner Transformationby Rt. Rev. Robert RabbatEditor-in-ChiefFrom the EditorAAre we ready for the day ourspouse decides to leave aftertwenty years of marriage inpursuit of a new relationship, a newcareer or to discover who he is? Are weready for the day a call from schoolnotifies us that our baby child was hitby a strayed bullet in the head whileplaying in the schoolyard and wasrushed to the hospital? Are we readyfor the day our thirty some spousecomes back home from a routine checkup having learned that cancer hasspread throughout her body with onlytwo months to live? Are we ready toaccept our children’s decision to marrya Jew or a Muslim, a person of color ora Latino? Are we ready for the day ourchild “comes out” saying that he or sheis homosexual? Are we ready for theday our teenage child comes backhome pregnant or having impregnatedthe neighbor’s daughter? Are we readyfor the day our most admired child issent to jail for having committed amurder or a robbery? Are we ready forthe day we learn that our long awaitedchild will see the light being severelyhandicapped? Are we ready for the dayour spouse of sixty years sleeps untothe Lord? Are we ready for the day ourfifty-years-old mom or dad is diagnosedwith Alzheimer disease? Are weready for the day we might have tobury our freshly college graduate son ordaughter? Are we ready for the day…?If we are ready to take by the hornany of these earth shaking situationsthen we are a King Solomon or a Job inthe making. However, if we are not asis the case of the majority, let’s rollback our sleeves right now and beginto prepare ourselves for the days weare called to be up to the challenge.The above described situations arebut a sample of the most crushingand challenging even mortifyingexperiences we might face throughoutour earthly lives. Yet, we go onliving dodging them as if nonexistent.These situations are so unbearablethat we are tempted to close oureyes and ears believing they are notmeant for us, we who are “good” andbelieve in God. It is true we mightnot be regular church goers, and wedo drop only a few dollars, usuallyone or two, in the basket collection,but we are not “so bad” after all. Wedo not go on in life murdering people,stealing, and/or leading promiscuouslives. Hence, these existentialisticchallenges are not meant for usbut for those faceless people who“surely” must have done somethingwrong and are paying for theirbehavior or being punished for it.Did not Eliphaz remind Job of the“good and bad” realities as describedin the Old Testament when he says:“Reflect now, what innocent personperishes? Since when are the uprightdestroyed? As I see it, those whoplow for mischief and sow the trouble,reap the same.” (Job 4:7-8) Thisis why we tend to ignore these challenges.Even more we often do notreflect on them and discuss them lestdoing so might bring their curse untoour lives.Real life events show us that theabove thoughts are misconstrued. Allpeople, good and bad, face testingmoments; however, wise people areprepared to face them. Jesus remindedhis disciples that homes built on rockare not shaken when the river, due to aflood, burst against them. (Cf.Matthew 6:47-49) Hence, we have tobe realistic and be courageous to facelife’s unexpected and trying challengesthat do not only hit hard at the core ofour basic beliefs, but reveal also thesudden “solitude” that will engulf us asmany of the closest friends and relativesbegin to distance themselves,often out of helplessness or ignorance,leaving us hanging in the air, whentragedy strikes. Sadly, the gripping fearof this solitude becomes a major hauntingreason behind our decision to runaway from facing life’s tribulations.Christians, it is said, should not fearsuch solitude for their prayerful andloving extended family, the communityof faithful, is always present to offerthem comfort, guidance, and supportshould their biological family fails todo so. How true is this statement stillnowadays? Should we, as Christians,worry or not?Our best bet is simple: TheResurrection of Jesus Christ. When JesusChrist, shortly after His Resurrection,appeared to His disciples showing themHis wounded hands and side, He wasreminding them that there is a price to bepaid when facing evil. (Cf. John 20:19-23) Once the disciples understood thismessage, their hearts and minds weretransformed and they began to proclaimtheir faith in the Resurrected Christ in theopen with no fear. The same Resurrectioncalls us also, the believers, to be transformedand become “living” organs ofthe Body of Christ, our true Rock uponwhom we need to build our lives. Such atransformation will make of us wiseVirgins (Cf. Matthew 25:1-13) vigilantall the times to face life’s challengingmoments and ready to help our brothersand sisters in need. And let us remember:Jesus promised us a safe landing but notnecessarily a smooth ride. †Happy Pascha!!!Winter 2008 • SOPHIA 3

From the EparchWWe begin the Creed by proclaimingour faith in Godthe giver of life: “I believein one God the Father AlmightyCreator of heaven and earth”. And weend it by proclaiming our hope in theresurrection of the deadand the eternal life: “Welook forward for the resurrectionof the deadand the life to come”.And between these twodeclarations, we proclaimour faith in therisen Lord, in JesusChrist who, after beingcrucified, “rose on thethird day.” Faith in ourresurrection is based onthe Resurrection ofJesus Christ.Faith in the Resurrectionis not faith in somekind of unverifiablecuriosity, which weought to believe in additionto all the rest. It isfundamentally faith inGod with whom therisen Christ is now one.Faith in the Resurrectionis not an appendage tofaith in God, but a radicalizingof faith in God.It is a faith in God whichdoes not stop halfway,but follows the road consistentlyto the end. It isa faith in which man,without strictly rationalproof but certainly withcompletely reasonabletrust, relies on the fact that the God ofthe beginning is also the God of theend, that, as he is the Creator of theworld and man, so too he is theirFinisher. Resurrection means the realconquest of death by God the Creatorto whom the believer entrusts everything,even the ultimate, even the conquestof death.We read in the Book of theRevelation that God is “the Alpha and4 SOPHIA • Winter 2008The Resurrection of Jesus:Arevelation of God’s Power anda Basis of the Faith in Our Resurrectionby Archbishop Cyril Salim BustrosEparch of Newtonthe Omega, the First and the Last, theBeginning and the End.” (22: 13) SinceGod is the Alpha, he is also the Omega.The almighty Creator who calls thingsfrom nothingness into being can alsocall men from death into life.The Resurrection of Jesus Christgives our life its true meaning, andgives us hope for our future. It is preciselyin face of death that God’s powerhidden in the world is revealed. Mancannot work out for himself the resurrectionfrom the dead. But man may inany case rely on this God who can practicallybe defined as “a God of the livingand not of the dead” (Mark 12:26-27), he may absolutely trust in his superiorpower even in face of inevitabledeath, may approach his death withconfidence. The Creator and Conserverof the universe and of man can be trusted,even at death and as we are dying,beyond the limits of all that has hithertobeen experienced, tohave still one more wordto say: to have the lastword as he had the first.Toward this God the onlyreasonable and realisticattitude is trust and faith.This passing from death toGod cannot be verifiedempirically or rationally.It is not to be expected,not to be proved, but to behoped for in faith. What isimpossible to man is onlymade possible by God.Anyone who seriouslybelieves in the living Godbelieves therefore also inthe raising of the dead tolife, in God’s powerwhich is proved at death.As Jesus retorted to thedoubting Sadducees,“You know neither theScriptures nor the powerof God.” (Mark 12:24)The Christian faith inthe risen Jesus is meaningfulonly as faith inGod the Creator andConserver of life. But, onthe other hand, theChristian faith in God theCreator is decisivelycharacterized by the factthat “he raised Jesus fromthe dead.” (Rom. 4:24) “He who raisedJesus from the dead,” becomes practicallythe designation of the ChristianGod. “If the Spirit of him who raisedJesus from the dead dwells in you, hewho raised Christ from the dead willgive life to your mortal bodies alsothrough his Spirit that dwells in you.”(Rom. 8:11)Christ is risen! He is truly risen!

TThe 2007 New England RegionalAdult Enrichment and TeachingTraining Seminar held onOctober 27, at the AnnunciationCathedral, was well attended, withforty people from the different NewEngland area parishes showing up.This year’s program was titled: TheApostolic Writings, A ByzantinePerspective. Dr. Frances Colie presentedthe topic. Like always, she camewell prepared and the talk was verystimulating. Handouts were distributedand a lively discussion followed thepresentation. This gathering was agood opportunity for the catechists andfaithful from the different parishes toexchange ideas and share notes. Thetiming of the program this year made abig difference in the higher turnout.On December 1st, the AnnunciationCathedral welcomed with open arms theRt. Rev. Gabriel Ghanoum who camefrom sunny and warm Florida, bravingthe cold, in order to guide theFood for the SoulAnnunciation Cathedral – Roslindale, MACathedral’s parishioners to re-discoverthe spiritual beauty of Christmas.Archimandrite Ghanoum’s talk, Today’sFamily: A Home or a Motel 6, drewfifty people who gathered for a long dayof spiritual renewal at the Our Lady ofLa Salette Shrine in Attleboro, MA.The day began with the DivineLiturgy. Followingthe prayer service,Fr. Gaby led the participantsto realizethe subtle regressionof the feast ofChristmas towards“paganism / materialism”as the averageChristian Homefollows the latestsocial trend of sliding into a Motel 6.Family members, meant to love andcare for each other, sharing and livingthe same Christian values, are progressivelybecoming “independent” guestsliving under one roof, sharing room andboard, but with no common outlookand goals. This dissociation in familyties leads the Christians to lose theircompass growing up, hence lettingthe world of consumerism and themedia to dictate what they should andshould not do and what to believe ornot during the Christmas Season andother religious seasons.Once the presentation over, theattendees ate lunch before joining theirrespective workshop group where theywere invited to reflect on the talk’stopic and think how can they restorethe true meaning of Christmas startingwith their own lives.Throughout the day, Fr. Gaby kepthis audience on its toes with his energetictalk and his wealth of knowledge.And, the questions did not stopbefore Fr. Gaby promising the attendeesfor an encore.The day closed with the viewing ofthe well renowned and spectacularChristmas Lighting at the La SaletteShrine signaling the beginning of theAdvent Season.The following day, Fr. Ghanoumconcelebrated the Divine Liturgy withArchbishop Cyril and the Cathedral’sclergy, sharing more of his thoughtswith the participants’ faithful duringthe sermon and the coffee hour. Lateron, Fr. Gaby joined the Youth Groupfor lunch and a talk about their role inliving Christianity at home, school,and public places, and how are theypreparing themselves to welcome theChristmas Feast. †News from Around the EparchyWinter 2008 • SOPHIA 5

News from Around the EparchyServing Local Shelters for Over Two DecadesAnnunciation Cathedral – Roslindale, MAAAn outreach charitable activity atthe Annunciation Cathedralwas launched more than twentyyears ago by taking the Youth Group toa number of the Boston local soupkitchens and homeless shelters to helpout. Lazarus House, which had greatprograms and was associated with theMelkite Church, was inconvenient tovisit regularly because of the distance.Hence, the decision to limit this activitywithin the Boston based shelters.Some of the shelters had little in theway of regulations, and fights anddrunkenness were a way of life inthem. Their philosophy, provide ameal and a bed, did not match what theAnnunciation volunteers were tryingto achieve.The Shattuck Shelter’s philosophywas different: they strive to bring their“guests” back into society. Alcohol,drugs, or weapons are not allowed onthe premises. Even the slightest fightingis not tolerated. The program’soverseers provide a “recovery” program,where those sobering up after alife on the street are helped to stayclean, taught job skills, and helped inthe search for employment. Once theyheld a job, the homeless are providedwith a furnished apartment, rent freefor a period of six months.The Cathedral’s volunteers began byvisiting the Shattuck Shelter 2 or 3times a year. They would prepare a hot“homemade” meal in the churchkitchen, bring it to the shelter and serve150 – 200 adults’ guests. In the summertime a cookout, typically includinghamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, watermelon,and salad, followed by icecream, was organized.Primarily a Youth Group function atthe beginning, it did not take longbefore adults joined in the activity andsoon the volunteers were going to theShelter on a more regular basis. A differentparishioner would chair eachevent, and with a committee wouldselect the menu, shop, prepare themeal, ask for donations, and serve themeal. Generally at the end of the mealenough food was provided to fill theShelter’s refrigerators. Often, the collecteddonations exceeded the meal’scost, and the left over was put into thecharity account. Over 60 adult parishionersin addition to the Youth Group6 SOPHIA • Winter 2008participated in this activity, and the visitsbecame monthly or bimonthly.As time went by, the volunteers startedto help with other activities at the Shelter.Parishioners furnished several apartments.They helped with some of the jobtraining programs, provided toiletriesand other needed items at Christmas andother occasions. Drives also were organizedat different times to supply theShelter or guests what they needed.Among the meals’ coordinatorsKathy Haddad and Laila Zeinieh hadstayed the longest. Each coordinatorhas had a different emphasis. Laila, thecurrent coordinator with her committee,prepares dinner once a month, andputs on three cook outs every summer.These meals have become an eventthat is looked forward to at the shelter.Afew years ago, the Boston Schoolsmoved out of the Cathedral leavingbehind temporary modules. In lookingfor a new use for the school modules,the Shattuck Shelter was contacted toconsider putting a women’s shelter onsite in conjunction with the Shelter, thegreatest need they had at that time. Theoffer did not go through, but the helpdid not stop. Currently 35 batteredwomen living at the Shattuck Hospitalare among those helped by theAnnunciation volunteers. †Deacon John Moses, a parishioner of AnnuciationCathedral, contributed the above article.

TThe year 2007 marked the 100thanniversary of the founding ofthe parish of St. Basil the Great,Lincoln, RI, from its original locationon Broad Street in Central Falls to itspresent location in Lincoln, RI representingthe completion of Phase I of amajor building project which includesa provisional church, cultural center,and religious educational facility. Thenext phase includes the building of theformal church, rectory, and expansionof St. Basil’s Melkite Cemetery. Thegreat progress achieved thus far representsthe teamwork of the parishioners,church organizations, clergy,and bishops, who have joined hands toaccomplish these goals.The year 2007 also included a richprogram of activities which included aFestival celebrating EID-es-SAYDEH,Feast of the Dormition of the VirginMary. The Event was held on thebeautiful grounds of the Church. Mostinspiring was the outdoor religiousservice with a huge gathering of parishionersand friends around the fountainand mosaic icon of the Mother ofTenderness for prayers and the chantingof hymns to the Blessed Virgin.The Committee worked diligently ina spirit of cooperation to make thisyear’s festival, with its delicious barbecue,Arabic music, and children’sactivities, the largest and most successfulthat they have had.In December of 2007, the parish againcame together to celebrate the Feast ofSt. Barbara, which is a long standing traditionat St. Basil’s Church. The Rt.Rev. Exarch Joseph Haggar, pastor,together with Archdeacon George Yany,Deacon Edmond Raheb, and guest,Archimandrite Edward Kakaty led thefeast day ceremony with prayers andchanting of the hymn to St. Barbara, followedby a procession of children,MYO members, and adults carryingtrays of slee’aa (sweetened wheat), decoratedwith candles. Following the procession,dinner was served and anArabic band brought everyone onto thedance floor to enjoy the event chaired byGeorgeanna Deckey and Co-Chaired byWilliam Haddad.The highlight of the year’s activities,however, unfolded when theparishioners joined together as a communityof faith to celebrate its first OneACentennial CelebrationSt. Basil the Great Church – Lincoln, RIHundred Years of spiritual growth.The existence of St. Basil’s parish for100 years means 100 years of specialgraces from Almighty God. Thismilestone has been achieved throughthe tireless efforts and sacrifices of thepresent members’ parents, grandparents,and all of those who camebefore them from the beautiful capitalcity of Damascus, from the bustling“souks” of Aleppo, from the summerretreats of Ma’arrat Sadnaya, and fromthe pearl of the Mediterranean, Beirut.Deeply rooted in their faith andMelkite traditions, they overcamemany obstacles and hardships, persevered,and established their ownMelkite church in Central Falls.The parish celebrated its CentennialContinued on page 8Winter 2008 • SOPHIA 7News from Around the Eparchy

