An Interview with Patriarch Gregory III(9/22/01) 

Q.      Beatitude, allow us to begin our chat by asking your evaluation of the recent papal visit to Syria, and your foreseeable results of his pilgrimage to the Land of St. Paul?

 A.       On the occasion of the Jubilee Year and the beginning of the third millennium, the Holy Father decided to go on a pilgrimage to the places where Christianity saw its birth. He visited Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, and Greece. Hence Syria was the next logical stop on his tour. His Holiness had a wish to begin his pilgrimage by visiting Iraq, unfortunately he did not succeed in making this trip, but visit Syria he did, thank God! It was a tribute to his determination and the cooperation of local people of good will. The Pope’s visit was such an historic event that its theme was declared by President Bashar Assad, himself, because of the President’s belief that Syria is truly the crossroads of civilizations and the cradle of Christianity. Damascus, for your information, immediately after the time of Christ, possessed the largest number of Christians until replaced by Antioch, the first See of Peter, and the destination of Saul in his pre-conversion drive to persecute Christians. Today, Damascus is the Arab Capital which contains the largest number of Christians in the Middle East, more than Beirut or Cairo.

The Pope’s visit to the Holy Places was a pilgrimage to see the land which witnessed the first Christian life of St. Paul, the Apostle, and early Christianity. His visit was ecumenical, shared by Christians from all denominations: Greek and Syriac Orthodox, Melkites, Syriac Catholics, Maronites, Armenians, ... The Melkite Catholics chaired by Bishop Isodore Battikha, our Patriarcal Vicar, formed the welcoming committee which included the Orthodox as committee members. The Greek and Syriac Orthodox Patriarchs rode with the Pope in the “Papamobile.” This reaching out broke the previous custom of only Catholic Prelates being riders with the Pope. The Greek and Syriac Orthodox Patriarchs also invited all bishops belonging to the See of Antioch anywhere in the world to be part of the Papal reception. It was a special honor that many participated, enduring the rigors of travel with its physical and financial cost to be with His Holiness and their fellow prelates. They listened directly to the Hoiy Father without any medium intervening or analyzing. The Pope also visited the great Umayyad Mosque showing his deep respect for the Muslim Faith and its common honor and veneration of the Tomb of St. John The Baptist, known to Islam as, Yehia, the son of Zechariah and a prophet to the Muslims. This demonstrates the commonality shared by both Faiths.

A special appeal by the Pope was sent to the youth for a full dialogue, in theory and practice, for inter-faith understanding, noting how they are being exposed to fanaticism with its obstinacy and justification. Those of the Muslim Faith present acknowledged these warnings of our Holy Father.

His Holiness John Paul II went to Qunaitra, the controversial Israeli-occupied territory. By his inner strength, the Pope stressed the spiritual, not falling prey to the political. His simply being there and his prayers for peace sent a powerful political message. His words were: “Just as I came to this spot, a spot of fighting and war between Israelis and Syrians, there is also a place for the rights of Palestinians and Syrians.” Both parties were called to respect the right of others. The Pope insisted on international legality being recognized and followed. Seldom does the Pope speak in this fashion. He usually touches on the general principles of Christianity and human rights but seldom does he refer to the international legality. Herein, the Pope stressed International Law as the root of negotiation for real peace.

The Pope’s visit was most successful. He witnessed modern Syrian civilization as attested-to by the crowds on the roadways: army, students, young and old from all walks of life. Damascus and small villages, all took part. Muslims accompanied the Pope in all stages in Syria, on the streets and in the banquet halls. Further, many attended the Divine Liturgy concelebrated in the Abbasid Stadium. The Pope’s greatest pleasure was meeting with the youth of the Melkite Patriarchate. They brought with them youth of many other denominations. His Holiness expressed his great hope in the youth being the future of the Church and of Syria whose average age is so very youthful. Our Church is young and known by a special attendance by youth in Church activities.

This I think are the most important issues which were covered by the Pope’s visit. As to the future, I hope that Christians are encouraged to remain in the Holy Lands as a visible sign of the presence of Christ and by these means encourage co-existence and promote peace. I also plan, with God’s help and as a result of the Pope’s visit and in my function as a new Patriarch, to launch continuous meetings in each of Lebanon and Syria, under the name of the Lebaneseencounter and the Syrian encounter, in the hope that these encounters become the magnet which bring together Christians of different denominations and the service provider in the matter of dialogue among these groups.

Q.      In one of your speeches during the Pope’s visit to Syria, you announced the willingness of the Melkite Church to join her Sister, the Antiochian Orthodox Church in celebrating Easter. When will this feasting together take place?

