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Patriarchate of Antioch
SPEECH OF HIS BEATITUDE PATRIARCH JOHN X IN THE OFFICIAL ASSEMBLY OF THE SACRED SYNOD OF THE HIERARCHS OF THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH
Speech of His Beatitude
Patriarch John X
Russia, December 2017
Your Holiness Kirill,
Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia
Your Holinesses and Beatitudes,
Antioch, the Church where the disciples were first called Christians,
embraces on this most blessed day Holy Russia, celebrating the first
centennial of the local Moscow Council. This Council restored the
Patriarchate to the Russian Church, and re-launched the conciliar work,
after an interruption that lasted for three centuries. As Antioch shares
today the joy of the Russian Church, She asks the supplications of St.
Tikhon the Confessor, chosen as patriarch by the Holy Spirit through the
election of the local Synod members, to shepherd this Church and lead
Her in times of atheism and persecution. The Church of Antioch remembers
the contributions of the Russian Church at the turn of the last
century, and the support She gave to the Antiochians. In order to help
them get settled in their land, She provided them with education and
secured free medical care to the poor. She also recalls with great
gratitude the favor of the Russian Church in the development of clergy
formation, and in the construction of Antiochian churches and
institutions. She particularly appreciates the great role of Patriarch
Tikhon in establishing the Antiochian Archdiocese of America. Patriarch
Tikhon consecrated the first bishop on the American soil, St. Raphael,
Bishop of Brooklyn, an Antiochian who studied in Constantinople and
Russia. Bishop Raphael shepherded the Orthodox faithful in the American
continent, and particularly the Arabic speaking believers.
Similarly, Antioch evokes today the living relationship that links Her
with the Russian Church. This relationship began with St. Michael of
Syria, and continued with Patriarch Joachim, who contributed to the
election of Patriarch Job as the first Patriarch of the Russian Church.
The relationship was deepened with Patriarch Gregorius IV, who visited
the Russian Church and presided over the tercentenary celebration of the
Romanov Dynasty, during which he consecrated a bishop, who later on
became Patriarch Alexy I. Neither the difficulties of history nor the
cruelty of persecution suffered by the Russian Church were able to
affect this deep fraternal relationship. Patriarch Alexandros III
participated in the local Synod meeting that elected Patriarch Alexy I.
Patriarch Theodosius VI also participated in the golden jubilee of this
Russian Patriarch. The Antiochian Church was praying continuously for
Russia throughout the persecution that befell the Russian people, and
remained convinced that Christ is deeply rooted in Russia, and no one
could eradicate Him from this land. During their visit to Moscow in
1972, Patriarch Elias IV and his accompanying delegation expressed to
the Antiochians and the world that, "Nothing is more embedded in Russia
than Christ... And that Christ having baptized the people of Russia
continues His same work to this day... And that the Lord will not be
concealed in the soul for long, and that this clandestine spiritual life
will be disclosed in words, arts, and literature.”Patriarch Ignatius IV
rejoiced for his participation in the celebration of the millennium of
the baptism of Russia, saying that, "A thousand years of prayer
represents today a majestic spiritual edifice that connects the earth
with heaven, and glorifies the Creator of the universe and of man."
Your Holinesses and Beatitudes,
Russia has gone through "a dark and long night,” as the Patriarch St.
Tikhon had sensed upon his election in 1917. However, the prayers of the
Russian people, rising like incense, along with the torments of
confessors, the blood of martyrs, the fidelity of grandparents, parents,
fathers and mothers to their Orthodox faith, and their daring efforts
to transfer this faith to their children and be a witness to Christ in
the times of atheism, all these rolled away the stone from the tomb, in
which communism tried to put Christ. Consequently, the Russians "who
came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made
them white in the blood of the Lamb" (Revelation 7:14 -KJV), proved to
the whole world, through their sacrifices and pain, that "societies
cannot be built independently of God." Patriarch Alexy II was correct
when he stressed that, "It is not a social order, a state or a nation
that God created to last forever, but God created humans to last
forever.”Today, we must pay great attention to the attempts of
separating our societies from God and from the Church. These attempts
aim to destroy human freedom and dignity, enslave humans in the service
of consumer society, or divide the one Church into rival, ethnic
churches.
