SYNOD FOR THE MIDDLE EAST: RELATIO POST DISCEPTATIONEM “FAITHFUL TO GOD’S WORD”

“Confirming and strengthening Christians in their identity and renewing ecclesial communion to offer Christians the reasons for their presence, to confirm them in their mission of being Christ’s witnesses”. The purposes of the Episcopal Synod for the Middle East were reiterated by the general speaker of the Assembly, Antonios Naguib, Coptic Patriarch of Alexandria, who this morning held his ‘relatio post disceptationem’ during which he summarised the results of the speeches of the Synodal Fathers of last week. “Our region – he said – remains faithful to God’s Word, the source of inspiration of our being missionaries and witnesses. Our devotees thirst for God’s Word and, as they do not find at us, they often go and quench their thirst elsewhere. That’s why we need specialists in the Holy Writings, we need God’s Word to be the foundation of any education and teaching, in our families, Churches, schools, especially in our condition as minorities in non-Christian societies, where the values and culture of the majority prevail and invade all the areas of public life and risk getting hold of our thoughts and our behaviours”.
Naguib gave an overview of the situation of Christians in the Middle East, pointing to the need of being missionaries, the “announcement is a duty” and, “if it is respectful and peaceful, it is not proselytism”. “Missionary training is essential. At least one institute of missionary training should be created in the region”. A missionary work that must support the role of Christians in society, despite their scarce number: “Christians belong to the very identity of their countries, this belief must be strengthened to help them live with peace and commitment in their society”. Speaking of “positive laicism”, Naguib insisted that “religion must not be politicised nor must the State prevail over religion. Such presence must be really excellent, for it to have an effective impact on society. What matters is not the number of people in the Church, but that they live their faith and honestly serve the common good”. The speaker insisted on “teaching the culture of citizenship”, not least through the media, the presentation of the Social Doctrine of the Church, education, “the privileged sphere of our work. Schools must be kept at all costs”. “To ensure its evangelical credibility – the speaker pointed out –, the Church must find the way to ensure a transparent management of money”.
In his overview of the main challenges that Christians have to face, such as political conflict in the region, Patriarch Naguib, “despite condemning violence, wherever it comes from, and begging for a fair and lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict”, expressed the solidarity of the Synod with the Palestinian population, “whose current situation boosts fundamentalism. We ask the world politicians to keep the dramatic situation of Christians in Iraq into due account. Christians must promote democracy, justice, peace and positive laicism. The Churches in the West are asked not to take sides for one and forget the other’s point of view”. In the Relatio, the Synod also condemns “the advance of political Islam, which damages Christians in the Arab world”, because it “wants to impose an Islamic lifestyle, sometimes with violence, and this is a threat for everyone” and a limitation of the enforcement of such rights as freedom of religion and conscience, which involves, the Patriarch recalled, also “the right to announce one’s faith”. A consequence of political crises, fundamentalism, the restriction of freedoms is emigration, which, despite being “a natural right”, calls the Church into action as it “has a duty to encourage its devotees to stay, avoiding “any defeatist argument”.
“Communion is the very first necessity in the complex situation of the Middle East and the best testimony for our societies”, states the Relatio post disceptationem, which, in the second part, offers an overview of more pastoral subjects, such as communion, testimony, ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue. In this respect, the document recommends the pastors “to teach and announce the meaning of the one Church and the beauty of the plural variety of the Church; the effective expression of this communion would be the solidarity of the personnel and the assets between the dioceses” and recalls that “confessionalism and an excessive attachment to ethnic groups risk turning our Churches into ghettoes. An ethnic, nationalist Church is against the universal mission of the Church”. So “inter-ecclesial relations, also with the Oriental Churches, with the Latin one of the diaspora in close communion with the Pope”, should be encouraged. An encouragement that should also be extended to ecclesial communion between the bishops, the clergy and the congregation. On an ecumenical point of view, “sincere efforts should be made to understand each other”, and the Synod should promote “communion and union with the Orthodox sister Churches” through “appropriate behaviours: prayer, conversion, exchange of gifts, respect, friendship” and such proposals as “local dialogue commissions, an ecumenical meeting per Country, ecumenical Christian media”.
“Our Churches reject anti-Semitism and anti-Hebraism”: this was reasserted by the Episcopal Synod for the Middle East in its ‘relatio post disceptationem’, presented this morning. “Difficulties in relations between the Arab populations and the Jewish population are more due to the conflicting political situation. We make a distinction between political and religious situations. Christians have the mission of being the authors of reconciliation and peace based on justice for both parties”, insists the text, which, speaking of inter-religious dialogue, mentions the pastoral initiatives for dialogue with Hebraism, such as, for instance, “shared prayer based on the Psalms, reading and meditation of biblical texts”. In addition, the Synod urges the Vicariate for Jewish-speaking Christians “to help the Jewish society get a better understanding of the Church to promote “a peaceful presence of Christians in the Holy Land. A prejudiced construction of some verses of the Bible justifies and promotes violence”.
Inter-religious and intercultural dialogue between Christians and Muslims “is a vital need, on which our future largely depends”. The Episcopal Synod for the Middle East, in its Relatio post disceptationem, quotes Benedict XVI in Cologne (2005) to reiterate the importance of Islamic-Christian dialogue. “There are many reasons to have relations with Muslims, they are all fellow nationals, they share the same culture and the same language, the same joys and the same sufferings. Since its birth, Islam has found common roots with Christianity and Hebraism. Contact with Muslins can make Christians more attached to their own faith”. However, the Synod thinks that “the prejudices inherited from the history of conflicts must be addressed and clarified. What matters in dialogue is the exchange, the mutual understanding. Before we concentrate on what separates us, let’s meet each other on what joins us, especially in terms of human dignity and the building of a better world”. “A new phase – the Relatio states – of opening, sincerity and honesty is needed. We must peacefully and objectively tackle the issues that concern the identity of man, justice, the values of a dignified social life, and mutuality. Religious freedom is at the root of sound relations between Muslims and Christians. This should be a priority of inter-religious dialogue”.

© SIR - october 18th 2010