www.byzcath.org Forums News & Events Church News Election of Syriac Catholic Patriarch of Antioch, January 17-23

The Vatican News Service reports that [212.77.1.245] "the Holy Father Benedict XVI, in his solicitude for the Syriac Catholic Church and in accordance with canon 72, section 2, of the [i]Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches[/i] [intratext.com], has called a meeting on January 17-23, 2009, at Rome, of the Synod of Bishops of the Syriac Catholic Church for the election of the Patriarch of Antioch for Syriac Catholics.

"The Synod will begin with two days dedicated to prayer and reflection and will be presided over by His Eminence Leonardo Cardinal Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for the Eastern Churches."

The patriarchal See of Antioch for Syriac Catholics has been vacant since the resignation of His Beatitude Patriarch Ignace Pierre VIII Abdel-Ahad on February 2, 2008.

Since then, the Syriac Catholic Church has been governed by a special committee of Bishops appointed by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI [vatican.va] in accordance with the wishes of the Extraordinary Synod of the Syriac Catholic Church of 26-28 April 2007.

Let us pray for the election of the new Patriarch of Antioch for Syriac Catholics and for the peace and unity of the Syriac Catholic Church.

The following is a list of the hierarchs of the Syriac Catholic Church [gcatholic.com] as of January 1, 2009:

• His Most Eminent Beatitude Ignace Moussa Cardinal Daoud (78), Prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches
• His Beatitude Ignace Pierre VIII Abdel-Ahad (78), Patriarch emeritus of Antioch (Lebanon)
• The Most Reverend Jules Mikhael Al-Jamil (70), Auxiliary Bishop of Antioch (Lebanon), Titular Archbishop of Tagritum
• The Most Reverend Raboula Antoine Beylouni (78), Auxiliary Bishop of Antioch (Lebanon), Titular Archbishop of Mardin
• The Most Reverend Basile Georges Casmoussa (70), Archbishop of Mossul (Iraq)
• The Most Reverend Denys Antoine Chahda (62), Archbishop of Aleppo (Syria)
• The Most Reverend Gregorios Elias Tabé (67), Metropolitan Archbishop of Damascus (Syria)
• The Most Reverend Jacques Georges Habib Hafouri (92), Archbishop emeritus of Hassaké–Nisibis (Syria)
• The Most Reverend Jacques Behnan Hindo (67), Archbishop of Hassaké–Nisibis (Syria)
• The Most Reverend Théophile Georges Kassab (63), Metropolitan Archbishop of Homs, Hama and Nabk (Syria), Apostolic Administrator of the patriarchal Eparchy of Beirut (Lebanon)
• The Most Reverend Athanase Matti Shaba Matoka (78), Archbishop of Baghdad (Iraq)
• The Most Reverend Iwannis Louis Awad (74), Apostolic Exarch of Venezuela, Titular Bishop of Zeugma in Syria
• The Most Reverend Clément-Joseph Hannouche (58), Bishop of Cairo (Egypt)
• The Most Reverend Flavien Joseph Melki (77), Auxiliary Bishop of Antioch (Lebanon), Titular Bishop of Dara
• The Most Reverend Grégoire Pierre Melki (69), Patriarchal Exarch of Jerusalem, Titular Bishop of Batnae
• The Most Reverend Ephrem Joseph Younan (64), Bishop of Our Lady of Deliverance of Newark (United States and Canada)

I hope they can get over whatever their problems are finally, as they have had 2 Patriarchs fall on their swords one after the other.

Pavel,

What do you mean "fall on their swords"? What exactly is going on at the Patriarchate?

I remember hearing talks about a merger between the Syriac Catholics and the Maronites, would it be possible to elect the Maronite Patriarch as Syriac Patriarch (or would the Syriac Church prefer that the Maronites find their Syriac roots first)?

The Holy See has made reference to serious issues and problems but never clearly said what these are. The Popes have accepted resignations of Patriachs one after the other and now they have all been called to Rome.

I have been to a Syrian Rite Church in California and was horrified to see how badly Latinised they still are all these years after Vatican II. I can't help feeling they are slightly lost, or all at sea and confused.

Pavel,

It is true that Patriarch Ignace Moussa I resigned after only two years in office, but that was because Pope John Paul II appointed him Prefect of the Congregation for the Eastern Churches. I would hardly call that "falling on his sword." Indeed, his tenure as prefect from 2000 to 2007 saw the creation of the first Syro-Malabar eparchy outside India (St. Thomas the Apostle of Chicago) and the elevation of the Syro-Malankara Church to major archiepiscopal rank, both of them important achievements.

As for Patriarch Ignace Pierre VIII, your description seems more apt. Reading between the lines of the Holy Father's letter [vatican.va], it seems that he lost the confidence of his own Synod of Bishops. It also seems clear that there have been serious divisions within the Synod, since a "cooling-off period" of about a year was needed before the election of the new Patriarch.

I don't think this would be appropriate. Quite apart from the fact that the Maronite Patriarch is nearly 89, Vatican II decreed [vatican.va] that "it is the mind of the Catholic Church that each individual Church or Rite should retain its traditions whole and entire" (Orientalium Ecclesiarum 2).

From my own experience, I think it is fair to say that the liturgy of the Syriac Catholic Church is quite latinized (certainly compared to the Syro-Malankara Church or the Syriac Orthodox Church). So too is the liturgy of the Maronite Church. Indeed, it is my impression that their liturgies are not only latinized, but modernized. For example, it seems that the Maronite and Syriac Catholic liturgies are usually celebrated versus populum.

The Maronite Patriarchate decreed that the Qurbono be celebrated facing the people for "pastoral reasons," if my memory serves me correctly. I attended one Qurbono where it was celebrated ad orientam and although I loved the symbolism, it was impractical. In the rubrics for certain prayers within the current liturgy the priest is to pray with his hands extended over the gathered faithful; in the liturgy I attended the priest awkwardly extended his one arm behind himself as best as he could.

Why couldn't the priest simply turn around for these parts? There are certain prayers in the Syriac Rite which are for "extending the priest's hands" but the act involves raising his right hand toward the people, progressively turning around as the Liturgy progresses. The priest eventually turns around and blesses the people with his right hand, while his left hand holds firmly onto the altar (specifically the Tablitho).. in the West Syriac Liturgy blessing always flows from the altar (which is the Throne of God).

Here's a video of a Syriac Liturgy with a good example of what I am referring to above:



When offering the peace, the priest turns slightly and extend his right hand toward the people, left hand on the altar.

When blessing, he turns almost fully, keeping his left hand on the altar (especially on the Tablitho which holds the Gifts), joins his index finger, second finger and thumb (representing the Most Holy Trinity), while keeping his third finger and pinkie pressed against the palm (representing the Christ's divinity and humanity).

Michael_Thoma

Thanks for posting this link!

21.01.09 from Baghdadhope [baghdadhope.blogspot.com] (use ie)

May God Grant many years to His Beatitude, Patriarch Mar Ignatius Joseph III. I met him at the funeral of Metropolitan Judson he was a very nice man, always smiling.

Fr. Deacon Lance

May Jesus the Lover of Mankind bless the new Patriarch! May Our Lady of Perpetual Help protect him!

John Doucette