News from Around the EparchyACentennial Celebration Continued from page 7on October 13 and 14.Chairperson of this memorableevent was GeorgeannaDeckey and Co-Chairpersonwas William Haddad. OnSaturday evening, over 500parishioners, friends, clergyand guests gathered to enjoya beautiful array of deliciousArabic appetizers followedby a lovely dinner andspeaking program. Masterof Ceremonies, Dr. YusufMussalli, introduced themany Bishops, Clergy, andGovernment Officials inattendance. The invocationwas given by Most Rev.Louis E. Gelineau, BishopEmeritus of Providence. Rt.Rev. Exarch Joseph Haggargave the welcoming address.Fr. Joe congratulated hisparish on their continuedcommitment to the Melkitetradition. “100 years of continuedexistence is a hugeaccomplishment which couldnot have happened withoutthe vision of our fathers,” hesaid. Fr. Joe has served thisparish for 41 years and isloved by the parish for hisdevotion and guidance.Archbishop Cyril SalimBustros called on those presentto remember the foundersof their parish and the strugglesthey endured. “How many difficultieshave encountered thosewho built this community? Howmany hurdles? How manyheadaches? And, in spite of allthis, they remained faithful totheir mission.”The final Blessing was givenby Archimandrite Robert Rabbat,Rector of the AnnunciationMelkite Catholic Cathedral inRoslindale, MA.Following the speaking program,attendees enjoyed a collageof old photographs displayed inthe church lobby along with aDVD which brought back memoriesof the forefathers. The audienceenjoyed the remainder of theevening listening to the songs anddancing to the music of a greatArabic band.As a special remembrance ofthis Anniversary, a gold-plated,artistic replica of St. Basil’sChurch was presented to all ofthose in attendance. It was anevening that will be rememberedfor many years to come. Inremembering the blessings of thepast, the faithful of St. Basil askGod to continue to favor themwith His graces. †Mrs. Blanche Mussalli, a parishioner of St.Basil Church, contributed the above article.SEMINARY FUNDRAISING APPEALTo all our clergy and to all the members of the NAMW:Christ is with us! He is and always will be!One of our priorities in the Eparchy of Newton is to preparefuture pastors for the service of our parishes. Weneed pastors educated here in the USA, and since we stillhave new immigrants coming from the Middle East, wealso need Arabic speaking pastors coming from the MiddleEast. The Seminary of St. Anne in Lebanon is preparing thefuture pastors for our Melkite Church all over the world.In order to help this Seminary, I asked the NationalAssociation of Melkite Women (NAMW) headed by Mrs.Reine Rabbat to be responsible for a fundraising event forthis purpose. I would like all members of the NAMW andall the parishes to participate in this national fundraisingevent, as they have done before, and all the funds shouldbe forwarded to NAMW.We suggest to use thevocation Sunday (the thirdSunday of Pascha – April13), as the target date,meaning that the NationalAssociation of MelkiteWomen should receive allthe money raised for theseminarians on that day.With my heartfeltthanks for your cooperationin this matter, I wishyou a blessed Pascha.† Archbishop Cyril S. BustrosEparch of Newton8 SOPHIA • Winter 2008

OOur Lady of the Cedars SundaySchool sponsored a parishChristmas gift drive for acutelyill children in Southern NewHampshire Medical Center. Generousparishioners donated toys, books,dolls, videos, stuffed animals, andother gifts according to the variousages from toddler to 12 years old.Mary Leonarczyk, a student in the 6 thgrade class, developed the idea anddesigned the gift drive. She and severalof her Sunday school classmates collected,sorted, wrapped, and assembledAChristmas Gift DriveOur Lady of the Cedars – Manchester, NHover seventy attractivegift packages for the hospitalizedchildren. Sadly,the children’s unit at SNHMedical Center was fullthroughout the Christmasholidays, but the generosityand good will of thechildren and families ofOur Lady of the Cedarshelped to lighten the burdensof the children whohad to spend Christmas inthe hospital. †Pictured delivering the gifts to the manager of the pediatrics unitare (from l-r): Mary Spencer, Mary Leonarczyk, Terri Leonarczyk,Nicholas Leonarczyk, Grace Anderson, and Mia Barger.Thank You, Beloved PastorChurch of the Virgin Mary – Brooklyn, NYNews from Around the EparchyOOn Sunday October 21st, theChurch of the Virgin Mary inBrooklyn, NY, said farewell toits pastor Archimandrite John Faraj,who was elected in July 2007 asSuperior General of the BasilianSalvatorian Order in Lebanon.Father John served the Church of theVirgin Mary tirelessly for 13 years.During his time in Brooklyn he helpedexpand the community through hisspiritual guidance and leadership. Healso oversaw the complete renovationof the Church’s building and Hall.To help celebrate Father John’s lastDivine Liturgy in Brooklyn, the communitywas joined by Archbishop CyrilBustros and many other distinguishedguests. After the liturgy over 400 peopleattended a reception in the beautiful hallto honor and celebrate Father John for allthe love, hard work and devotion that heshowed the parish of the Virgin Mary. †Ms. Elizabeth Grace, a parishioner of Church ofthe Virgin Mary, contributed the above article.Rt. Rev. Faraj gives his farewell speech.Rt. Rev. John Faraj carries the Holy Giftsduring the Divine Liturgy.Archbishop Cyril Bustros andArchimandrite Faraj thank the faithfulat the end of the Divine Liturgy.The attendees applaud Fr. Faraj after cutting the cakebaked in his honor.Winter 2008 • SOPHIA 9

their parish and who havegratefully remained attachedin word and in deed, alongwith outside donors, havesupported an extensive andexhaustive project of therestoration of the church, culturalcenter and residence.Within a few years, one couldwitness a Sunday ChurchSchool Program resurrected,followed by an array of ParishLife Ministries. An unfoldingof authentic Byzantine iconographyhas resulted to datein 14 new wall icon panelsand 8 Holy Place icons, alongwith etched glass door panels,leading into the church.Project after project continuesto be undertaken willinglyby this small parish family,whose name has been raisedhigh, witnessed and attestedto vocally by our other EasternCommunities, Christian andMoslem, in the area. Such wasa brief summary of the historyup until the recently-celebratedanniversary, which alsomade a blessed impact forthe community.On Saturday, November 11,a Grand Banquet and Sahrawere held for 300 guests at theGATech Hotel and ConferenceCenter downtown. Two of ourhierarchs, Archbishop Cyril,Bishop John, along withExarch Joseph Haggar (RI),Archimandrites Edward Kakaty(CT), Frank Milienewicz (AL)and Robert Rabbat (MA), Fr.Alam and Khouriyeh SalimaAlam (MA), Frs. JosephThomas (MA), Fr. PhilipAzoon (NJ), Rev. Dr. ThomasFlynn (Melkite Bi-ritual of Atlanta);Fr. Matthew Schroeder(Ukrainian), Fr. Peter Boulos(Maronite), ArchimandriteMichael Evans (Atlanta) andFr. Antoun and KhouriyehNancy Aaraj (AntiochianOrthodox priests and wife);Archdeacon George Yany (RI)and Deacon Leo Shababy(Maronite) and parishionersand friends were feted to anelegant dinner followed byspeeches and dancing. Co-Chairs of the event wereMatilda Ghawi and MarkHaddad. Fifteen members ofFr. John’s family came in forthe two-day celebration.The next day, Sunday,November 12, a colorful andflowing Parish MinistryBanner Procession led thecelebrants from the CulturalCenter into the church. AHierarchical Liturgy was celebratedby Abp. Cyril, BishopJohn and the attending clergy.Msgr. Donald Kiernan of theRoman Catholic Archdioceseof Atlanta, long-time friend ofthe departed Fr. William, alsoconcelebrated with the clergyof our Eparchy. ArchdeaconGeorge of Fr. John’s homeparish of St. Basil the Great (RI)was the deacon. Fr. Antounjoined the parish choir andReader Joseph Pharo (AL)with his gifted voice. Afterthe Little Entrance, Fr. Johnwas led by sponsors, ArchimandritesEdward Kakatyand Frank Milienewicz, fromthe Holy Place, around thechurch to the Archbishop. Tothe pride of his family, fellowclergy, parishioners and friends,local and out-of-state, he waselevated to the rank of Archimandrite.After being blessedand presented with the pectoralcross, the kalouseh (clericalhat) and latiyeh (blackveil), brought from Syria byhis cousin, Fr. Alam, wasplaced on his head as wereother priests of our Eparchyso honored in the past. Beforethe dismissal of the Liturgy,the Eparch chrismated morenewly-added icons of theHoly Place as Atlanta’s iconproject continues.Following the Liturgy, aclosing and complimentaryAnniversary and ElevationLuncheon Reception wascatered for again for 300guests by Hani and NellieSebai of Byblos Restaurant.Chairperson of the Luncheonwas Judy Nassar, assisted byMichael and Charlene Hiffaand Jo Ann Azar. At the closeof the luncheon, the guestswere invited outside andreleased gold and whiteanniversary balloons into theblue skies above, mantlingContinued on page 12News from Around the EparchyWinter 2008 • SOPHIA 11

News from Around the EparchyParish Marks Its 50th Continued from page 11this holy hill. The gold of Chrysostomwas shining extra brightly that weekend!(By the way, we received an actuale-mail from the Near East, jokinglynotifying us that a gold balloon fromAtlanta “reached” a village aboveDamascus!) On to the years ahead!Please pray for us and visit us at:www.stjohnmelkite.orgGlory to God, for all of His blessingsover the years! Congratulations-Mabrouk, O holy father JohnChrysostom, on the accomplishments ofyour devoted people! Congratulations-Mabrouk, O Bishops, for this other jewelin your crowns! Congratulations-Mabrouk, O Clergy, for the people whomGod gave us! Congratulations-Mabrouk,O village of Maarra-t-Sednaya, for oneof your sons shares this honor with you!Congratulations-Mabrouk, O holy peopleof Atlanta, for being His faithful servants!Happy 50th Anniversary, St. JohnChrysostom Melkite Church! †Archimandrite John Azar contributed theabove article.12 SOPHIA • Winter 2008

Archimandrite Sayegh poses with his faithfulwho joined him for the St. Barbara Hafleh.Clergy present to share the joy of ArchdeaconElias Sahyouni (1st row center) the recipient ofthe Cross of Jerusalem. (L. to R.): 1st Row:Deacons Fadi Rafidi and Antoine Shehata. 2ndRow: Fr. Angel Marzal, Archbishop Bustros, andRt. Rev. Sayegh.AJoyful CommunitySt. John the Baptist Church – Northlake, ILTRICK OR TREAT!!!LLast October 26, 2007, St. John’sSunday school held a Halloweenparty for the children of theparish. Costumes, candy, games filledthe room as boys and girls had someghoulish fun. But the kids were waitinganother appointment on November30: St. Barbara mid-eastern traditionalparty. The story of St. Barbara wasread, and the kids played the scene…Rouaida AlCheikh and Elain Makdahorganized both events.On November 3rd, St. John’s communityheld its Annual Dinner Dance at theAtlantis Banquets in Arlington Heights,IL. Archbishop Cyril Bustros welcomedthe parishioners and guests. ChairpersonMrs. Aimee Baroud, along with her Co-Chairs: Mrs. Inaam Bisharat and MissJoAnn Fakhouri and the committeemembers, organized an evening filledwith the talents of renowned Syriansinger Wasseem Semaan. During theevent, Mark Bendok presented MusilShihadeh, Fadi Shihadeh, and BasilAlcheikh each with a $500 scholarshipon behalf of the St. John the BaptistScholarship fund.The next day, Sayedna Bustros decoratedArchdeacon Elias Sahyouni withthe Cross of Jerusalem. “His love forthe Melkite Church,” said Pastor, Rt.Rev. Fouad Sayegh for the occasion,“is evidenced by a lifetime of dedicatedservice…” Archdeacon Elias wasmember, then chairman of the ParishAdvisory Council in the late 1980’s,and responsible of the church weeklybulletin. With his late wife Jeannette,he worked on the Theosis program. Heassisted the different Pastors whoserved St. John the Baptist Churchover the years with preaching, administeringthe Sunday school, teachingthe Pre-Cana courses and baptismalpreparations. He also helped in takingthe diocesan publication, Sophia, to ahigher standard giving it a new shapeand editorial leadership.5,4,3,2,1…HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!2008 was welcomed in on Dec 31st,when Miss JoAnn Fakhouri and hercommittee hosted the St. John NewYear’s Eve party in the church’s hall.The celebration drew many from theparish as well as outsiders. The musicaltalents of Ashraf Melki and hisband had everyone dancing thenight/year away! †Miss JoAnn Fakhouri, a parishioner of St. JohnChurch, contributed the above article.News from Around the Eparchy(L. to R.): Archimandrite Fouad Sayegh, Archbishop Cyril Bustros,Aimee Baroud (Chairperson), Denise Shehata, JoAnn Fakhouri(Co-Chair), and guests at the Annual Dinner Dance.The Scholarship recipients (L. to R.) Basil Alcheikh, Fadi and Musil Shihadeh,pose for a photo at the Annual Dinner Dance with Archbishop Bustros,Rt. Rev. Sayegh, and Mark Bendok (Scholarship Committee Chairperson).Fr. Michel Cheble (L.) (Hammond, IN), EliasTourjman and other party guests bid farewellto 2007 dancing.(L. to R.): Julie Yff, Odette and Janet Fakhourinibble on the appetizers waiting for the NewYear countdown.Gabe Fakhouri (R.) and the Issa Bisharatfamily welcome the 2008 New Year witha smile.Winter 2008 • SOPHIA 13

News from Around the EparchyAReflectionSt. Philip Mission – San Bernardino, CALLet your light shine before men thatthey may see all your good worksand give glory to your Fatherwho is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16)Congratulations to pastor Fr. JustinRose, protodeacon Stephen Ghandour,deacon Jacob Pesta and subdeaconJoseph Kaiser.We pray:Father most holy we proclaim yourgreatness, all your works show forthyour wisdom and love, you formed manand (woman) in your likeness andentrusted the whole world to theircare, so that in serving you alone, theircreator, they might be stewards of allcreation. (St. Maximos the confessor)And, we also pray:May they be the salt of the earth, andthe light of the world. (Cf. Matthew5:13-14)The Church of St. Philip in SanBernardino, CA was revered by thepresence of many shepherds, flockedby St. Philip’s parishioners andenlightened with the presence of theMelkite Shepherd Cyril Bustros whospoke of the Truth of Christianity.“Whereas,” he said, “the religion ofIslam awaits the second coming ofChrist, and the Jewish religion believesin a messiah who is to come, weChristians pray, celebrate, and glorifythe Christ who is among us.”Afterwards, the community of St.Phillip the Apostle Mission welcomedArchbishop Cyril at the same hallwhere Jesus-the-poor-is served everyThursday’s Lazarus night.The most excelled, positive argumentfor apologetics is silence, is love.The Christ who dwelt among us, theLove who dwells among us, said, followme. None paused, none questioned,none doubted, yet all marveled.Christianity is marvelously deliveredup to freedom, and the joy is ours tochoose or refuse. In serving the poor asmy friend Mike Mobley joyfully handsthe salt to our homeless friends, thewords of my beloved Jesus arerefreshed in my mind: you are the saltof the earth. What a joy most mercifulGod! A joy that presses our hearts inwant! Not that you need our service,14 SOPHIA • Winter 2008but you will us happiness. Apologeticsis living our faith, is falling down atJesus knees saying, depart from me forI am a sinful man O Lord. (Cf. Luke5:8) Surely Jesus didn’t depart, andPeter was the one chosen out of thetwelve who followed the Savior.Celebrating the elevation, the ordination,and the blessing of the new protodeacon,deacon, and subdeacon respectivelyby Archbishop Cyril Bustros, weas Catholics ought to feel privileged withthe humility of obedience.I believe as Christians we have noexcuse not to care, not to smile, not toshare, for in the most humbling, mostelating personal relationship withJesus, in the Eucharist, there is no limitto the comfort we can give others oncewe are comforted. We were boughtwith a price. We owe gratitude. One’sindividual love, integrity, generosity,concern for others, respect for thelowly is a Sacramental sign of Christ’spresence to another individual, henceno dramatic or extraordinary deedsrequired. As we close our eyes, shutour ears to the wickedness of theworld, we enter with reverence thehouse of God, with our sins before uswe call: Lord have mercy.I pray every person we meet seesJesus in us, as we see Jesus in them.Through our works, through being servantsto one another, let us exemplifywhat the Master told us: the servant isno greater than his master. Aren’t thesebeautiful events, these services, goodworks that give glory to our Father whois in heaven? “For as the body apartfrom the spirit is dead, so faith apartfrom works is dead.” (James 2:26)I pray we contemplate on the lives ofthe Saints and try to follow in theirfootsteps. During Lent, we fast, andmost of us complain as if we are doingGod a service. I wonder, do we think ofour brothers and sisters who live Lentall year, every day, who fast out oflack, and who are content with a loaf ofbread? Saints did.Even if your food is reduced to oneloaf, if there is a beggar at the door, takethis loaf out of your larder, hold it up toheaven in your hands and say these sad,but generous words: Lord, the loafwhich you see is my last and danger isimminent; but I am remembering yourcommand and am giving of the littlethat I have to my brother who is hungry.(St. Basil of Caesarea) †Ms. Nellie Jo Antonios, a parishioner of St.Philip Mission, writes from Riverside, CA.

