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1st Congress of the Melkite Catholic Bishops of the Emigration
Sao Paulo, Brazil April 28-May 4, 1997 |
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1st Congress of the Melkite Catholic Bishops of the Emigration
Sao Paulo, Brazil April 28-May 4, 1997 |
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The First Congress was held in Sao Paulo, Brazil on April 28 through May 4, 1997, hosted by the Most Reverend Boutros Mouallem, Melkite Bishop of Brazil, on April 28-May 4, 1997.
The meetings was opened at the Maksoud Plaza Hotel in the presence of their Excellencies Bishops/Archbishops Boutros Mouallem, Brazil; Michel Hakim, Canada; Spiridon Matar, Emeritus of Brazil; John A. Elya and Nicholas Samra, the United States; Georges Kahhale Zouhairati, Venezuela, and Issam Darwich, Australia.
DIFFICULTIES AND SOLUTIONS
The assembled bishops focused their attention on three points: priests, liturgy and Pastoral care.
I. Priests
The bishops expressed their great concern about the lack of priests. They agreed on the following points:
1- They urge the Eparchies and the Religious Orders in the Middle East to send priests and sisters. They called on the Melkite Synod to take upon itself, as Mother Church the responsibility to provide workers for the Eparchies of the Emigration.
2- The Bishops will continue their effort to find vocations among their parishioners and to rely also on part time help from bi-ritual priests.
3 - They reaffirmed their Eastern and Apostolic tradition to ordain married men to the priesthood
II. Liturgy
1- Be faithful to the traditions of the Melkite Church and to the directives of the Melkite Synod.
2- Focus on explaining the Liturgy to the faithful and encourage their participation.
3- Use the for Arabic the texts decided by the Synod.
4 - Use a unified translation in the respective countries of emigration.
5 - Make effort to create common melodies in respective countries.
6 - Make frequent visits to the faithful.
III. Means of Staying in Touch with the Faithful
1 - Frequent visits
2 - Organize liturgical celebrations in such occasions as anniversaries of baptisms and of marriages, solemn communions, celebration of graduation from High Schools, Colleges, Universities, etc.
3 - Collective preparation for the reception of the mysteries of baptism and marriage.
4 - Bible studies meetings,
5 - Telephone networks,
6 - Periodical newsletters and weekly church bulletins,
7 - Organize meetings of parishioners as spiritual encounters,
8 - Focus on family gatherings after the Divine Liturgy and after other liturgical celebrations,
9 - Catechism based on Eastern traditions,
10 - Youth movements for children and young adults,
11 - Spiritual retreats for various categories,
12 - Spiritual encounters for congenial groups (Physicians, teachers, lawyers, workers, etc.)
13 - Periodic conferences and conventions,
14 - Finding modern means to acquaint others and our own parishioners with our heritage and identity. (Produce videos about our monasteries, churches, institutions, describing social and missionary outreach.)
15 - Produce in cartoon style a history book about our church and its characteristics for youngsters and for adults. Bishop Nicholas Samra was charged to prepare a global study about these two project.
IV - Relations with Eastern and Western Churches
The bishops affirmed the necessity of fraternal relations with the sister churches both the Catholic and the Orthodox, based on our special vocation and following the directives of Vatican II, of the documents issued by His Holiness Pope John Paul II and of the two documents of Balamand (1994) and of Sharfeh (1996). In this regard, the Bishops praised the openness, understanding and cooperation of the Latin Church concerning the role and mission of our Church.
Finally the assembled Bishops agreed to continue the cooperation among themselves through exchange of newsletters and bulletins, through the Internet, and through subsequent and similar Congresses. They also agreed to present these recommendations to the Melkite Synod which will be held in July, 1997.
On the occasion of this First Congress of the Melkite Bishops in the Countries of Emigration, the assembled bishops attended the inauguration of the new Iconostasis of St. George Church in Juiz de Fora, the celebration of the Silver Jubilee of the establishment of the Melkite Eparchy in Brazil and the celebration of the Golden Jubilee of the Melkite Church of St. Basil the Great in Rio de Janeiro. They also paid official visits to the Governor’s Palace and to the Municipal Assembly. They visited and concelebrated the Divine Liturgy at the National Shrine of Our Lady Aparecida. They also paid official visits to the Assembly of Brazilian Catholic Bishops and to the Apostolic Nuncio (The Ambassador of the Pope) in Brazil.
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