A.       What I said was that we are ready to feast anew according to the Julian calendar. This readiness flows from the need to return that calendar to its proper use within our Melkite Church. I did not say that we would feast with our brethren the Orthodox with a sense of winner and loser. I just suggested that we need to go back to the Julian calendar which is our calendar, but was neglected through time. Hence, I am saying that it is time to go back and make use of the Julian calendar. And, judging by the reaction of our youth in attendance and their thunderous applause several times during my speech, great approval was expressed. But when will this be realized? I do not know. I did not say that it will be achieved right away, but I hope it will happen in the nearest possible future. The success of such a move goes hand in hand with the revival of the rapprochement initiative which was started by the Melkite Synod in 1996. We will have soon undoubtedly successful encounters with our brother the Greek Orthodox Patriarch in this context, with the consent of the Holy Synod, and hopefully a joint committee will be formed for this purpose. I hope, my brothers, the bishops will cooperate for the success of these two goals. I believe the time is ripe to break this one thousand years old wall of separation and begin to walk the common journey. This is our right and duty, for as Melkites our call is the call for unification. Our predecessors have started it and it will be a shame and a crime if we do not to complete it. I do not deny that errors may have been committed along the way, however no venture towards unity is flawless. Our responsibility now is to learn from the mistakes of the past and to continue to look towards the future through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Q.      What is the purpose of your Beatitude’s visit to the USA?

A.       My itinerary as a newly elected patriarch includes visits to all the eparchies and their parishioners both within and outside the Arab world. Unfortunately, I cannot visit Jerusalem because of politics. I have so far visited Zahleh, Horns, Aleppo, and Khabab, also Cairo, Rome and Paris. My visit to the USA coincides with the fourth meeting of the bishops of the countries of immigration. However, my wish is not to limit my meetings only with my brother bishops. I desire also to meet and establish a dialogue with our laity. They are our people in the New World and they need to feel in contact and communication with their Patriarch in order to deepen their thoughts and feelings about our common Faith. What I expect to see and feel is open communication with the Melkites in the USA. Hence, my visit to America is to connect with my brothers, the Melkites living here and to acquaint myself with the Melkite Church and its status in America through the voices of the bishops, the clergy and the laity.

I plan to follow up this visit by future ones because of an acceptable proposal that I do not limit my visit to the Eparch’s residence but extend it to the Melkite faithful. I believe that this is very important in our Church to protect its unity. Everyone will then feel that he/she is in contact with the Patriarch and the bishops who both represent the Church.

Q.      During the past five years the voice of the Melkite Church softened on both the Middle Eastern and international arena caused by the aging and illness of your predecessor, Patriarch Maximos V Hakim (since the interview the late Patriarch Maximos). How do you see restoring the unification voice of the Melkite Church to its glorious days of the past?

A.       This is, in fact, one of my worries and the request of all the bishops who elected me as well as the laity in general. All wish a stronger presence of the Melkite Church. First, the pastoral visits I am undertaking to countries like the USA play a major role in achieving this common wish. In addition to their pastoral aspects, these visits are being well mediated. By so doing, people will start to recognize our presence on the international arena. Second, there is a will to strengthen our ties with the Greek Catholics of the world. This step started when I invited in July 2000 to Jerusalem, in my function then as a Patriarcal Vicar, the Prelates of the Byzantine Catholic Churches in Eastern Europe who were very pleased by the visit. Twenty-five bishops and their assistants responded to the invitation. They represent about eighty million Greek Catholics. I believe that strengthening such relationships will be beneficial for all. We will also, in due time and with God’s help, invite those prelates to participate with us in the Melkite Holy Synod meetings as observers in order to discuss common issues to all. These steps are very important to make our voice heard more in the ecumenical and unification matters and in our relation with the Greek Orthodox so as not to be a faint voice. We are not necessary looking to be a loud and noisy voice but rather be a presence which offers with humility something different to the others.

We also plan to continue our on going contacts with all the Catholic Councils of Bishops in the world, in particular with those located in countries where there is a Melkite presence. I have visited France within this frame of contacts. Shortly, I will be visiting Germany and Switzerland in response to invitations from their respective Catholic Council of Bishops. I hope that during these visits I will be given the opportunity to attend a number of the council meetings in order to increase our spiritual contribution, and to present to them our theological and ecumenical thoughts which the West struggles for and is in need of 

In the field of our relationships with our brethren the Orthodox we need to deepen our ties with the Greeks, the Armenians and the Syriac Orthodox as well as with other groups from which we are part of and grow by keeping up pace with. This kind of actions will help us to diversify the ecumenical ecclesial contribution, which will not be limited to one culture, one language and one tradition but will be open to all the different Christian Traditions which are rich in their heritage.