ABlessed “Encounter” with the LordSt. Philip Mission – San Bernardino, CAOOn Saturday, February 2, the feastof the Encounter of the Lord inthe Temple, St. Philip Missionencountered the presence of Jesus in apowerful way. During ArchbishopCyril’s annual pastoral visit, he tonsuredand blessed Deacon Candidate Ed Kaiseras Subdeacon Joseph. During theDivine Liturgy, the Archbishop ordainedSubdeacon Jacob (Jim) Pesta to the HolyDiaconate. And, as a special surprise,the Archbishop also named DeaconStephen Ghandour as Protodeacon.Axioi-They are worthy! †News from Around the EparchyAPrayerGatheringSt. Elias the Prophet Church – San Jose, CAFr. James Graham opens the Prayer for the Week of Unity by welcomingthe participants.Participating clergy – (L to R): Deacon Nader Bshouty, Fr. JamesGraham, Rev. Silvestre Romero, Rev. Margo Tenold, Rev. Ben Daniel,Fr. Francisco Rios, and Rev. John Chamberlin.OOn January 23, 2008 St. Elias theProphet Melkite Church in SanJose, CA, hosted the “Prayerfor Christian Unity”. Fr. JamesGraham, pastor, opening remarks statedthat Christians of all denominationsshould focus on their common beliefsand not on what divides them. Thecommon belief in their Lord andSavior Jesus Christ is what uniteChristians - so that All may be One.The prayer for Christian Unity is partof an on-going organization by the EastSide (of San Jose) EcumenicalAssociation that started over 20 years ago- it is unique in all of Santa Clara Countyin Northern California. The followingchurches were represented at the prayerservice: Rev. Margo Tenold, Co-Director,Santa Clara County Council of Churches;Rev. Ben Daniel, Pastor, FoothillPresbyterian Church; Rev. SilvestreRomero, Pastor, St. Philip’s EpiscopalChurch; Rev. John Chamberlin, Pastor,Alum Rock Untied Methodist Church;Fr. Francisco Rios, Pastor, St. JohnVianney Roman Catholic Church; Fr.James Graham, Pastor, St. Elias MelkiteChurch; and Deacon Nader Bshouty, St.Elias Melkite Church in San Jose.Fifty participants, from the variousChristian Churches, were present unitedby their belief in one Lord, Jesus Christ,who came to the world to save sinners,rose from the dead on the third day, and isseated at the right hand of God the Father.St. Elias the Prophet Church’s choir,under the leadership of Tony Noujaim,chanted the hymns in Arabic, Greek,and English.The attendees enjoyed the chantsthat lifted up their hearts, and wereenchanted by the beautiful Ikons of thechurch. It was truly great to see allthese Christian denominations voicingthe same prayers during the ceremony,especially the Lord’s Prayer. †Nabil Damouny, the Chairman of St. Elias theProphet Parish Advisory Council, contributedthe above article.Winter 2008 • SOPHIA 15

NAMYIt is Between You and Godby Maria KhalilWWe go to church every weekand chant the hymns, listento the homily, and receivecommunion. But when all that’sthrough and we go back home, I oftenfind myself leaving all the “churchstuff” back at church. It’s difficult toremember that church should alwaysbe with us, that when we get home weshouldn’t just go back to the regularroutine and not worry about upholdingour faith. Unfortunately, we do itanyway. We lie, cheat, disobey ourparents and act crudely toward others.It’s difficult to always think in “whatwould Jesus do” terms.I often find myself in those situationwhere I know I’ve sinned and insteadof fessing up, I try to rationalize myactions by stating that “I’m not Jesus,I’m no saint, how can I expect myselfto do the same as Jesus when I’m nothim.” But that’s not right. Don’t we allgo to church and receive communion?We eat and drink the body and blood ofJesus Christ. We do in fact become onewith him. It should always be our priorityto become closer to him. As St. Paulsaid: “Let not sin therefore reign inyour mortal bodies, to make you obeytheir passions. Do not yield your membersto sin as instruments of wickedness,but yield yourselves to God asmen who have been brought from deathto life, and your members to God asinstruments of righteousness. For sinwill not have dominion over you, sinceyou are not under law but undergrace.” (Romans 6:12-14)So what do we do? We first have totry to take church home with us. If wetruly believe in God, then we mustwork to follow those beliefs at alltimes. I mean, God is almighty. Sowhat he wants us to do is alwayswhat’s right. If he’s always right, thenwe should always want to follow thepaths that he has set for us.Unfortunately, we are only human.We do sin, but that’s where forgivenesssteps in. It’s been said that ifAdam and Eve had repented andasked forgiveness the first time whenGod asked if they had eaten from theforbidden tree, then he would haveforgiven them, and things would be a16 SOPHIA • Winter 2008lot different. As said by Saint Ephremin response to Gen 2:25, “Speak toGod now, before he asks you aboutthe coming of the serpent and aboutthe transgression that you and Evecommitted. Perhaps then, the confessionof your lips will absolve youfrom the sin of the fruit that your fingersplucked.” But they made thedecision not to admit their fault. Weshould all have learned a great lessonfrom this.When you mess up, ask God’s forgiveness,he’ll give it; we don’t wantto end up being kicked out of the gardentoo. Throughout the bible thereare numerous stories that show God’seternal forgiveness. When Jesus wasdying on the cross, his last wordswere “Father forgive them for theyknow not what they do.” (Luke 23:34)One of the seven holy sacraments,or as we call them in our tradition,one of the mysteries, is confession.It’s right up there with baptism, chrismation,and communion. Jesusblessed his disciples and forgavethem of their sins. Then he had themgo out and do the same for others.Jesus set up a system in which wecould ask forgiveness. I mean, don’tyou all feel so much better after confession.It’s like a weight has beenlifted off my chest. I’m finally free ofthose sins and am closer to God.Some people may ask why it’s soimportant to go to confession: “Can’twe just ask God directly on our ownto forgive us? Well, no. While weshould always ask to be forgiven onour own, there’s a bit more to it. Jesushimself set up a way to receive forgivenessthrough confession. Hebreathed into the apostles the powerto forgive sin, as the bible says:“Jesus said to them again, ‘peace bewith you. As the Father has sent me,even so I send you.’ And when he hadsaid this, he breathed on them, andsaid to them, ‘Receive the HolySpirit. If you forgive the sins of any,they are forgiven; if you retain thesins of any, they are retained’” (John20:19-23; see also Gen 2:7; Ezek 37;Matt 18:18; James 5:16).It is stated that we are not just spiritualbeings. We are made up of boththe spiritual and the physical. So it’snecessary for us to not only receiveforgiveness on a spiritual level, butalso on a physical one. Jesus gave thedisciples the power to forgive sinsbecause we need that physical side. Ithelps us to be able to go to the priestand confess our sins and beg forgiveness.Look at the Protestants. Theydon’t have this. They don’t get theprayer of absolution prayed overthem. They continually pray and askforgiveness but they are never toldthat they are forgiven. The power toforgive has been passed downthrough the disciples to the priest,just as Jesus commanded. We are ableto go to confession and know that wehave been forgiven.We must also go to confession forthe good of the Church. A body ismade up of many parts. When one ofthose parts is hurt, it upsets the wholebody. But the body is able to heal thathurt part. The same goes for theChurch. When one of us sins, thewhole Church is affected. It is up to usto have the Head of the Church, Jesus,forgive us, so that the Church, thebody of Christ, can go back to beingthe way it was meant to be. (Eph 5:23)While we all have the ability and theneed to be forgiven by God, we havethat same need to give and receive forgivenessfrom each other. The goldenrule is, treat others as you wish to betreated. As Jesus said: “For if you forgivemen their trespasses, your heavenlyFather also will forgive you; butif you do not forgive men their trespasses,neither will your Father forgiveyour trespasses.” (Matthew 6:14-15) When someone hurts us, it’s ourjob to forgive them; for we too wouldwant such mercy if we were in thatposition. We’ve all been through situationswhere the outcome is not whatwe wanted. It’s hard to forgive othersfor their actions when we have personallybeen hurt in some way, but if wedon’t, we can easily become consumedby hate and anger.There is the parable given by Jesusabout the debtor. When he asked to beforgiven for his debt that he could not

make up to the king, the king was graciousand forgave him. That same daythe debtor went to another man whoowed him money, but would not forgivehim upon his request. Instead, hesent him to jail to make up for the debt.When the king found out about this, hecalled the debtor to him. How could thedebtor attempt to have another manjailed when he had just received thesame forgiveness that he in turn refusedanother man? As a result the king putthe first one into jail. For he that couldnot forgive others did not deserve to beforgiven. (Matthew 18:23-35)Along with forgiving others, wemust ask forgiveness. We can’t allowourselves to become so self absorbedthat when we are in the wrong, wewon’t admit it and seek repentance.Jesus is in each of us, and hurtingsomeone else, is only hurting him. Wemust work to overcome our sins, andforgiveness is the only path throughwhich that can be achieved. Love God,work to become closer to him, keephim with you at all times, and never beafraid to ask or give forgiveness.Mother Theresa once said, “Peopleare often unreasonable, illogical, andself-centered; forgive them anyway. Ifyou are kind, people may accuse youof selfish, ulterior motives; be kindanyway. If you are successful you willwin some false friends and true enemies;succeed anyway. If you are honestand frank, people may cheat you;be honest and frank anyway. What youspend years building, someone coulddestroy overnight; build anyway. Ifyou find serenity and happiness, theymay be jealous; be happy anyway. Thegood you do today, people will oftenforget tomorrow; do good anyway.Give the world the best you have, andit may never be enough; give the worldthe best you’ve got anyway. You see, inthe final analysis, it’s between you andGod; it was never between you andthem.” †Maria Khalil, NAMY’s Vice-President,gave the above address during the 2007NAMY Pre-Convention at Barry University, FL.NAMYBig Newsabout N.A.M.Y.FromFr. Tom SteinmetzNational N.A.M.Y. DirectorI am delighted to announce that the National N.A.M.Y. Conference will take place on June 29-July 3, at theUniversity of San Diego, 5998 Alcaia Park, San Diego, CA. You can visit their website at www.sandiego.edu.The cost of the conference is $100 for double/triple occupancy rooms. Single rooms are available for $160.If you ask any of our young Melkites that have attended past conferences, they will tell you what a wonderfultime they had there. The experience of laughing, loving, learning, and praying together is powerfully enriching.Lifetime friendships (and even a few marriages) have come from people meeting at these conferences. So,if you are a N.A.M.Y. member who has never been to the national conference – what are you waiting for?Last year’s conference was held at Barry University and was hosted by Exarch Gabriel Ghanoum, B.S.O.,and St. Jude’s Melkite Church in Miami. I want to thank them for all of their help and hospitality and in particularfor their generosity. St. Jude’s church donated the entire cost of the conference last year, helping uskeep costs down this year for what would otherwise be a very expensive conference.The theme for this year’s conference is “If you want to walk on water, you have to get out of the boat.”This theme reminds us that we are called to live our faith, not just know about it.All of the necessary registration forms and consent forms can be downloaded from theNational N.A.M.Y. website at http://melkite.org/NAMY.htmI look forward to being with everyone at the conference again this year.Please remember to pray for all of the advisors and for our youth –they truly are the future of our church!Winter 2008 • SOPHIA 17

