SIX STORIES OF MIDEAST CHURCHES
By Andrea Kirk Assaf
Zenit.org
OCT. 19, 2010
ROME
St. Peter’s square these days is a particularly international meeting
point. Amidst the throngs of ever-present tourists drawn together
between Bernini’s colonnades strides an Iranian ayatollah in his
distinctive round turban, followed shortly after by a group of Iraqi
clerics in red and black vestments, who quietly and intently speak
to one another as they move to their next appointment at the Vatican.
Other soberly yet ornately dressed Oriental clerics make a brief
appearance as they too join this international delegation of Middle
Eastern clergy gathered in Rome for the work of the Special Assembly
for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops, which concludes Sunday.
In his briefing at the beginning of the synod, Archbishop Nikola
Eterovic, the secretary-general of the Synod of Bishops, recalled
that in addition to the Latin Church, there are six Eastern Catholic
Churches “sui iuris” in the Middle East, each with its own patriarch,
father and head of the Church.
Here, we look back on the ancient stories of these six Eastern Churches
that eventually brought these men together to pray and ponder and
propose solutions to the problems faced by their flock back home.
Armenian Church
The country of Armenia was evangelized by Apostles Bartholomew and
Thaddeus, and was the first to make Christianity its official religion
in 301 under the governorship of St. Gregory the Illuminator. The
Armenian Church broke away after the Council of Chalcedon in
554, as did all the Eastern Catholic churches now referred to as
“uniate.” After several attempts at reunification with Rome by members
of the Armenian Orthodox Church over the centuries, Pope Benedict
XIV ultimately announced the establishment of the Armenian Catholic
Church in 1742.
Its patriarchate (currently led by Patriarch Nerses Bedros XIX
Tarmouni) is located in Bzoummar, Lebanon, and its communities are
found in Egypt, Syria, Turkey, Israel, Iran, Iraq, and Palestine,
as well as in the global diaspora, particularly in the United
States. There are an estimated 540,000 Catholic Armenians around
the world.
Chaldean Church
The Catholic Chaldean Church originated in Edessa (in modern day
Turkey) with the Apostle Thomas. Today its patriarchate is located
in Baghdad, Iraq, headed by Patriarch Emannuel III Delly, and its
members number approximately 419,000. In 2007, Patriarch Delly became
the first Chaldean Catholic elevated to the rank of a cardinal.
The line of patriarchs in communion with Rome dates back to 1553,
though this line was broken on several occasions and rival patriarchs
created their own lines of succession. In 1830, only one patriarch
remained and Pope Pius VIII granted him the title of Patriarch of
Babylon of the Chaldeans.
The history of the Chaldean Church has been marked by waves of
persecution through the centuries in Iraq, nearly decimating their
number and scattering their population, yet the Church to this day
maintains a firm presence and vibrant community.
Catholic Coptic Church
The roots of this Church are found in the conversion of an Orthodox
Coptic bishop, Amba Athanasius, to Catholicism in 1741, along with
2,000 others.
Athanasius was appointed apostolic vicar to this new flock but later
returned to the Orthodox Church. He left behind a line of Catholic
vicars, however, and in 1824 the Holy See created a Patriarchate for
the Copts, re-established in 1895 by Pope Leo XIII, who appointed
the first patriarch.
The current Coptic Catholic Patriarch of Alexandria, who heads
a Church of 163,000 in Egypt, is Archbishop Antonios Naguib, the
general relator of the Mideast synod.
Greek Melkite Church
The Melkites, also known as Byzantine Catholics, number 1.3 million
around the world. They entered into full communion with Rome in 1729
under the Pontificate of Benedict XIII.
Melkite Patriarch Gregory refused to sign the declaration on the
doctrine of papal infallibility at Vatican Council I, along with others
in a minority called the anti-infallibilists, but later consented
with the addition of the clause “except the rights and privileges
of Eastern patriarchs.” Gregory’s concerns about the latinization of
the Eastern Churches was somewhat relieved by Leo XIII’s encyclical
“Orientalium Dignitas.” Following Vatican Council II, the Melkites took
further measures to remove Latin-rite traditions from their liturgy.
The current patriarch in the See of Akko, Haifa, Nazareth and All
Galilee is Archbishop Elias Michael Chacour, a Palestinian who
has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his charitable
and peace-promoting work, namely with the Mar Elias Educational
Institutions.
The current Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch of Antioch and All the
East, Alexandria, and Jerusalem is Gregory III Laham, who resides in
Damuscus, Syria. In the Middle East his flock can be found in Israel,
Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon, and also in Africa, South America, North
America and Australia.
Maronite Church
The Maronites derive their name from the Syrian monk St. Maron, who
was an important figure in the Christian community of Antioch at the
same time as St. John Chrysostom, but who left the city to follow
the example of St.
Anthony of the Desert and took up a hermitic life.
The Maronites voted in favor of the Council of Chalcedon in 451,
subsequently finding themselves the sole Chalcedonian Christians in
the region. Some 350 Maronite monks were then killed by monophysites,
causing the Maronites to flee and settle in Lebanon, particularly in
the mountainous regions.
The first specifically Maronite patriarch, John Maron, was elected in
687, in the midst of an Islamic invasion and conflict with the Orthodox
Church and the Byzantine Emperor, Justinian II. The Muslim conquest
of Eastern Christendom cut off Maronite communication with Rome for
400 years, until the time of the First Crusade, when the Maronites
re-affirmed their union with Rome in 1182, the only non-uniate Eastern
Christian Church in the Middle East to this day. In 1584, the Maronites
established their presence in Rome with the Maronite College, followed
by the building of several monasteries and convents of Maronite orders.
Today, the majority of Christians in Lebanon are still Maronite,
approximately 930,000, and the patriarch, currently the Cardinal
Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir, resides outside Beirut in the town of
Bkerke. The Maronite diaspora is far greater in number at nearly
three million, with congregations in Australia, the United States,
Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Israel and Cyprus.
Syriac Church
The Syriac Church, also referred to as the Western Syriac Rite, uses
a Syriac language liturgy that is called the “Anaphora of St. James”
and dates back to the bishopric of St. Peter in Antioch. The Syriac
Catholic Church made a final split from the Orthodox Church and came
into union with Rome in 1781.
Dramatically, in 1782, Syriac Orthodox Patriarch Michael Jarweh of
Aleppo declared himself Catholic and in union with Rome shortly after
his election, and then took flight to Lebanon where he established an
unbroken line of Catholic Syriac patriarchs. During the 18th century
the Church went underground due to persecution from the Orthodox,
encouraged by the Ottomans.
In the subsequent years the patriarchate was moved from Lebanon to
Aleppo, Syria, then to Mardin, Turkey, and finally back to Lebanon
to Beirut during the Assyrian genocide of World War I, which brought
about the deaths of over 37,500 Syriac Catholics at the hands of
Turkish nationalists.
Today there are approximately 159,000 Syriac Catholics globally,
concentrated in the Middle East in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt,
Syria, Turkey, and also in the diaspora in Australia, Sweden, France,
Venezuela, Brazil, Sudan, the United States and Canada. The current
Patriarch of Antioch and All the East of the Syrians is Patriarch
Ignace Joseph III Younan, who resides in Beirut, Lebanon.
From: A. Papazian