Orthodox Pre-Assembly Meeting

St. Ephrem Theological Seminary, Damascus – Syria
7 – 13 May 1998

Your Beatitude Ignatius IV, Rum Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East,
Your Eminences, Archbishops and Bishops,
Reverend Fathers,
Ladies and Gentlemen:

It is my pleasure to greet you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and to warmly welcome all of you to our St. Ephrem’s Theological Seminary, the Patriarchal Foundation in Maarat Sednaya, Damascus. You have come from different countries, cultures and backgrounds representing the two Families of the Orthodox Church of God.
You are here to prepare for the Eighth Assembly of the World Council of Churches which will be held in Harare, Zimbabwe in December of this year, whose theme is “Turn to God – Rejoice in Hope”.
We hope that during your studies, consultations and discussions you will focus on the role of both Orthodox Families the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches in the ecumenical movement. Our Churches have a long history of dialogue, whether at the church level or at the group level. We trust that this meeting will affect the Churches’ position positively and actively, especially since we are all part of that ecumenical body and work for its improvement.
When our brother in Christ His Eminence Archbishop of Aleppo Mor Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim asked us if we could host this meeting, we welcomed the idea warmly.
Having you as guests of the Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch, is a great witness to the unbroken spiritual work with which our Church has engaged herself, since the time of the Apostles: seeking the salvation of the souls and spreading the Good News of the Lord. She has continued to bear witness to our Lord Jesus Christ despite the unbearable hardships that she has faced. Our Church has suffered countless persecutions due to political, social and security upheavals. She has presented hundreds of thousands of martyrs through the ages and lately in the beginning of this century, she offered about two hundred thousand martyrs. However, now that the Church is going through times of relative peace, we are directing all our efforts to revive our Church driven by our strong faith in the legacy, which our forefathers have left us. We have inherited their true Orthodox faith, tradition, Syriac Aramaic language spoken by our Lord Jesus Christ and his disciples and an open mind toward all other Christians with their various denominations. This Patriarchal Foundation where you are meeting has been built recently to demonstrate to all generations our hope and eagerness to revive our history, the history of hundreds of monasteries, seminaries and theological schools which were found everywhere in the Middle East until the thirteenth century. They served as spiritual and intellectual lighthouses, which gave the Church great fathers and thinkers who enriched the Christian civilization with their writings. St. Ephrem the Syrian is the Patron Saint of this foundation. He is recognized by all churches; thus he is one of the symbols of Christian unity.
We believe that ecumenical work is not new to our Church. Since the division of the fifth century, our forefathers dealt with church matters in an ecumenical spirit. They believed that bringing the churches together and promoting cooperation among them in ecclesial and pastoral matters are vital for the continuation of the Christian witness and life.
Moreover, after 1950 our Patriarchate played an important role in the ecumenical movement. In 1958, my predecessor, the Late Patriarch Mor Yacob III of blessed memory, allowed me while still a monk and priest to participate in the theological consultations held in Jerusalem between Theologians of the Oriental Orthodox Churches and the Lutheran Church. It was organized by the Faculty of Theology of the University of Kiel – West Germany. In 1962 and 63, my predecessor appointed me as an official observer in Vatican II. As a Bishop, I started to participate in several unofficial consultations beginning with the first one which was held between theologians from the two Orthodox Families at the University of Aarhus in Denmark in 1964 and those consultations continued in several locations and became official consultations which gave fruitful results. I also participated in the unofficial consultations between the Oriental Orthodox Churches and the Roman Catholic Church in Vienna; and last but not least in the consultation of the official representatives of the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches which was held in Balamand, Lebanon in 1975.
We are glad to mention that our Church has been a member of the World Council of Churches since 1960. I was elected as a member of the Central Committee at the Fifth Assembly at Nairobi-Kenya in 1975. After my enthronement as Patriarch I nominated His Eminence Archbishop Mor Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim to that post and he was elected later as a member of that Central Committee. And we have recently included ecumenism as a subject to be taught here at the Seminary by H.E. Mor Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim. We also direct our clergymen and lay people locally, regionally and internationally to be open-minded about ecumenism. For that purpose, our Church is a member of the local ecumenical church committees, a founding member of the Near East Council of Churches and a founding member of the Middle East Council of Churches.