Blessed are the PeacemakersMelkite Bishop Salim Ghazal of Lebanon:AProphetic Voice of Peaceby Michel AndraosOOn Sunday, November 4, 2007,Bishop Martin Amos of theDiocese of Davenport, Iowa presentedthe “Pacem in Terris Peace andFreedom Award” 1 to Bishop SalimGhazal of Lebanon on behalf of the“Quad Cities Pacem in TerrisCoalition.” “We honor you,” notedBishop Amos as he read the Award citationin Christ the King chapel at St.Ambrose University, “for your enduringefforts to serve God by serving othersthrough your commitmentto a peacefulworld. You have rebuiltcommunities and relationshipsdevastated byyears of civil war. Youhave promoted thecause of human dignityand nurtured the way ofreconciliation throughyour interfaith efforts indialogue, peacemakingand education. Youembody the words ofPope John XXIII in hisencyclical Pacem inTerris as a ‘spark oflight, a center of love, avivifying leaven’ toyour sisters and brothersin Lebanon andaround the world.”At this moment in history when multipleconflicts in the Middle East overlap,the image of violence and interreligiousintolerance of the region dominatesWestern media and imagination,and the global discourse on the clash ofcivilizations and religions is taken as afact of life, this recognition of BishopGhazal’s work of reconciliation andpeacemaking, particularly in the areasof human development and interreligiousdialogue, is an important witnessand a sign of hope. What Bishop Ghazalrepresents for the Churches of Lebanonis a witness to the possibility of mutualunderstanding among religions and afirm hope in a better future for Muslim-Christian relations, despite the presenttensions in the region and globally.Bishop Ghazal began his work in theearly 1960s as chaplain of Catholic laymovements in the majoritarily Muslim(Sunni and Shi’ite) region of SouthLebanon. Since the early years of hisministry, abouna Salim, as he wascalled then, was known for his commitmentto promoting mutual respectand dialogue with Muslim leaders andcommunities, and for his propheticpastoral vision and work that have significantlyinfluenced Christian-Muslimrelations in that region.I met abouna Salim in 1973 at a summerministry camp in Alma El-Cha’b,Bishop Salim Ghazal receives the Pacem in Terris Award from Bishop Martin Amos ofDavenport, Iowa.a small Christian village at theLebanese-Israeli border where I grewup. Abouna Salim used to organizesuch summer camps with the help ofsome youth from the Young ChristianStudents movement (YCS). The campsusually consisted of spending a weekor two in one of the remote villages ofSouth Lebanon that did not get pastoralattention. They focused on educatinglocal youth about a wide range ofissues related to Christian faith, includingdoing basic social analysis, Biblestudies and organizing social activities.Because of his new approach to missionand ministry that integrated socialdevelopment, Christian education andpromoting interreligious understanding,abouna Salim inspired a new generationof Christian leaders, lay and ordained,who became committed to the samefaith perspective. During the years ofthe Lebanese civil war (1975-1990),many of these leaders were able to playa significant role in restoring peace andcoexistence where interreligious conflictsdevastated entire regions ofLebanon. In 1985, at the height of sectarianviolence, which caused thedestruction of many villages, burning ofhomes, and generated thousands ofinternal refugees in an area east of thecity of Sidon, where abouna Salim livedand was a pastor, he made the followingstatement in one of themajor newspapers:Is it not yet time forChristians and Muslimsto come together andinitiate a new era realizingthe importance oftheir common spiritualconnections and humanheritage? From thesanctuary of truth andfaith a united Lebanonwill rise in which peopleof different faithswill experience andlive their unity withGod and each other. Iwill dedicate all myefforts to work for thereturn of refugees totheir homes and landbecause this is their inalienable right,whether they are Muslim or Christian.These basic human rights and dignityare universal values regardless ofpeople’s faith. People in East Sidonhave been victims of a regional conflictand as a church we will work andhope for the day when justice andtruth will prevail 2 .According to abouna Salim, interreligiousdialogue is an essential part ofthe mission of the Church. For him,however, dialogue is primarily a wayof life in community before it becomesa theory. In his words:I like to talk about Christian-Muslimdialogue because it is a witness to mychurch’s awareness of its mission, ministryand incarnation in the world. At apersonal level, this dialogue is primarilyan expression of my personal expe-18 SOPHIA • Winter 2008

ience, how I grew up in my family andlived in my community, and also of howI understand the fullness of my being incommunity. This experience is not onlypersonal; it is the experience of thecommunity with which I tried to liveout this dialogue. Dialogue was for usa life experience in community beforeit became a theoretical reflection. It isthe witness of a community of faith,which believes that our relationshipwith the other is rooted in our faith andmoved by the Spirit, and the Spiritmoves as he wills 3 .For abouna Salim, mutual interreligiousunderstanding and dialogue offaith do not diminish one’s ownbelonging to a particular religion; itrather deepens our experience of God.“When I go to dialogue with myMuslim brother,” he notes, “it does notmean that I leave behind my Christianfaith, and this does notlead to the impoverishmentof my Christianlife or my brother’sMuslim life, faith orpractice; rather, itmeans that each one ofus tries to understandthe other’s faith not aswe imagine it but fromthe other’s perspective.”The dialogue offaith becomes anexploration of themystery of God aslived by the other 4 .When in 1985 a leaderfrom the Druze 5 communityinitiated a gestureof good will to reestablishdialogue withChristians by returningto abouna Salim a valuable icon ofChrist that was stolen from SaintSavior monastery, his response wasthat the true icon of Christ is therestoration of the co-existence ofChristians and Muslims in the region.Interreligious co-existence for him wasnot only a social fact; it also had a theologicaland spiritual value. 6In his award ceremony speech at St.Ambrose University, Bishop Ghazalshared part of his vision for peace inLebanon and the Middle East. “Is peaceon earth a dream, or is it a reality thatdeserves our efforts for achieving it?”he asked. “Today,” he noted, “after mylong journey of working with the peopleof my country, regardless of their religion,color or ethnicity, witnessing forthe truth in service of all people, especiallythose who are suffering and whostruggle to make a living and keep theirdignity in the midst of fear concerningtheir future, I am fully convinced of thevalue of interreligious coexistencebetween Christians, Muslims and allother religions, in Lebanon and in otherparts of the world.” Bishop Ghazalcalled on the international community,especially the United States, to put therespect for the human person above itssecurity, strategic and economic considerations.He pleaded for a just solutionfor the Palestinian problem, which heconsiders the main and essential causefor violence and the spread of extremist,violent organizations in places such asIraq, Palestine and Lebanon. He calledfor a just and balanced international policytowards the peoples of the MiddleEast that does not encourage conflictsand recourse to violence for resolvingBishop Ghazal blesses the faithful during the Divine Liturgy celebration at St. AnnChurch in North Hollywood, CA. Seen also in the photo: Rt. Rev. Said Bisharat (l.) andDeacon George Karout.them. Peace in the Middle East and theworld is possible, he concluded,through people’s commitment for makingpeace with justice, resistance to economicdomination and colonization,and through the resolution of the currentconflicts by dialogue, respect andacceptance of the other and the recognitionof their rights, and by puttinghuman dignity above all other considerations.”“People today,” added BishopGhazal, “are seeking a new liberationthat allows them to know God, discoverGod’s image in their heart and in theirrelationship with other human beings.”Responding to a question aboutwhat would be his message for ourMelkite Church in the US, and forother Arab Christians who live in thiscountry, Bishop Ghazal hoped that wewould continue to be rooted in ourEastern traditions and would stayconnected with our Churches of origin.As Christians Arab in the West, headded, we have the responsibility ofbeing the voice of our Churches andpeople in demanding that the US andthe international community implementjust economic and political policiesin the Middle East that wouldpromote the human dignity of all peoplein the region. Bishop Ghazalcalled upon us to work for a peacebuilt on justice, human rights and dignityfor all peoples, which constitutethe fundamental message of theencyclical Pacem in Terris. 7For me personally, the summer of1973 was also the beginning of a longjourney of engagement in social justiceand peace issues. This journey continuestoday in my teaching about Catholicpeace theology andcommitment to peaceand justice. I, too, alongwith the many people inLebanon and other partsof the world, who wereinfluenced by abounaSalim’s witness, feelhonored by this specialrecognition of his ministryby the Pacem inTerris Coalition. †Michel Andraos is anAssociate Professor ofCross-Cultural Ministryat Catholic T1 The Pacem in Terris Peaceand Freedom Award wascreated in 1964 to commemoratePope John XXIII’s1963 encyclical, Pacem in Terris (“Peace onE a r t h ” ) .Past recipients of the award include the Rev. MartinLuther King Jr., Dorothy Day, Blessed MotherTeresa of Calcutta, Anglican ArchbishopDesmond Tutu and Lech Walesa.2 Al-Anwar newspaper, September 30, 1985.Q u o t e din Emile Iskandar, An Outlook on the Church of theSouth through the Work of Father Salim Ghazal andthe Missionary Movements from 1962-1990 (inArabic). Jounieh, Lebanon: Paulist Press, 1991, 81.Translated from the Arabic by the writer.3 An Outlook on the Church of the South. 59.4 An Outlook on the Church of the South. 63-64.5 The Druze are one of the Muslim communities ofLebanon that separated from Sunni Islam aroundthe 11th century.6 G. Baguet, B. Hallaq, and M. Jondot. Lumiere surSaida: Quand Chretiens et Musulmans baissent lapaix au Sud-Liban. CCFD, Deschlee de Brouwer,Paris, 1994, 94-95.Blessed are the PeacemakersWinter 2008 • SOPHIA 19

PROPOSED WORKSHOPSTHEME: GLORIFY GOD with FAITH, LOVE and HOPE1. HEAVEN ON EARTH – THE DIVINE LITURGYThis talk will explain the journey of the Church into the dimension of the kingdom. This is the sacramental entrance into the risenlife or Christ. The Divine Liturgy makes present to us on earth and transports us as earthly pilgrims to the goal of our wanderings:the celebration of the Holy Liturgy in the Heavenly Kingdom by the Great High Priest Himself, Jesus Christ our God.(English – Rt. Rev. Philip Raczka; Arabic – Rt. Rev. Fouad Sayegh)2. LIVING THE LITURGICAL YEAR IN OUR HOMESThis talk will focus on living our tradition in the ‘domestic church” – the home, in the workplace and in our daily lives. It willfocus on celebrating the feasts throughout the liturgical year and the preparation for those feasts with fasting and prayer. It aimsto engender a deeper understanding of our tradition, so that we may be nourished by it and witness to it in our lives.(English – Rev. Fr. Peter Boutros)3. THE CHURCH IS THE PEOPLE OF GODThe word “Church” (Ecclesia in Greek) means a gathering. It expresses the idea of the Church as the people of God, called togetheragain and again to assemble, to constitute a gathering whose purpose is to reveal and to realize, the Church. The Church is thePeople of God, called by Him to be His own. The focus of the Christian life cannot be one of an individual in isolation, separatedfrom others. Rather, the Christian life is about belonging, about an identity so tied to Christ and to others that separation is unthinkable.There is no such thing as a “single Christian”. We cannot be saved outside of the Church.(English – Rev. Fr. Michael Skrocki)4. ECUMENISM(English – Rt. Rev. Alexei Smith)5. MARRIAGE: UNDERSTANDING THE NEEDThis talk takes us to a level of understanding what a specifically Christian sacramental marriage involves. The liturgical servicesof betrothal and crowning have been formulated to proclaim in prayer the Church’s thinking on this mystery. The talk will dealwith relationships and commitment and look to the ritual of the sacrament to discern what the Lord is calling the married coupleto achieve. The prayers, chants and gestures all convey what is the unique calling of a sacramentally married couple.(English – Rt. Rev. Gabriel Ghanoum)6. THE PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE – THEOSISThis talk will seek to explain the doctrine of Image and Likeness and relate it to man’s potential to grow in the divinity of Godand become a partaker of the Divine Nature. (2 Peter 14) It will discuss ‘theosis’as the purpose of man’s life and focus on thetruth that the purpose of our lives is not salvation but growth in the ‘likeness’ of God!(English – Rt. Rev. Fr. James Babcock)7. PRAYER AND SPIRITUALITYThis talk will discuss contemplative prayer and will help explain prayer as something we become and not something we do. Webecome lovers of mankind as we allow God into our hearts. It will discuss prayer as a relationship with God, whereby as webecome more intimate with God – we are being transformed into his ‘likeness’. It will conclude with a practicum of the JesusPrayer an ancient traditional prayer – frequently called the ‘prayer of the heart’.(English – Rev. Fr. Justin Rose)8. CATECHESIS AND EVANGELIZATION: AN URGENT CHALLENGE FOR THE FUTUREThe talk will focus on youth and total community catechesis.(English – Dr. Frances Nejmeh Colie)9. GOD AND MANThis talk will focus on the relationship between God and man revealed through the dialogue of Christianity with the othermonotheistic religions: Islam and Judaism.(Arabic – Rev. Fr. Samir Abu-Lail)

The LinkRepentance: ATransfiguring Experienceby Dr. Frances Colie“This life has been given you for repentance.Do not waste it on other things.”St. Isaac the SyrianLLent is the liturgical expression ofrepentance, and Confession is thesacramental expression of repentance.But, what is meant by repentance?Repentance is normally regardedas sorrow for sin, a feeling of guiltand a sense of grief we have inflictedon ourselves and others. Most peopleare aware that they have failings andthey are not as good as they might be.People handle these failings in differentways. They either deny it, “It’s o.k.you’re only human”, while othersbecome obsessed with guilt which isjust as bad because it leads to despair.Instead of seeking to be healed, the personlingers in squalor. The Lord’s wayof dealing with sin is to admit it, confessit and right it. In this way we putour wrongdoing behind us and moveforward on our spiritual journey.In The Sayings of the Desert Fathers,a story is told about a monk who, whilelying on his deathbed surrounded by hisdisciples, is seen talking with someone.“Who are you talking to, father?” thedisciples ask. “See,” he replies, “theangels have come to take me and I amasking for a little more time – moretime to repent.” “You have no need torepent,” say the disciples. “Truly,” theold man replies, “I am not sure whetherI have even begun to repent.”This story helps us to see repentance asa never-ending journey. It is a journeythat will continue to energize our conversionand spiritual growth. There can be nogrowth without repentance. When wethink we are so great and have no needfor repentance, we are in serious trouble.It means constantly taking stock of ourselves,and with the humility of thePublican acknowledge how much wehave missed the mark of God’s intentionsfor us. It is noteworthy to mention that theJesus Prayer specifically, although notexclusively, is a prayer of repentance:“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the LivingGod, have mercy on me a sinner!”St Mark the Monk says, “No One isso good and merciful as God, but evenHe does not forgive the unrepentant…24 SOPHIA • Winter 2008All the wide variety of commandmentscan be reduced to the single principleof repentance… we are not condemnedfor the multitude of our transgressions,but for our refusal to repent… For greatand small alike, repentance remainsincomplete until the moment of death.”While worldly grief is present in theexperience of repentance, it is only asmall part of the experience and theleast important part. Repentanceshould be viewed as transfiguring. Itmeans doing something about ourinner life as opposed to living an unexaminedlife.To understand the more positiveaspect of repentance, we must look atthe Greek term for repentance,“metanoia.” Here we can see that theheart of the matter is not just regret forthe past, but the “change of mind”, atransformation of our outlook, a newway of looking at ourselves, at othersand God. The “change of mind” mustbecome more radical and the “greatunderstanding” more profound.The Shepherd of Hermas describesrepentance as “a great understanding”in that repentance is not a momentarybout of remorse, but a conversion: therecentering of our life upon the HolyTrinity. This view of repentance as a“new mind,” a conversion, is positive,not negative. As St. John Climacustells us in his Ladder of Perfection,“Repentance is the daughter of hopeand the denial of despair.”The Good News begins with repentance:“Repent, for the Kingdom ofHeaven is at hand.” (Mt. 3:2, 17) St. Johnthe Baptist and our Lord both begin theirpreaching with the same words. Withoutrepentance, there can be no life, no salvation,and no entry into the Kingdom.“The people that walked in darknesshave seen a great light; they that dwell inthe land of the shadow of death, uponthem the light shone.” (Is. 9:2)Repentance is an illumination, atransition from darkness to light. Torepent is to open our eyes to theKingdom of heaven in our midst, atwork among us, and if we accept theKingdom all things will be made newfor us. Until we see the light, we cannot really see our sins. St. Theophanthe Recluse tells us that so long as theroom is in darkness, we do not noticethe dirt; but when we bring in a powerfullight into the room, we can seeevery speck of dust. So it is with theroom of our soul.The sequence is not to repent andthen become aware of Christ, becauseit is only when the light of Christ hasentered our life that we can trulyunderstand our sinfulness. Knowledgeof God gives rise to the sense of sin,not vice versa. The early Fathers tellus: “The closer we come to God, themore we see that we are sinners.”St John of Kronstadt tells us that torepent is to know that there is a lie in ourheart. We can only detect the lie if wehave some sense of the truth. The “greatunderstanding” is an awareness thatalthough we are sinful, God loves usand love is ultimately victorious. The“change of mind” comes when we cansay, “I am accepted by God and what isasked of me is to accept the truth that Iam accepted. The “great understanding”fills us with grief and at the same timefills us with joy. Continual repentance isa sharing at one and the same time inGethsemane and the Transfiguration. St.Paul describes it this way: “Always carryingin our body the death of Jesus, sothat the life of Jesus may also be manifestedin our body, dying, and beholdwe lie… sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.”(2 Cor. 4:10)The beginning of repentance is atransforming vision of beauty, not ofugliness, and an awareness of God’sGlory, not our own malice. The“change of mind” comforts and assuresus of His forgiveness. It allows us torecognize that there is good as well asevil, love as well as hate. It affirms thatthe good is stronger and that the finalvictory is love. †Dr. Frances Colie serves the Melkite Eparchy ofNewton as Director of Religious Education.