Dear brothers,
The Orthodox
Patriarchates have always endured the tragedies that befell their people
throughout history. Since the beginning of the last century, our pain
has taken on many different designations. Some of us have suffered from
ethnic cleansing and expulsion from our land and from the land of our
forefathers. Some others have suffered from the conflict of nationalisms
and civilizations, and others from atheism. Nevertheless, the countries
that make up the Church of Antioch still suffer from the rivalry of
others on their land, this rivalry that is renewed from time to time,
taking on various facets. From the early seventies, Lebanon has first
suffered from the scourge of the wars of others on its soil, and now it
seems that the interest of the world's giants is to make it fall again
in the abyss of conflict. Syria continues to suffer from the destructive
war unleashed on it by a savage terrorism imported from abroad with the
money of foreigners. This terrorism has destroyed buildings, killed
human beings, and made the citizens of this country either displaced or
emigrants. The same is true of Iraq, where successive wars have
contributed to the decline in the number of Christians in the country.
I will not dwell on the bitter reality of the Syrian people, especially
what they are going through these days. You know this reality through
the media that continue to broadcast the news of the atrocities
committed by the terrorists against this peaceful people. This people
greatly suffer under the weight of the economic siege imposed on them,
which is as cruel as the genocide and ethnic cleansing crimes practiced
by the terrorists. Perhaps the decline of terrorism, which we are
witnessing after the Russian forces have thankfully engaged in fighting
it, and the emergence of hope for a peaceful solution, require us as one
Orthodox Church to cooperate and make every effort to maintain the
unity of Syria, support the return of the Syrian Christians to their
land, rebuild what was destroyed from churches and monasteries, secure
job opportunities. It also requires from us to provide the basic needs
for a decent standard of living, by supplying food, medicine and
education for those suffering brothers, so that Christ remains present
in Syria.
Your Holiness Patriarch Kirill,
Beloved Brothers,
The dark night of the Antiochian Church was initiated by the kidnapping
of Archbishops Paul (Yazigi) and Youhanna (Ibrahim), just as the dark
night of the Russian Church began with the martyrdom of Archpriest John
(Kochurov). The kidnappers thought that by abducting the Archbishop,
they would terrorize the Church and kidnap Her voice. But the voice of
the Antiochian Church, the voice of truth, is still piercingly heard,
calling for justice, peace and dignity for the Syrian people. The
Antiochian Church did not skimp on offering lay martyrs, as well as
hieromartyrs such as Father Fadi (Haddad) and Father Bassil (Nassar).
The blood of these martyrs, mixed with the sighs of the kidnapped
people, the tears of the mothers, and the prayers of the faithful, all
these together will establish the future of Syria and reveal the glory
of the Christians in it and in all places of the Antiochian presence.
We highly esteem the role Your Holiness have undertaken in standing by
your brothers in the Church of Antioch. We appreciate in you this
apostolic spirit which you planted and cultivated in the hearts of your
people, who stood with all their might alongside their brothers in the
Church of Antioch. We appreciate your positions about the crisis in our
country, and your noble empathy, persistent efforts and humanitarian
assistance, which have been a continuation and a culmination of the
historical and authentic Russian-Antiochian relationship.
Also,
we highly appreciate Russia's efforts to eradicate terrorism, advance
the peace process in Syria, and preserve the stability of Lebanon. We
thank in particular His Excellency President Vladimir Putin and all his
assistants. We highly appreciate the contributions of the Russian
Federation, its army, leadership, and people, in defending our land,
supporting the efforts to make the logic of dialogue prevail,
consolidating Christians and other citizens in their land, by helping
reestablish peace and finding a peaceful political solution to what is
happening in our region.
Most Noble Brother,
Nothing compares to the joy of Antioch today, as She participates in
this beautiful celebration which was founded by the martyrs and
confessors who contributed to the local Moscow Council in 1917, whose
work is valuable to all Orthodoxy. Today, as we ask the intercession of
these for Russia and its Church, for Antioch and for the return of Her
abducted children, and for the restoration of peace in Her lands, we
also pray that, as Orthodox Church, we may be able to face together,
with unity of both heart and determination, the new challenges
experienced by our Churches and the contemporary social issues.
The "resurgence of holy Russia is a gift from heaven" to our world
today. May God grant us, through the prayers and intercession of the new
martyrs, confessors, ascetics, and shepherds, whose fame in the course
of the years of persecution spread in Russia and throughout the Orthodox
world, to bear witness to the joy of His Resurrection.
1- See the Article “Christ in Russia” in Annahar Weekly Supplement, Sunday, February 6, 1972.2- The Speech of Patriarch Ignatius IV in the book “The Millennium of the Baptism of Rus.”
3- This was mentioned in the speech of Patriarch Tikhon of All Russia upon his enthronement in 1917.
4- The expression is taken from the speech of His Holiness Kirill in Romania (November 2017), entitled
“The Witness to the Orthodox Faith During the era of Atheism”
5- See the Αnnahar Newspaper, October 5, 1991.
6- See the article on Holy Russia by Metropolitan George
(Khodre) in Annahar Newspaper, 29 December 2007.