Regarding our relations with our sister Orthodox and Catholic Churches, after my enthronement as a Patriarch I began to correspond with all their Holinesses and Beatitudes the Patriarchs and all Heads of the Orthodox Churches, His Holiness the Pope of Rome, His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury and Church Leaders of Protestant denominations. We believe that personal contacts between the heads of the Churches will help much to promote the ecumenical spirit and co-operation. In this regard we are pleased to remind you of the common statement that we were able to sign with our brother in Christ, His Beatitude Patriarch Ignatius IV Hazim the Rum Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East.
I also find it appropriate to let you know that the last meeting of the Oriental Orthodox Patriarchs in the Middle East which took place in the Monastery of Amba Bishoy, Egypt has opened a new page in our relationship as Oriental Orthodox Churches: Coptic Orthodox-the See of Alexandria, Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch & Armenian Orthodox House of Cilicia, both in regard to our relation with each other church families. We have stated in our Common Declaration dated March 11, 1998 that we would have the same stand in dogma and theology in all the theological dialogues. We shall also have the same understanding in all church matters in the Middle East Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches, and all other ecumenical bodies. This Common Declaration speaks about having one unified stand and voice as Oriental Orthodox family in the Middle East in any upcoming theological dialogues which will take place with other churches. This, we believe, will ensure the success of and enrich those dialogues. Sharing with us this same belief and understanding were the Heads of the Oriental Orthodox Churches in the Middle East: H.H. Pope Shenouda the Third, Pope of the See of Alexandria for the Coptic Orthodox Church, who is also one of the WCC presidents; and H. H. Aram the First, Catholicos of the House of Cilicia for the Armenian Orthodox Church, who is also the Moderator of WCC Central Committee.
In this respect, we see a remarkable improvement in the dialogue between the two Orthodox Churches families. First, we agreed on the theological issues and now the designated Joint Dialogue Committee is studying the pastoral and the liturgical issues. In the last meeting in Damascus where His Beatitude Patriarch Ignatius IV Hazim and my humble self were present, we were assured that the efforts of our theologians have tremendously helped in bringing our points of view closer. We have great hope that full communion will also be re-established in the near future, when all anathemas are lifted and the Synods of the respective churches of the two families will aon restoring unity between us.
Improvements also are to be noticed in the relationship between our two families of churches on the one hand and the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches on the other hand. We truly trust in the blessings that this wonderful ecumenical dialogue has brought upon the church which is guided by the Holy Spirit.
Having said that, I would like to point out to the spirit of love and tolerant co-existence between the different religions and denominations in this safe and secure country; the Syrian Arab Republic. We are honored and proud to live under the patronage of His Excellency the President Mr. Hafez Al-Asad, who looks after all the people of this nation without any discrimination. He also works very hard in order to secure a just and comprehensive peace in this region.
The theme of the Eighth Assembly of the WCC is “Turn to God – Rejoice in Hope” which is related to us now and provides an agenda for the future of our churches and their role in the ecumenical movement. We pray that God will be with us in all our dialogues as two Orthodox families and bless us to be one. We hope that the other Churches and Christian groups will also co-operate with us for the glory of His name. And as we look forward to more co-operations with the World Council of Churches, we are fully prepared to provide all we can in order to continue this ecumenical endeavor.
We ask God to bless this meeting; to bestow the spirit of renewal and restoration of church unity upon all people involved so that they may be able to see the fruit of all of those years of hard work in the Lord’s vineyard.
We welcome you again and wish you a pleasant stay and safe return. May God bless us all. Thank you.

Marat Seydnaya, Damascus-Syria
May 8, 1998
Ignatius Zakka I Iwas
Patriarch of Antioch and all the East,
Supreme Head of the Universal Syrian Orthodox Church