HHow are today’s people stayingnear God? Are people next toGod today? If during the seventhcentury, in Constantinople, capitalof civilization and culture of then knownworld, people were debating the theologicalissues of the time in the streetsand at the market-places with great passion,and if, in India, at the beginning oflast century, as the Indian Christian missionarySundar Singh tells us, there werestill people to whom Truth was a matterof life and death, now it seems that – atleast in our Western world – prioritieshave changed. It seems we are living ina time when longing for God, Heaven,Truth and Beauty have been mostlysmothered. But flares of this represseddesire happened in the more or less distantpast and even in the present.Be that as it may, our heart desiresand thirsts for a kingdom that is not ofthis world. Something inside us standsfor our calling and longing that cannotultimately be fulfilled in this world.The Lord of this kingdom that is notof this world, the Lord of our hearts,Jesus Christ, the Savior, has the powerto give us what we desire in a secretway, to really free us of the burdeninglife of this world resemblance, sinceHe is risen from the dead and has thepower to present us all his resurrection.No idea or spiritual exercise has thispower. They do not save us from death.They just create for a while the illusionof liberating us from the strains of ourearthly existence.We also believe that the unprecedentedspreading of spiritual and psychicdiseases is an inrush of the longing forGod concealed by the unnatural contemporaryway of life. Depressions, anxieties,neuroses diagnosed with animpressing frequency today as comparedwith some decades ago, couldhide new facets of a life lacking a truespiritual truth or sores of a contemporaryJob, run over by the steam-roller of theway of life alienated from God.Though one notices in the world thisalienation from God, the encounter withGod remains the secret of every soul.God himself knows his friends, his closeones in this world alienated from Him.To the ones close to Him, the need ofstaying by God is like the need of thevine-shoot to the grape-vine to live andbear fruit. For those who knew Godand then have gone astray, the need ofstaying next to Him is like the need ofthe prodigal son to return in hisFather’s arms and to the spiritualwarmth of the parental home. A for theLonging for Godby Abouna Dmitriones who did not know God, theChurch has this call: Come, we havefound the desired One. This call ismore than anything a call of love.In a tired, harassed or indifferentworld, where communication betweenpeople has become a mere exchange ofinformation or just an opportunity tosolve selfish interests, in a world alienatedfrom God, this call of the Churchis an invitation to love. The Church hasin fact the power to give to everyonejoining her, to everyone engrafted toher Body, the One who is Love itself.Through the sacramental mysteries,especially the Holy Eucharist, Loveitself, the Savior Jesus Christ, is givento all who freely accept the invitation.We want to assert here too that wewill not earn Love just by being sensitive,idealist or sentimental. With thesemental attitudes we will not go beyondthe limits of humanity. We will notreach what our heart secretly desires.We will deceive ourselves with theillusion of a love that cannot overcomedeath. That’s why Mother Church isgraciously calling us: the Love sheoffers through her sacramental mysterieshas overcome death and is given tous to overcome within us too and to fillup with the unending Love. †An Invitation to LoveWhy an Early Date of Pascha?Our calendars have always been marked by a confusion ofdays, planets and gods. Even today, our week begins with Sun’sDay, followed by the Moon’s Day and ending with Saturn’s Day.The month (think moonth) was originally based on the 29.5-dayperiod of the Moon, while the year is fixed by the Sun’s apparentmotion through the Zodiac. If your culture is centered on animals –fishing, hunting, shepherding – moonlight and tides will control yourlife and your calendar will follow the Moon. If you grow crops, thenseasons are more important, and a solar calendar makes more sense.The Jewish calendar is lunar; the civil calendar of Rome, setby Emperor Julius Caesar, is solar. The Catholic Church’s calendaris a holy match of both. Thus, most saints’ days are fixedinto the yearly calendar, like Christmas; but Pascha/Easter wasset by the Fathers of the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea (in theyear 325) as the first Sunday after Passover.By medieval times, our astronomy had advanced to the pointwhere it should have been possible to calculate when those lunarholy days would occur. But in practice, such calculations turnedout to be surprisingly difficult. By the sixteenth century, withChristianity spreading across the globe, it became all the moreurgent to find a simple, reliable way of letting everyone know wellahead of time when Pascha/Easter and its associated feasts were tobe celebrated.Caesar’s trick of leap years every fourth year was proving imprecise;after 1,500 years, the first day of spring had slid by ten days fromits canonical position of March 21st. Pope Gregory XIII (+1585) calendarcommittee settled on a simple and elegant solution. Instead oftrying to determine with perfect accuracy the Moon’s position andthe first day of spring, they devised a formula which closely followsthe “first Sunday after Passover” rubric. The earliest that Pascha/Eastercan fall is March 22nd; this occurs roughly once every two centuries.AMarch 23rd date, such as we have this year (2008), is a once-acenturyevent; the next one will be in the year 2160.One can only hope that an “official” date for Pascha/Easter bepermanently set in the Christian calendar, as it has been recommendedby the Consultation of Aleppo, Syria, in May of 1997.Winter 2008 • SOPHIA 25

Christian Unity RevisitedArchbishop Elias Zoghby’sVision of Christian Unityby Father James K. GrahamTThe works of recently-reposedArchbishop Elias Zoghby, formerPatriarchal Vicar in Egypt andSudan, and retired Metropolitan ofBaalbek, especially the essays collectedin AVoice from the Byzantine East 1 andthe monograph Tous Schismatiques? 2 ,provide a vision of Melkite ecclesiologysolidly based in the Eastern Tradition,representative of the thinking of theMelkite Fathers of Vatican II, and consistentwith contemporary Orthodoxecclesiological thought.Archbishop Elias bases his ecclesiologyin the first millennium of undivided,but diverse, Christianity. Duringthat period, he says, the Churchesfounded by the Apostles grew andevangelized the known world, developingliturgically, theologically, andecclesiologically according to the particularneeds of each geographical locationand also according to their uniquehistorical-cultural-political situations.Abasic agreement on the essential contentof the Christian faith, derived fromthe Scriptures and the teaching of Jesusand the disciples and their successors,and articulated for the universal Churchat the seven Ecumenical Councils, unitedall Christians, despite their widegeographic dispersal and their manydivergent local practices.The Great Schism of 1054 betweenRome and Constantinople came as theculmination of intensifying conflictbetween the two Churches, two cultures,and two political systems. The Councilsof Lyons (1274) and of Florence (1439)aimed at reuniting the separatedChurches, and despite the increasinglyinstitutionalized condition of schism,both councils bear witness to a consciousnessof some kind of continuing communion,for the bishops of both East andWest convened and voted. 3 This sense ofcommunion without administrative uniformity,at least tolerant of each other’sdifferences, but still agreeing on theessentials of the Christian faith, forms thefoundation of Archbishop Elias’ proposalfor reunion of the Catholic and OrthodoxChurches in our time.Even in Tous Schismatiques?, whichadvances his notorious plan for immediateintercommunion betweenthe Greek OrthodoxChurch of Antioch and itsseparated sister the MelkiteGreek Catholic Church,Archbishop Elias does notprovide more than an outlineof how the Catholic andOrthodox Churches shouldrealize their reunion. Let ussketch that outline.1) “The rapprochementbetween the Catholic and OrthodoxChurches requires a new formulationof the doctrine of Roman primacy. Thisformulation must be grounded in thecommon tradition of the first thousandyears of Christianity.” 42) “Only the union of Latins andOrthodox on the level of equality canbring together the apostolic tradition inits fullness and make Catholic unitycomplete… [Orthodoxy] must, therefore,share equally in the governmentof the reunited Church, just as must theLatin Church, under the primacy ofPeter, of course.” 53) The “East-West Christian dialogueshould be accompanied by an evengreater effort at the decentralizationthat was begun at the Second VaticanCouncil, and in the Orthodox Churchesit should accompany an effort ofextremely qualified centralizationaround Peter’s successor and in theframework of traditional collegiality.” 64) “All of the Churches ought to begoverned by their own bishops;Eastern Christians have never conceivedof Church government in anyother way… The pope and his colleaguesmust not be entrusted habituallyand normally with the governmentof all the Churches.” 75) The Pope cannot “exercise, normallyand habitually, in the EasternPatriarchates, the role he exercises inthe Latin Church in his capacity asPatriarch of the West.” 86) “In recalling, with theologiansand ecumenists, that the faith is essentiallythe same in the Roman Churchand in Orthodoxy, we understand thatdoctrine elaborated after the schism byone of the two unilaterally, that is, inPatriarch Bartholomew greets Pope Benedict as he entersCathedral of St. George in Turkey.the absence of the other, cannot be partof what is essential in this faith.” 97) Thus, doctrine and disciplinedefined at the General Councils of theWest after the Schism oblige only theLatin Church, and definitions made atOrthodox synods after the Schismoblige only the Orthodox Church. 108) “It is our understanding of Churchhistory and Tradition that the Church isto be governed by the bishops who arein communion with the Pope, but notexclusively by the Pope to the exclusionof the Episcopate.” 119) There can be no practical progresstoward resolution of the problem ofprimacy and reconciliation of theChurches “as long as the actual governmentof the Catholic Church has notbeen wholly and uncompromisinglytransferred from the hands of thisminority [the Roman Curia] to those ofthe pastoral Episcopate, the only agenttruly responsible for the Church ofJesus Christ.” 1210) In ruling his diocese of Romeand the dioceses of Italy whose metropolitanhe is, the Pope “ought to beassisted by his local clergy.” 1311) “The responsibilities of ruling theLatin Patriarchate of the West ought tobe assumed by the Latin episcopate ortheir delegates near the Holy RomanSee, assembled in Patriarchal Synodaround the pope in the exercise of hispowers as Patriarch of the West.” 1412) “Where the whole Church isconcerned, the responsibility for itsadministration ought to fall upon theuniversal Catholic episcopate (or therepresentatives commissioned bythem) to coordinate, under the worldwideprimacy of the Pope, the life and26 SOPHIA • Winter 2008

activities of the entire Church.” 1513) In order to make reunion withOrthodoxy possible, as well as to adaptto the free and democratic conditions ofthe modern world, the Roman Churchmust return to the synodal type ofChurch government that even it livedunder in the first Christian millennium.This means national or local church“government by genuine Bishops’Conferences with real power,” notmerely consultative or advisory bodies. 1614) Episcopal authority must be reaffirmedand restored because it comesdirectly from Jesus Christ Himself,who founded the Apostolic College inaccord with divine will. “Christ gavethe ‘presidency’ of the ApostolicCollege to Peter only after havingentrusted all the Apostles with a clearcut,well-defined mission. The leaderof the Apostles was designated, then,to be head of a College which hadalready been constituted, a Collegealready enjoying authentic and inalienablepowers.” The Pope is the firstbishop in the Church because he succeedsPeter, who was “a member ofthis College when he received the missionof strengthening his brethren.” 1715) The rights and privileges of thePatriarchs must be recognized, respected,and revitalized, for “the Patriarchateis the only genuine guardian of eachChurch’s patrimony and one of the onlychecks on the spread of heterodoxy.” 18In the Christian East, the Patriarchs arethe agents of the episcopate, membersof it and chosen by it. Archbishop Eliasquotes Archbishop Peter Medawar assaying that the patriarch is “the mosteminent guardian of the deposit of thefaith,” having “major responsibility forits true and integral diffusion… He isthe official spokesman of his Churchand of its peoples in all circumstances…In conformity with theancient law, the patriarchs have the rightand even the obligation to carry the burdenof governing the Universal Churchtogether with the Holy Father and to doso in a more outstanding and formalmanner than the other bishops.” 1916) The reinterpretation of the primacyof the Bishop of Rome should bebased on the Eastern understanding ofhis position as primus inter pares,which is sacramental rather than juridical.That is, the pope is first amongequals because he, the patriarchs, andall the bishops are equal by virtue ofsharing the fullness of priesthood,which is episcopacy. This understandingdoes not exclude the possibilitythat the pope, like the patriarchs, mayhave certain powers that other bishopsdo not have, 20 but these powers comefrom the rank of his see among the diocesesof Christendom, not from hispersonal succession to Peter, 21 and theyoriginate in canonical custom and legislation,not in divine institution oressential doctrine of the faith. 2217) Referring to the Third Canon ofthe Second Ecumenical Council,Archbishop Elias writes that “if the roleof the Church of New Rome entails averitable responsibility, witness, anddiakonia in the service of the unity ofOrthodoxy, one cannot be dealing simplywith primacy of honor or precedencewhen one speaks of the Bishopof Rome, recognized by Orthodoxy asthe first among all bishops.” 2318) In the reunited Church, the primacyof the Bishop of Rome, so extensivelyelaborated by the Latin Church,would complement local autonomousepiscopal collegiality, so zealouslysafeguarded by the Orthodox Churches.Excessive decentralization, the strengththat has considerably weakened theOrthodox, would counteract excessivecentralization, the weakness that hasinordinately strengthened Rome. 2419) “Thus we would say that theserights reserved to the Bishop of Romemust be defined by mutual agreementof the Roman and Orthodox Churches.Since this matter must not in any waybecome a part of the essential depositof faith required for canonical communion,it must be settled by thereunited Churches.” 25 This statement,of course, reflects Archbishop Elias’conviction that the shared faith of thefirst millennium suffices for restorationof communion.20) In fact, he says, “it is easier toagree on what concerns God than onwhat concerns men, knowing churchmenand their powers and privileges…Reaching accord on doctrine will beeasy once we reach accord on the divisionof powers.” 2621) In matters of doctrine, the sharedfaith of the first millennium suffices;everything else is different non-essentialformulations and elaborations ofthe same essential truths. And, sincedoctrinal formulations can never fullyexpress the truth of what we believe,much less the truth of the Mystery ofGod, it is wiser to avoid dogmatic definitionsas far as possible. “If one isobliged to do so—which should be veryinfrequently after the stabilization ofthe depositum fidei—one should do sowith Christian modesty, and without apriori exclusion of other formulationsthat could be equally legitimate andmaybe even more adequate… .Revealed truth can be formulated indifferent ways and in different contexts.Factors such as cultural, historical, andother situations can influence these formulationswithout changing the Truth,which always remains the same.” 2722) Just as differences in doctrinalexpression need not stand in the way ofcommunion, so also differences inecclesiology can be accommodated.“Until the 11th century, Rome andOrthodoxy each had its unique ecclesiology,at least germinally, and unitywas not broken. One can conceive ofthese two different ecclesiologies in theChurch without questioning the Faithand without altering communion.” 2823) We can even regard these differencesas necessary for the wholeness ofthe Church, because “the CatholicChurch, that is the Universal Church,can only consist of the Roman Churchand the Orthodox Church reunited, sinceneither of them can claim to possess thewhole Christian patrimony, spiritual,ascetical, liturgical, patristic, or doctrinal.”29 The wholeness of the Church islegitimate diversity in essential unity.24) Archbishop Elias conceives ofChurch unity in terms of East and West,and favors preservation and developementof the legitimate diversity of worshipforms, theological expression, andchurch governance suited to peoplesand countries. Jesus Christ is incarnatedin each race, and each race showsforth in its own way the image and likenessof God. Thus, its expression ofChristianity must be locally developed,not imported. 30 In this context, he seemsto regard the re-entrance into Catholiccommunion by the churches of theReformation and their descendants as amatter for the Western Church to dealwith. 31 However, as expressions oflegitimate diversity they figure in hislarger vision of Christian unity: “noChurch or group of believers howeverhumble it may be, should be compelledto accept union by assimilation or disappearance…Indeed, we envision thetrue unity of the distant future toinclude several different rites in whichalmost everyone can find a home: anAnglican Catholic rite, a PresbyterianCatholic rite, perhaps even a JewishCatholic rite, and many, many more;with some of them containing evensmaller subdivisions.” 32Continued on page 28Christian Unity RevisitedWinter 2008 • SOPHIA 27