We shall also attempt our best to have our own clear voice in Rome through those who occupy posts in the Vatican offices. I have appointed in these regards a Patriarchal Procurator to monitor closely the ongoing events and report them to us. We have begun a dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church during my visit last February to the Vatican where we submitted ideas to the following dicasteries: the Secretary of State, the Oriental Congregation, the Council for non-Christians, and the Council for Ecumenism. In doing so we are helping the Pope who keeps on repeating “that new ideas be suggested to him” with regards to the ecumenical dialogue and the dialogue with the non-Christians.

I also envision intensifying our presence in the International Conferences through the delegation of qualified clergy to these conferences. That is why we plan to collect information on the qualifications of our clergy in order to maximize the use of their talents. These are some of the steps which if executed will re-institute to our Church its pioneer role towards the Church at large.

Q.      Is there a word that you wish to address the Melkites in America?

A.       Part of what I wish to say can be found in the address which I delivered in Boston, at the beginning of my trip to America. Copies have been published in both languages: English and Arabic. In this address I stress the strong ecclesial relationships between the Mother Church and the rest of the churches in the Holy Lands and in America. I am for the characteristics of the Melkite Church present in America. It is necessary that this Church becomes self-established and this is what we strive for. But, we cannot go on with a full independence because our people are of dual-civilization. Therefore we cannot chose only to use either the English Language or the Arabic language. This is forbidden because in every location there are new corners and ancient settlers. We should not forget that new immigrants need sufficient time to master the English Language and to incorporate in the American society. We have to offer them help in their new way of living without making them lose their connection with their roots. Such flexibility is not strange to our Church through its History. Our Church in the Holy Land, Lebanon, and Syria made use of the Greek Language in the ninth and tenth centuries. With the vanquishing of the Byzantine Empire, the people began to forget the usage of the Greek Language and started to use the Syriac Language. Our flexibility allowed us to speak Syriac and to translate many of our prayers to the Syriac while still protecting the Greek language. That is why since the ninth century, and in spite of our acquiring the Arabic, we still use in our rites Greek passages. Hence, the Church made usage of three languages: Arabic, Greek, and Syriac. We were also the first Church to use the vernacular languages and our predecessor Patriarch Maximos IV was the first patriarch to speak French during the Second Vatican Council in the 1960’s at a time when all the other Prelates would make use of Latin. In doing so, Patriarch Maximos IV was saying: “I am with you but I am also different from you.” This is a distinguished trait of our Church.

We should protect this flexibility. It is not surprising therefore that our Church in America reveal particularities of its own. The important issue is not in the naming: an American Church or a Church in America. The importance is to keep the link alive between the Mother Church and the daughter Church. By not losing track of this issue the sensitivity vis-à-vis the independence tendency will disappear, for we are called to be independent and interconnected at the same time. Reality has taught us that a Patriarch residing in the Middle East cannot run an eparchy located in the West. Each eparchy is independent by itself. If we take for example the Melkite Church in Jordan, how far do you think its relationship goes with the Patriarch? It is minor because it falls under the leadership of the local bishop who runs its affair. We should therefore not fall in the trap of who supports the idea of independence and who does not. We should all be for it and against it at the same time. We are all for a continuous relation between the Mother Church and the daughter Churches, in order to protect our heritage while respecting the specificity of the daughter Church. I believe that the time has come for this dichotomy to be eliminated. It should be replaced by an ongoing interaction between the American side and the Eastern side, an interaction which we cannot live without because of its wealth.

Q.      We learned that during the Pope’s visit to Syria you expressed to him a wish. Can you elaborate for us on that?

A.       After his visit to the headquarters of the Melkite Patriarch, the Pope visited the Syriac Catholics. The Pope’s visit was a kind gesture from his part to those Eastern Catholics whom the schedule of the trip did not permit to visit, especially those present in Damascus. During this encounter, I told the Pope publicly that the Iraqi people, especially the children, are waiting for his visit. I reminded him how beautiful it would have been if he had started his pilgrimage by visiting Iraq the original birthplace of Abraham and would have completed it by Syria. But circumstances did not permit this plan to happen. Still, in spite of all the difficulties I begged his holiness to make this visit so as to bring his special pilgrimage to completion, and in doing so he will give the Iraqi children hope by telling them that the world has not forgotten them. This was my wish to the Pope, and I hope and pray that he will be able to achieve this visit in the nearest possible time, bringing with him peace not only for Iraq but also to all the nations of the East.

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