Christian Unity RevisitedVision of Christian Unity Continued from page 2725) Therefore, achieving the reunionof the Christian Church requires dedicated,humble, sacrificial effort on thepart of all Christians, who should feelthe pain of separation and who sufferfrom, as well as sometimes contributeto, its sinfulness. 33 However, theChurch of Rome, since it is the head ofthe Churches, bears special responsibilityfor healing schism and restoringunity. This is its God-given mandate;this is the proper exercise of its primacy.34 Fulfilling this role will requiremajor changes in Roman self-understanding,a process begun at Vatican II,accompanied by fundamental changesin Roman dealings with otherChristians, for “every attempt at unitycentered in a pyramidal Church, builtaround an absolute juridical authority,and founded on submission to thePope, instead of on co-responsibilitywith the older brother who is in Rome,would be doomed to failure.” 35However we may respond to thisvision of Church unity – and as an idealit has great appeal – our task here is todiscover in it resources for fulfilling theecumenical vocation of the MelkiteGreek Catholic Church, if we can. Letus begin, as we must, by flatly calling ita fantasy that ignores most of the secularand ecclesiastical history of theChristian age. Yes, the Churches shouldre-unite on the basis of the commonfaith of the first millennium, shouldaccept legitimate diversity in worshipand doctrine and discipline, and shouldgovern themselves synodally under thebenign primacy of the Bishop of Rome,first among equals, presiding in theservice of charity. But at this time, andfor the foreseeable future, such reunionseems at best highly improbable.Nationalism, pluralism, colonialism,imperialism, and dogmatization of localcustoms and theological opinions contributeto the unlikelihood of reunion onthese terms, as do centuries of carefullynurtured misunderstandings and evenenmities. If the Churches truly hope oneday to achieve reunion, they must strivediligently to resolve these misunderstandingsand to heal these enmities, notsimply at the level of international theologicaldialogue, not even at the level ofthe hierarchy or of clerical formation,but at every level of church life.Agreement on theology by theologianshas no meaning until the parishionersin church on Sunday can affirm itand apply it in their daily dealings withother Christians. As long as Catholicsdefine themselves essentially as being“under the Pope,” and as long asOrthodox define themselves essentiallyas not being “under the Pope,” bothsides ignorant not only of others’ faithbut of their own, theological dialoguewill remain so much wasted breath andreunion will remain a beautiful fantasy.What, then, can Melkites learn fromArchbishop Elias’ vision? They can, andshould, recognize its basic validity – itexpresses our authentic understanding ofthe Church. It should be taught and nurturedin church schools, in homilies, inadult education classes, in regional andnational clergy-laity conventions, indeacon training programs, in seminarycurricula, in continuing education ofclergy, in the Patriarchal Synod. Itshould become intimately and integrallypart of the meaning of “Melkite.”As this happens, we must also shareour conviction that this vision authenticallypoints the way to human achievementof God’s will that His peopleshould be one with Him. Such sharingwill involve more than words – thoughwords, written in church bulletins, pastoralletters, episcopal statements, ecumenicaldocuments, educational materials,popular magazines, and scholarlyjournals, will carry great weight.Such sharing will involve actingaccording to our belief – individuals,families, parishes, dioceses, the entirepatriarchate must seek cooperationwith fellow Christians, repudiate inauthenticforms of worship and teachingand governance, and do whateverexpresses our authentic vision: ordainmarried men, expunge latinizations,elect our own bishops, restore truemonasticism, and adapt our heritage ofHoly Tradition to the demands of life inthe secular, pluralistic, technological,God-hungry world of the 21st century.Often people contribute to makingthemselves invalids. They completelyaccept limitations placed upon them bycircumstances or accidents, even furtherhandicapping themselves by not daringto try actions that will challenge thembut will not defeat them. Such peoplemake themselves victims. They callthemselves realistic. In effect, they denyGod’s will and power. They defy God toheal them, without making any attemptto cooperate in their own healing.Other people make every effort toovercome their handicaps or limitations.They constantly strive to reachfarther or to walk longer or to standlonger by themselves. Such peoplemake themselves victors. Others callthem idealistic, but they too call themselvesrealistic. Consciously or not,they acknowledge God’s healing powerand His willingness to cooperate withus when we try to cooperate with Him.Melkites (and, indeed, all Christians)must stop acting like invalids, victimsof circumstances and dependent onwhat others do to or for us. We cannotbe like the paralytic, lying by the poolfor 38 years waiting for someone to puthim in the water. We must be likeZacchaeus, willing to climb up a tree –perhaps even to go out on a limb – toovercome our limitations. The Lordwill recognize us, reward our efforts,and bring salvation to our house. †Father James K. Graham is the pastor of St.Elias the Prophet Melkite Church, San Jose, CA.1 Archbishop Elias Zoghby, A Voice from theByzantine East, trans. R. Bernard (West Newton,MA: Diocese of Newton Office of EducationalServices, 1992; original French edition, 1970).2 Archbishop Elias Zoghby, Tous Schismatiques?(Beirut: Heidelberg Press-Lebanon, 1981). AnEnglish translation is available from theD i o c e s eof Newton Office of Educational Services.Citations in this essay are based on that translation,revised by James K. Graham. Page numbe r srefer to the French edition.3 Zoghby, Schismatiques, p. 39.4 Zoghby, Voice, p. 71.5 Zoghby, Voice, p. 56.6 Zoghby, Voice, p. 57.7 Zoghby, Voice, p. 69.8 Zoghby, Voice, p. 70.9 Zoghby, Schismatiques, p. 51.10 Zoghby, Schismatiques, p. 51.11 Zoghby, Voice, p. 75.12 Zoghby, Voice, p. 74.13 Zoghby, Voice, p. 110.14 Zoghby, Voice, pp. 110-111.15 Zoghby, Voice, p. 111.16 Zoghby, Voice, pp. 144-145.17 Zoghby, Voice, p. 83.18 Zoghby, Voice, p. 104.19 Zoghby, Voice, p. 118.20 Zoghby, Schismatiques, p. 47.21 Zoghby, Schismatiques, p. 59.22 Zoghby, Schismatiques, p. 47.23 Zoghby, Schismatiques, p. 48.24 Zoghby, Voice, pp. 56-57.25 Zoghby, Schismatiques, p. 47.26 Zoghby, Schismatiques, p. 109.27 Zoghby, Schismatiques, p. 17.28 Zoghby, Schismatiques, p. 29.29 Zoghby, Schismatiques, p. 14.30 Zoghby, Schismatiques, p. 63.31 Zoghby, Voice, p. 86.32 Zoghby, Voice, p. 104.28 SOPHIA • Winter 2008

Winter 2008 • SOPHIA 29

Melkite Saints and FathersSaint Cyril of Jerusalem:Catechism and Christian Faithby David BertainaTThis issue of Sophia is dedicatedto the time of Holy Week andPascha. As I scanned our festalcalendar for a saint to write about, myeyes were immediately drawn to 18March. Since I was looking for a saintconnected to the Holy Land during thetime of Pascha, I thought that no saintcould fit the need better than SaintCyril of Jerusalem. Why is Cyril appropriatefor now? Cyril was the Bishop ofJerusalem and in charge of educatingall of the catechumens as they preparedfor baptism, chrismation and Eucharistat Pascha. Even better, we have hiswritings which teach us a lot about histheology. But Cyril’s life is much morethan the life of a theology teacher.Cyril lived from about AD 315-386.He died on 18 March 386, which iswhy his feast is celebrated on this day.Not much is known about Cyril’syouth, but we can assume that he wasprobably born in Palestine at CaesareaMaritima and he must have been anintelligent thinker who was noticed byChristian leaders. He decided tobecome a deacon at Jerusalem and wasordained by Macarius, the Bishop ofJerusalem, in AD 335. About ten yearslater at the age of about thirty, Cyrilbecame a priest at the hands of the newbishop Maximus. While he always supportedpeace and reconciliation amongChristians, he was vocally critical ofArianism. For this, Cyril was sent awayto exile in Parsus, as his metropolitan,Acacius, favored Arianism, and wasalsojealous of Cyril due to the fact thatCyril See of Jerusalem was promoted inhonor at the Council of Nicea, The followingyear he returned, but again wassent into exile the next year. Finally hewas able to remain in Jerusalem asbishop from AD 367 until his death inAD 386. One of the most importantevents he participated in during thisperiod of his life was the Council ofConstantinople (381) which confirmedthe acceptance of the term homooussiosfor describing the status of Jesus Christ.During his time as the Bishop ofJerusalem, Cyril instructed thousandsof catechumens in the Christian life asthey went through Lent and receivedBaptism, Chrismation and Eucharist atthe Church of the Resurrection (HolySepulchre in the west). Cyril taughtthat the day of resurrection was alreadyprefigured by God in the coming of thespring: “At what season does theSavior rise?…Our Salvation then tookplace when the flowers appeared, andthe pruning has come. A garden wasthe place of His Burial, and a vine thatwhich was planted there, and He said,‘I am the vine!’”We know most about Cyril throughhis writings that have come down tous. Cyril wrote down his CatecheticalLectures, which were the talks he gaveto people preparing for baptism. Wealso have the MystagogicalCatecheses, in which Cyril instructsthe newly baptized Christians aboutthe meaning of the Creed, theEucharist and other Christian doctrines.Apparently his teachings havebeen popular enough today that peoplehave made audio books of his lectures(http://audiofreemp3books.com/authors/st-cyril-of-jerusalem.html). You cannow listen to Cyril on your iPod!There are twenty-three catecheticallectures which Cyril probably gavewhile he was still a priest in 348. In hisvery first words, Cyril encourages thecatechumens to confess Christ in theirheart and their actions with severalcitations from Holy Scripture:“Disciples of the New Testamentand partakers of the mysteries of Christ,as yet by calling only, but before long bygrace also, make you a new heart and anew spirit (Ezekiel 18:31), that theremay be gladness among the inhabitantsof heaven: for if over one sinner thatrepents there is joy, according to theGospel (Luke 15:7), how much moreshall the salvation of so many soulsmove the inhabitants of heaven to gladness.As you have entered upon a goodand most glorious path, run with reverencethe race of godliness. For the OnlybegottenSon of God is present here mostready to redeem you, saying, Come untoMe all that labour and are heavy laden,and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)You that are clothed with the rough garmentof your offences, who are boundwith the cords of your own sins, hear thevoice of the Prophet saying, Wash you,make you clean, put away your iniquitiesfrom before My eyes (Isaiah 1:16): thatthe choir of Angels may chant over you,Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven,and whose sins are covered. Youwho have just lighted the torches of faith,guard them carefully in your handsunquenched; that He, who openedParadise to the robber on account of hisfaith on this all-holy Golgotha, may grantto you to sing the bridal song.”As you can see above, Cyril’s lifewas permeated with the HolyScriptures, and his Christ-centered spiritualityis worthy of emulation today.As Christians celebrating the resurrectionof our Lord God and Savior JesusChrist, we should recall Cyril’s lecturesand rededicate our lives to Christ just asthe catechumens did in Jerusalem sixteenhundred years ago and just as catechumensdo today in our churches. Weare always in need of instruction – concerningthe Holy Scriptures, concerningour Divine Liturgy, and concerningthe meaning of our Melkite Christianfaith. Saint Cyril of Jerusalem providesus with a wonderful opportunity torediscover and deepen our faith. Youcan take advantage of this by reading orlistening to his catechetical lectures,which are available for your readingpleasure at: http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3101.htm.As Saint Cyril of Jerusalem and allChristians remind us: Christ is Risen!Al-Masihu Qam! †Dr. David Bertaina is Assistant Professor ofHistory at the University of Illinois at Springfield.30 SOPHIA • Winter 2008

The Holy Grail of Reprogramming:ANew Era forStem Cells?The following article was first publishedin Making Sense Out of BioethicsColumn #030 on December 1, 2007. It isbeing reprinted with permission.TThe recent discovery that regularold garden-variety skin cells canbe converted into highly flexible(pluripotent) stem cells has rocked thescientific world. Two papers, one by aJapanese group, and another by anAmerican group, have announced agenetic technique that produces stemcells without destroying (or using) anyhuman embryos. In other words, thekind of stem cell usually obtained bydestroying embryos appears to beavailable another way. All that isrequired is to transfer four genes intothe skin cells, triggering them to convertinto pluripotent stem cells. It hasbeen called “biological alchemy,”something like turning lead into gold.Many are hailing “cellular reprogramming”as a breakthrough of epic proportions,the stuff that Nobel prizes aremade of, a kind of Holy Grail in biomedicalresearch.As important as this advance mayprove to be scientifically, it may beeven more important to the ethical discussion.It offers a possible solution toa longstanding ethical impasse and aunique opportunity to declare a pause,maybe even a truce in the stem cellwars, given that the source of thesecells is ethically pristine and uncomplicated.As one stem cell researcher putit recently, if the new method producesequally potent cells, as it has been toutedto do, “the whole field is going tocompletely change. People working onethics will have to find something newto worry about.” Thus, science itselfmay have devised a clever way to healthe wound it opened back in 1998when human embryos began to besought out and destroyed for their stemcells. Dr. James Thomson (whose 1998work ignited the controversy, and whoalso published one of the new breakthroughpapers) acknowledged justsuch a possibility in comments toreporters: “Ten years of turmoil andnow this nice ending.” Whether thisnice ending will actually play outby Fr. Tad Pacholczykremains to be seen, but a discovery ofthis magnitude, coupled with a strongethical vision, certainly has the potentialto move us beyond the contentiousmoral quagmire of destroying humanembryos.Change never comes easily, however,and before we can really change, weneed to see the reasons why we shouldchange. Each of us is, incredibly, anembryo who has grown up. This biologicalfact stares researchers in theface every time they choose to “disaggregate”a human embryo with theirown bare hands. It makes manyresearchers edgy, touching them onsome deeper level of their being. Itmakes many Americans queasy andeager to find alternatives. Dr.Thomson, who has overseen thedestruction of numerous embryonichumans himself, had the honesty toacknowledge this fact in comments hemade to the New York Times recently:“If human embryonic stem cellresearch does not make you at least alittle bit uncomfortable, you have notthought about it enough.”Reprogramming eliminates these ethicalconcerns even as it offers a highlypractical and straightforward techniquefor obtaining pluripotent stem cells. AsDr. Thomson himselfput it, “Any basicmicrobiology lab can doit, and it’s cheap andquick.” Reprogrammingis also important becauseit provides analternative approach to“therapeutic cloning,” acomplex and immoral procedureused to obtain patient-specificstem cells. Reprogrammingprovides patient-specific stem cells aswell, but without using women’s eggs,without killing embryos, and withoutcrossing moral lines.The sheer practicality of thenew reprogramming approach,coupled with its ethical advantages,really make it a nobrainer.Yet despite all theseadvantages, a number ofvoices can be heard arguingthat the bio-industrial-complexemerging around destructivehuman embryo research must besafeguarded and expanded. There areat least three reasons for this.First, the financial investment thathas already been made in this arena issignificant, especially considering certainstate initiatives like Proposition 71in California which devote large sumsof state taxpayer money to pursueresearch that depends on humanembryo destruction. Once large sumsof money are involved, ethics oftenbecomes the first casualty.Second, some of the scientists whoadvocate the destruction of humanembryos have never really taken themoral concerns very seriously becausethe creed they subscribe to is the socalled“scientific imperative,” namely,that science must go forward, as if itwere the highest good. It must be ableto do whatever it wants, wherever itwants, whenever it wants, and nobodyshould be pushing ethical viewpointsto limit what researchers do. That, ofcourse, is a completely untenable positionbecause we regulate what scientistsdo all the time. The very mechanismby which we disperse federalmoney puts all kinds of checks andbalances on what researchers can doContinued on page 32Making Sense out of BioethicsWinter 2008 • SOPHIA 31

Making Sense out of BioethicsThe Holy Grail of Reprogramming Continued from page 31and there are certain types of researchlike germ warfare studies or nuclearbomb development that the governmentstrictly regulates already. Otherkinds of research are criminal, such asperforming medical experiments onpatients who don’t give their consent.The idea that we have to allow scienceto do whatever it wants is little morethan “pie-in-the-sky” wishful thinking.The third reason embryo destructiveresearch will still likely be promotedhas to do with abortion. Several astutecommentators have noted recently howthe whole field of embryonic stem cellresearch seems to serve as a kind of“hedge” for abortion. In the same waythat a garden gets a hedge placedaround it in order to protect it, embryonicstem cells are becoming a placeholder for abortion. If embryo killingbecomes incorporated into the way wecure illnesses and maintain our healthas a society, then abortion on demandwill be more likely to curry flavor inour culture as well. If those trying toprotect embryos carry the day, proabortionistsfear that the same ethicalarguments will prevail against abortion.Several factors will therefore influencehow this major new stem cell discoveryplays out in the future. Onething is clear, however: those renegaderesearchers, lawmakers and Hollywoodpersonalities who have long dismissedethical concerns and advocated humanembryo destruction now find themselvesat an important juncture becauseof this breakthrough. We can only hopethat in the wake of this discovery, thesiren call of harvesting human embryoswill cease ringing in their ears andallow for a new era of ethical science inour society. †Fr. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, Ph.D. earned hisdoctorate in neuroscience from Yale and didpost-doctoral work at Harvard. He is a priest ofthe diocese of Fall River, MA, and serves as theDirector of Education at The National CatholicBioethics Center in Philadelphia. For more infosee www.ncbcenter.orgNew CD Presents theMusic of the DivineLiturgy in Englishfor Congregations andIndividuals to LearnHave you or your congregation or your choir wanted tolearn how to sing the Divine Liturgy in English, but foundit difficult because people can’t read music? Have you foundit hard to fit the English words to the familiar chant melodies?Anew CD has just been released to help people learnthe songs of the Liturgy and the special hymns for feastdays in English.It is Time for the Lord to Act Music of the Melkite Greek-Catholic Divine Liturgy was chanted by Father Justin Roseand recorded by Joel Davel in St. Elias the Prophet MelkiteChurch in San Jose, CA, on January 2, 2008.The 70 tracks on this CD are sung according to the standardmusic of the Eparchy of Newton found in The MelkiteHymnal of Archimandrite Cyril Haddad (1975) and otherapproved sources. The tracks are arranged so that all themusic for a Sunday or feast is together for easy learningand rehearsal.The selections include the simple and formal Lord havemercy responses, as well as those for Great Lent; the variousrefrains for the Antiphons; Only Begotten Son; theEisodika (Little Entrance hymns) for Sundays and feasts; theusual and Lenten Kontakia; the Trisagion for ordinarySundays, great feasts, and feasts of the Holy Cross; theGospel Alleluia; two versions of the Cherubikon; two versionsof the Hirmos of the Liturgy of St John Chrysostom,the Hirmos of the Liturgy of St Basil, and Hirmoi for thegreat feasts; the Koinonikon for Sunday and for feasts; andthe hymns and responses for the beginning of the Anaphoraand before and after Communion.The Troparia, litany responses, Memory Eternal, andKontakion of the Dead for the Memorial Service arealso included.As on Father Justin’s previous CD featuring the music ofthe Eight Tones, this CD makes the essential music of ourChurch available at a reasonable cost in the latest technology,sung by a native speaker of English who has longfamiliarity and extensive experience with the music. Theseare not concert performances, but practical examples ofmusic in its place in worship.Copies of this new CD, It is Time for the Lord to Act, andfrom the first CD, Lord to You I Call, featuring music forEvening Prayer, Feast day Troparia and Kontakia, are availablefor $15 each, including shipping, from Fr. Justin Rose,St. Philip Mission, 923 West Congress Street, SanBernardino, CA 92410. For more information, email Fr.Justin at abounajustin@earthlink.net.32 SOPHIA • Winter 2008

MMost of us grow up beingexposed to a variety ofChristian Traditions. PrayingGod asking Him to fulfill one of ourwishes arises from these traditions andfrom His promise: “Ask and you shallbe given.” (Matt. 7:7) One tradition Igrew up experiencing almost on a dailybasis is praying St. Anthony askingSt. Anthony Charity: A Reaching Outto the Youth and the Lost Soulshim to help me find a lostobject. Lately, however, Ibegan to think how great itwould be if St. Anthonycan help me save a lostsoul; even better what if hecan help me prevent theloss of a soul by reachingout to the Youth. This ideainspired me to initiate aCharity group asking St.Anthony’s help in reachingout to the Youth and theLost Souls.How can such a task beachieved? The answer isvery simple:Throughout the year Irefrain from eating meat onWednesdays and Fridays.If I translate that into dollarvalue, I will be savingroughly $1.00 a day, or$104.00 a year. If I add theperiod of forty-day Lent, Iwill end up accumulatingaround $150.00/year. Sincethe saved money is theproduct of sacrifice andprayers, it does not belong to me anymorebut rather to help the poor. If only10 people join this program $1500.00 ayear can be raised easily to help theCharity’s mission.One can help the poor with food supply,but that does not really fulfill alltheir needs for Jesus said: “One doesnot only survive with bread but alsoby Subdeacon Tony Kabbanewith every word of God.” (Matt. 4:4)Therefore, I decided to donate HolyBibles to the prisoner inmates and distributeCatechism books to HighSchool students.Why High School students you mightask? Due to a recent dialogue with acolleague at work, I found out that hisson, a High School dropped out student,got into trouble with the lawthrough drugs and ended up in jail. Lastweek, this young man chose a rehabilitationplan for nine month and startedgetting help thanks to God’s grace, Fr.Saba Shofany’s prayers and mine, and aHoly Bible I offered him then he startedreading only 3 months ago.Jesus gave us the parable of the goodShepherd who left the 99 sheep unattendedin order to save one lost sheep. (Cf.Matt 18:12-14) He did it not only out oflove but also to inspire us to copy him.Let’s see ourselves as the 99 unattendedgood sheep willing to copy thegood Shepherd. Imagine what we cando if we turn around looking for lostsheep in order to save their souls withthe help of the good Word of God. Wecan hopefully transform the earth makinga lost soul a task hard to find.For more info on how to be part of thismission and help in transforming theworld by saving one soul at a time, pleasee-mail: tonykabbane@Yahoo.com †Subdeacon Tony Kabbane serves St. JacobMission in San Diego, CAA Simple But Bright IdeaThankTHANK YOUYou!On December 13, 2007, the Diocese of Newton received a check in theamount of $1,308.48 from CNEWA. This very generous contribution, from theRev. Allen Maloof Endowment, is used to support Sophia Magazine.We are very grateful for their generosity.Winter 2008 • SOPHIA 33

A Monastic LifeRenew a Steadfast SpiritWithin Meby Marshall Toufic RoseTThere are six eastern catholicmonasteries in the United States.One of them, Our Lady ofSolitude Cloister and Retreat, is in theEparchy of Newton. In May 2007, I visitedthe Cloister as an observer betweenthe feasts of Ascension and Pentecost.The Cloister is located on a forty acrefarm in the “Endless Mountain” sectionof northern Pennsylvania.The life as practiced by the monasticcommunity focuses on public and privateprayer and on simplicity of living. Eachday there are five public services (DivineLiturgy and the Hours). The communitysupports itself by operating a farm makinggoat-based dairy products, and a giftshop with imported icons, books, prayerropes, CDs, and DVDs, etc. In additionto the Cloister, there is a retreat facilityallowing individuals and families to partakein the prayerful life lived by themonks. Finally, the monks provide outreachin their rural setting, instructingcatechumens, and assisting all who cometheir way.The monastic community is a relativelyyoung one, established in AD 2000.Manual labor focuses both on supportingthe community (farm chores) andrenovating the existing structures. Thisadds a second “mission” for the community:a pioneering spirit!The Monastic HorologionTo understand the life at Our Lady ofSolitude Cloister and Retreat, one mustlook at the Daily schedule:Sun Mon-Sat Activity7:30am 7:00am First Hour withMagnification of theTheotokos followedby Third Hour(Sunday only)9:00am 9:00am Great and GrandSilence ends10:30am 9:00am Divine and HolyLiturgy followed bySixth Hour(except Sunday)12:00pm 12:00pm Dinner followedby rest1:30pm Assigned work(except Sunday)5:00pm 4:30pm Farm work34 SOPHIA • Winter 20086:30pm 6:30pm7:45pm 7:45pm9:00pm 9:00pmVespersSupperCompline Great andGrand Silence beginsI arrive at the Retreat House on aFriday evening at about 6:15pm. Aftera quick blessing from the Superior,Hieromonk Angelus, I'm given aPsalter, a volume of the Pentacostarian,the May volume of the Menaion, and aHorologion. At this point, the RetreatMaster, Father Gabriel, rings the bellindicating that Vespers is about tobegin, and we proceed upstairs to theChapel of St. Benedict.During Vespers and the “little” Hours,there are extended readings from thePsalms – the Kathisma. For the first fewdays, the monks chant these by themselves.Then, they ask me to participate.As I read some of the verses, I catch occasionalglimpses of the monks slightlywincing – as they have never heard someonewith such a profound lack of tonalquality and complete lack of cadence.(During Lent, Reader Fred at St. Georgevolunteered to teach me how to chant, butI declined his offer. Note to self: the nexttime Reader Fred makes such an offer,accept.) Nonetheless, each evening weeagerly sing the Phos Hilaron (“Oh,Joyful Light …”).After Vespers, it is time for supper. Afterthe blessing, Father Gabriel begins readingfrom Scripture. (During my time at theCloister, the readings were from the bookof Leviticus concerning the preparation ofthe sacrifices on the altar. Listening to theverses, I couldn't help but think about the“bloodless sacrifice” offered for us byChrist.) When the Superior rings the bell,we hear the reading from The GreatHorologion concerning the feast or saintof the new day, and begin to eat. Finally,there is a reading from a spiritual work.On days in which meat is allowed, nored meat, only chicken, may be eaten.The monks do not drink wine, but ondays in which wine would be allowed,they drink goat milk. With respect to themonastic diet, owing to the small size ofthe community an oikonomia (“economy”)is in effect: since meals are madewith the farm goods produced by themonks, the monks' diet is heavy in dairyproducts: eggs, goat milk products(cheese, puddings, and so on) – I recommendthe pistachio goat milk pudding.The farm also produces honey and maplesyrup, so these feature prominently in thediet as well. (Because the monks labor onthe farm with machinery, there is a secondoikonomia in effect: hair and beardsare kept trimmed.)I am assigned the “Penthouse cell” inthe Retreat House, but a more accuratetitle might be “Attic cell”. (Actually, youclimb through the attic to get to the cell.)The cell gives a good approximation ofboth a simple and pioneering lifestyle: thecell is 7' by 14' with an angled ceilingranging from 7' at its height to 4' at theedges. The floor is unfinished particleboard and the walls are unfinished wood.There isn't a cabinet; instead, there are sixhooks in the wall to hang clothes. There isa stool, a desk with a lamp, a bookshelf,and a nightstand with an oil lamp. Thereis a 6'-long cot beneath a beautiful iconiccrucifix. There are also two lovely icons:above the window, an icon of theTransfiguration, and, on the nightstand, atriptych icon featuring the Theotokos,Deisis, and an Archangel. I'm happy tosay that at no time did i mourn the lack ofa telephone, television, radio, or Internetconnection. This speaks to the power ofthe monks' vision of a simple lifestyle.After unpacking, the bell rings forCompline. At the end of the Office, theSuperior gives a final blessing and theGreat and Grand Silence begins. I nowhave time to contemplate the readingsfor tomorrow's Liturgy before sayingmy bedtime prayers in blessed silence!The next morning, we begin withFirst Hour and Magnification of theTheotokos. I have found that living in“the world” there is never enough timeto prepare for the Divine Liturgy. Thereare always distractions both the nightand morning before. Not so at theCloister. After First Hour, I have timeto study the readings for the Liturgy,and say all of the preparatory prayersin the Holy Things for the Holy!

prayerbook. Most days, I say theprayers standing in front of a large iconof the Pantocrator which stands outsidethe retreat house. As I face east, the risingsun begins to scale the treetopsbehind the icon stand. I am amazedthat there is enough chronos at theCloister to enter into kairos, becauseback in “the world” there is neverenough chronos, never.Now Great and Grand Silence endsand we leave for the Chapel of the HolyCross. The building was formerly achicken coup, but now only the Chapel'sexterior suggests that. Inside, it isadorned with a magnificent iconostasisand icons throughout. The iconostasisitself was built using a sculptor's mesh,painted gold, and then backed with curtainsin the appropriate festal color. Onthe iconostasis alone, there are icons ofthe Evangelists, the Annunciation, andlarge, beautiful icons of the Theotokosand Christ. Behind the Altar, there arelarge icons of the Great Theologians.At present, Holy Cross Chapel is usedfor Sunday and Feastday Liturgies andFeastday Vespers, so that the LayFaithful can attend without intruding onthe solitude of the Cloister or Retreat. Onthe day before Pentecost, Saturday of theDead, we decorate the chapel extensively(green curtains backing the iconostasis,green plants in front, and on the standholding the feastday icon. We leave thedoor open during the Memorial service,to be surrounded by the sights andsounds of creation. Finally, the Superiorblesses the five loaves, wheat, wine, andoil, and they are distributed.LaborThere are two periods of labor: assignedand farm work. The Retreat House isnearly renovated so the work here is usuallymaintenance (cleaning and yardwork). The community does notemploy a professional cleaning orcooking staff, although sometimes theLay Faithful will stop by to lend a handand donate supplies or professionalservices. For example, a local residentacts as beekeeper.I have arrived during an exciting time atthe farm. The new barn extension hasrecently been completed by an Amishcontractor, and now houses goats andchickens. The quality of the work is good,but the Amish do not raise goats; as such,a few days of experience has illustratedsome design issues in the barn. I helpFather Gabriel correct these flaws, makingthe pens “goat resistant” (“goat proof”pens are infeasible – during my stay I sawa goat hurdle a 4' wall with a standingjump). In terms of farm operations, I amessentially unskilled labor: I change thewater, distribute hay, and collect eggs.The Retreat and The Lay FaithfulThe cabin of the Holy & Just St.Joseph is a rustic two-story cabin onthe retreat property, next to a large outdooricon of the Theotokos. Typically,retreatants are married couples andfamilies, although during my visit, twoFranciscan friars were on retreat.Retreatants sleep, bathe, and taketheir meals in the cabin, but are encouragedto participate fully in publicprayer with the monks. This is themonastic community's primary goal inoffering a retreat facility: those living in“the world” have tremendous difficultyin finding the time and minimizing thedistractions to allow for prayerful life:hence the Retreat.Within the rural community, approximatelyhalf-a-dozen families attendSunday Liturgy and Feastday Vespers.Under the guidance of the monks, thefamilies hold a regular cenacle forprayer. The monks do not participatedirectly in the cenacle; instead, theSuperior presented the families with abeautiful icon of Our Lady of theRosary, written by a Ukrainian iconographer(surrounding the Theotokos are20 small images of the mysteries), tobe venerated during the cenacle.The monks also instruct catechumens.At present about half-a-dozen adults arebeing formed. The two-volume TheIncarnate God series is used. These booksteach by focusing on the liturgical year,icons, scriptural readings, and hymns.The CloisterNow that the farm is completed, planninghas begun for the renovation ofthe Cloister. (In fairness, the term “renovation”is inaccurate since the currentCloister is actually a farmhouse.) Theplans allow the Cloister to house halfa-dozenmonks in their own cells, andincludes a farm kitchen, expanded giftshop, a large chapel, and a completeenclosure for the monks while stillallowing visitors access to the “public”portions of the property.Life at Our Lady of Solitude is verymuch a pioneer activity: because of thenewness of the community and ongoingconstruction, many tasks have a “justin-time”quality about them. However,as the community matures, and as constructionfinishes, there will be moretime for both public and private prayer.After two weeks, it is time for me toreturn to “the world” and I find myselfnot caring what has happened into myabsence — mobile phones don't workat the Cloister. (The telephone at theCloister and the Retreat are located inan office at the far end of each property,and most calls go to the answeringmachine.) In fact, I am dismayed thinkingthat, once I depart, I will no longerbe able to find the time needed to contemplatebefore the Divine Liturgy.For more information on Our Ladyof Solitude Cloister and Retreat, pleasecontact the Superior, HieromonkAngelus at 570/395-0234. If you areinterested in either or a retreat orexploring a monastic vocation, I inviteyou to come and see. The monks offerboth experiences, and it is a brilliantjuxtaposition. For myself, I look forwardto my next observer visit this fall.Create in me a pure heart, O God,and renew a steadfast spirit within me.(Psalms 51:10) †A Monastic LifeMarshall Toufic Rose, a parishioner of St. Georgein Sacramento, CA, contributed the above articleWinter 2008 • SOPHIA 35

My TurnCulture, the Catholic Church andHomosexuality – Where is the Ambivalence?ner” or “love sin and embrace the sinner.”It prefers to “love the sin” since itconceives opposition to this view as“hating the sin and hating the sinner.”It exalts diversity and equality of opinionand the supremacy of dialogue; andit believes that opinions are valid onlyto the extent that opposing views areadmitted to have equal value. Sincecommitting to objective truth wouldbelie the equal value of all opinions,standing ground for one’s principles isoften anathema. No one must claim tohave ultimate truth (Jn 18:38) becausetruth itself must be defined as a relativeand changeable commodity.Yet, the Church claims to upholdobjective truth about God and this alonehas serious consequences. But theChurch also denies the simplistic dichotomybetween loving the sin and the sinnerversus hating the sin and the sinner. Thesolidarity of all humans as children ofGod convinces us that no one is beyondsalvation. Reflection on the truth that ourlove for God has its origin in Him bringsforth within us not only love for God butalso a generous love for “our neighbor.”This is so firmly part of the DivineMystery of God’s Love at work within usthat it forms part of the “Two GreatCommandments.” (Matt 22:40f)Thus reflecting on God and followingScripture, we conclude that “God hatessin but loves the sinner.” We recall thatwith every act of creation “God saw thatit was good.” (Gen 1:10; Wis11:24) Wedistinguish between the actions of a sinneron the one hand and the sinner as achild of God on the other; and consequently,we naturally reach out to everyoneas a brother or sister in Christ. Thesame belief in God that reveals homosexualactivity to be contrary to the willof God also impels us to love and havecompassion on those who experiencesame sex attraction.For the Church to be true to itselfand its beliefs, we must reach out to thesinner, whoever that sinner is and nomatter what the sin is. It is not a matterof obedience or compulsion so muchas it is the natural expression of whowe are as children of God. Far fromholding an ambivalent or self-contrabyFr. Titus FulcherAAn article recently appeared in theCharleston South Carolina Postand Courier’s Faith and Valuessection entitled “Gay Catholics Strugglewith Ambivalent Policy.” The articlestates that the Catholic Diocese ofCharleston “laid out an ambivalent opinion”regarding a gay rights group thatrecently held a workshop in a localCongregational church. “The Diocese ofCharleston’s spokesman…when askedabout why this workshop did not takeplace in a local Catholic Church…described its goals as heresy. He thentalked about reaching out to gayCatholics with open arms.” The articleraises the question whether the Church isin fact ambivalent in its views abouthomosexuality and if not why such a perceptionmay exist. It is easy to see whythe Church’s views would appear to beambivalent. How can the Church condemnhomosexuality and yet claim to‘reach out’ to those who consider themselveshomosexual? At best, such a claimseems ‘ambivalent;’ and at worst, hypocritical.And if not, then we must askwhy modern culture thinks it is.Why the Catholic ChurchCondemns HomosexualityThe Church’s position is based in anunderstanding of God, and an imperativewhich that understanding enjoinson believers, that ultimately is neitherhypocritical nor ambivalent (and iscertainly not malicious). Catholicanthropology (man’s understanding ofhis relationship with God) is foundedon the revelation that God is Love. (1Jn 4:8) Every position taken by theChurch regarding human life and societyhas its origin in this principle. Werecognize that life itself is a gift fromGod to be treasured and protected. Webelieve that the universe was created asgood, and that each person on earth isa precious gift of God worthy ofrespect and bearing inherent dignity.Aconsequence of our belief in God isthat we have free will to accept God’slove and to love God, or to reject God’slove. (Love that is not free is not love butslavery.) Sin and death are corruptionsof God’s creation and are not willed byGod but merely permitted. They existonly as a product of the free will choiceto reject God’s love. Rejecting God isrejecting the Author of Life itself andtherefore is the movement and state ofsin, the origin of death.Our Lord’s sacrifice on the Cross andtriumphant Resurrection overthrows thepower of sin and death and offers us theopportunity to regain the immortalityenjoyed in the beginning in Paradise.Christ invites us to draw closer to theGod who is Love and in so doingrestores that image of God within usthat makes us children of God. As wedraw closer to God we grow in His likenessand so receive life ever more abundantly.(Jn 10:10) We come to recognizethe beauty of that life present in creationand the intricacies of its form and order.Perceiving the order and intricateunity of nature we recognize homosexualityas sinful in that homosexual behaviorsare obviously contrary to the designand purpose of the human body. This isempirically undeniable. The complementarityof the sexes manifests a physiological‘fit’ that has no parallel in samesex intercourse, a fact often obscured inpublic discourse on the topic.Thus, the Catholic Church teaches thathomosexual behavior is inconsistent withChristian morality and is a grave sin; thatsame sex attraction is inherently disordered;that homosexual acts are physiologicallyharmful to the dignity thehuman body; and that the “gay culture” isunacceptable as a life-style “alternative”for Catholic Christians. Willful homosexualactivity is a gravely disordered violationof the dignity of the human body andtherefore is consequently a rejection ofGod. It is for this reason that homosexualactivity is condemned by the Church.Can the Church Reach Outto Homosexuals?This brings us back to the issue of theperceived ‘ambivalence’ in the Churchteaching on homosexuality. How can theChurch maintain that homosexuality issinful and yet also ‘reach out’ to thosewho identify themselves as homosexual?Modern culture believes that wemust either “hate sin and hate the sin-36 SOPHIA • Winter 2008

dictory position towards homosexuality,the Church is both consistent andgenerous in proclaiming a Truth thatchallenges and leads to salvation.Modern Culture Avoids Engagingthe Church in DialogueIt is clear that many would prefer forthe Church to ‘adapt’ to prevailing contemporarystandards rather than be trueto its own Faith and teachings. For theCatholic Church to continue to teachthe ‘hard sayings’ of the Gospel provokesa confrontation with Truth manytoday would prefer to avoid. It violatesthe “I’m OK, You’re OK” axiom thathas been emblematic of modern secularlife since the 1960’s.The Church’s claim to speak the truthimplies before all else that there justmight be revealed Truth out there.Truth may have an objective reality thatcannot be altered by public opinion orcultural drift. Our belief is centered onJesus Christ who proclaims the Gospelas objectively true. Thus, the Churchoffends merely by continuing to proclaimthe Gospel and Jesus Christ. Thatsuch a Gospel exists in itself confrontsmodern culture with a challenge itwould prefer not to consider.Rather than addressing what theChurch actually teaches, contemporaryculture instead commonly characterizesthe Church as ignorant or malicious.If it engages in real dialogueabout what the Church actuallybelieves it risks discovering that itschoices, opinions or behavior might berevealed to be immoral, or worse sinful.Such a dialogue might require us tothink and perhaps even change! (AsGK Chesterton quipped, “The CatholicChurch is the only thing which saves aman from the degrading slavery ofbeing a child of his own age.”)The Post and Courier article includesan example of how culture avoids discussingwhat the Church actuallyteaches. It notes that “slavery, racismand the discrimination of left-handedpeople” were “phenomena onceaccepted by society and people in thechurch” but which “changed overtime.” Worthy of discussion thoughthey are, introducing slavery, racismand discrimination into the argumentactually deflects attention from examiningthe Church’s teaching on its ownmerits. In the end, it is a red herringthat does not address the real issue.After forty years of the “I’m OK,You’re OK” culture, we must ultimatelyconfess that you and I aren’t ok. There“is” sin and sickness and evil in theworld; and sin does have its wages. TheGospel is a difficult spiritual path alongwhich we all sometimes stumble. Yet,stumbling does not relieve us from theresponsibility to continue the journeytowards our ultimate goal. The CatholicFaith is founded on and has held fast tothe Gospel for two millennia. Our Lordcame, not to make God over in man’simage, but to make man (male andfemale) to grow in the Image andLikeness of God. There is nothingambivalent about it. The real ambivalenceis in those who either do not listenclearly to what the Gospel proclaims orelse who don’t want to listen. AsChesterton said, “It is not that Christianityhas been tried and found wanting but hasbeen found hard and not tried.” †Fr Titus Fulcher is the Pastor of the MelkiteCommunity of Charleston in South Carolina.My TurnA CORRECTIONOur ApologiesHoly Land Must Always be Our Home” article on page 19 of the Fall 2007 issue of Sophia. Thisarticle was incorrectly attributed to Deacon Richard Downer when in fact it came from Aid to The ChurchRe:“Thein Need (ACN). We have heard from John Pontifex, publicity director for ACN UK who, despite the mistake,was quite pleased to receive the publicity in Sophia. Please also note the corrected captions for the photos below.From left to right: Fr John Salter, and assistant priest, Fr ShafiqAbouZayd; parish priest, Fr Francois Beyrouti from the Melkite Eparchyin Canada, and Deacon Richard Downer, in the Anglican Church of StBarnabas, Pimlico, London, as used by the Melkites in the UK.Catholic clergy, Latin and Melkite, with Archbishop Elias Chacour inthe Sacristy of Westminster Cathedral”.Winter 2008 • SOPHIA 37

A Living MemoryMary’s Wellby Rt. Rev. George BisharatFFifty years ago to the day, onMarch 8, 1958, I arrived to theUnited States of America. It wasa two-week journey by sea from Haifato New York City, followed by a flightto Cleveland, Ohio where I stayed atSaint Elias the Prophet Melkite Churchfor a short period of time. There, I hadthe opportunity to visit with my uncle,Fr. Ignatius Ghattas (of blessed memory),who later became the Archbishopof Newton for the Melkites.My thoughts and memories take meback almost fifty years when we, thenatives of Nazareth, celebrated theFeast of the Annunciation: a day ofmost blessings to the town’s people aswell as to the rest of the world. It wasin this little town of Nazareth that Godplanted the seed of His beloved Son,the redeemer of the human race.At that time, I was in daily contactwith the Church of the Annunciationwhere Mary’s Well is located. I hadrented a store located just outside ofthe church’s walls. In those days therewere no water pipes or faucets providedfor rental properties. Therefore, inorder to satisfy our thirst, we had tomake several trips to the church inorder to use its well to fetch water.Mary’s Well was the only waterspring in Nazareth at that time. Itswater is so sweet and so light that youcould not get enough from it. There isno doubt that this spring catered to thenourishing needs of the Holy Family.God could not but chose the best forHis only begotten Son.The naming of the spring of Nazarethas Mary’s Well dates back to the daywhen the Archangel Gabriel announcedto the Virgin Mary the good news, greetingher, as the tradition tells us, in thestreet amongst the people. The Archangeltried to inform the Virgin that he was amessenger of God. However, Mary wastaken aback as it was not customary formen and women, at that time, to engagein any public speech or contact of anykind. It was considered forbidden andwas frowned upon.On that very day, Gabriel momentarilydisappeared only to reappear again toMary while on her own saying: “Fearnot, Mary, for you have found favor withThe Grotto where the Holy Family is believed to have lived and drew water.God. Behold! You shall conceive, in yourwomb, and bring forth a son, and shallcall him Jesus.” (Luke 1:30-31)Many Fathers of the early Churchbelieve the Spring Grotto to be theplace where the Holy Family lived anddrew water. The Grotto is a narrow corridoraccessible from the central hall ofthe Annunciation Church. It leads to theapse containing Mary’s Well and consistsof a passage with a vaulted ceilingand crusader tile inlaid walls.The first Church of the Annunciationwas built in the 4th century near thespring and had remained in ruins afterthe Muslims’ invasions in the 7th centuryuntil its reconstruction by theCrusaders in the 12th century. TheChurch functioned normally for about acentury and many pilgrims visited theplace during the Crusaders’ era, whichwas favorable to Christianity and theHoly places. When the Crusaders’times came to an end, many churcheswere destroyed by the new conquerorsand remained in ruins for about 600years until the end of the 18th century.Most of the churches in Nazarethwere destroyed under Sultan Al-ZaherBeybars the Mamlouk in 1260,including the Annunciation Church.However, Prince Al-Zaher El-Omariallowed the Greek Orthodox to restorethe church in 1742. Funds were raisedand the church was rebuilt in 1750.The old Grotto was preserved andincorporated into the northern sectionof the church and not in the center asit had been in earlier structures.Mary’s Well was named after theBlessed Virgin Mary, a native ofNazareth and a virgin, who through themiraculous power of the Holy Spiritconceived Jesus Christ, the only begottenSon of God.Avery special and close affinity tiesme to the town of Nazareth: Nazareth,my native town, is also the home of theHoly Family; and I grew up drinkingfrom Mary’s Well, the same well thatJesus, the Virgin Mary and St. Josephdrank from. For the past fifty years, Imade sure not to miss any opportunityto visit Nazareth, making sure that myfirst stop takes me always to theChurch of the Annunciation and also toMary’s Well. Could you imagine myfeelings every time I make such a visitand take a sip of water?My prayers go out to all you faithfulout there, wishing that with God’s help,you will be able to visit the Holy Landone day, especially the town of Nazareth.Once in Nazareth look for the Well ofMary, and be ready to taste a drink ofwater truly made in heaven. †Ms. Souha Gibson contributed the abovearticle with the Rt. Rev. George Bisharat of St.Ann Melkite Church in North Hollywood, CA.38 SOPHIA • Winter 2008

The following article is the arabic translation of the Mary’s Well story from the previous page.A Living MemoryWinter 2008 • SOPHIA 39

Eparchy of Newton3 VFW ParkwayRoslindale, MA 02131ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTEDNONPROFIT ORG.U.S. POSTAGEPAIDBROCKTON, MAPERMIT NO. 1000