Patriarch of Antioch
A Joint Statement
Issued by the two Patriarchates of Antioch and of All the East:
The Greek (Roum) Orthodox Church and the Syriac Orthodox Church
On the occasion of the second anniversary of kidnapping the two Metropolitans of Aleppo:
His Eminence Paul (Yazigi) and His Eminence John (Abraham)
on April 22, 2013
April 22, 2015
"It is for our hope in the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial." (Acts 23:6)
Our bishops, Paul and John, are on trial; what once characterized the
beginning of the Christian Evangelization, now returns to the same
geographical location, though with different personalities. It is a rare
trial, not only in the East, but in the contemporary world. The
convoluted nature of their kidnapping did not strike the terrestrials
only, but the celestials also. In this struggle, the Great Judge will
prevail, for He has the final ruling in this case; the case of True Man,
and of True God.
This trial could be unfair as proposed by their captors. Most
probably, the detainees are not able to plead their case. But their
articulate statement was written by their own spirits, and their lives.
The testimony they present remains incessant, as it rebounds in the
wilderness of this world.
O brethren of the Word, our children of Aleppo, in
you and among you we have planted the seeds of the word of truth, of
testimony, and of ministry. Behold, the plant is growing! Seeing this
growth in you, we are honored by its fruits. We are astounded by your
perseverance, which strengthens our perseverance. We exalt in your
steadfastness, which sustains our steadfastness. We esteem your
patience, which recompenses our patience. Why not? You are our “glory”
and “pride" (1 Tess. 2.19; 20) in this trial of preaching.
O brethren of Faith, our children of Aleppo, our
faith, preaching, and ministry by hand, heart and conscience are on
trial; we live today on fallen earth, so that we may live thenceforth in
the Heavenly Kingdom. Man has the right to believe in the True God, and
to faithfully minister to "his neighbor as to himself." Our belief in
the True Man, our Lord Jesus Christ, leads us to minister wherever we
are settled, but we will continue to be citizens where we are today. We
will not deviate one iota from this determination. It deserves from us
every sacrifice in defense of human dignity, when man is oppressed and
dehumanized by the contemporary human market, and is offered as a
commodity in a wicked commerce. The sting of dehumanization shall be
broken in this trial of dignity.
O brethren of hope, our children of Aleppo, be not
oblivious to the fact that we are on trial "for our hope in the
resurrection of the dead” (Acts 23: 6). St. Paul attested once, and we
declare it aloud: they want to eradicate the future at the expense of
the present! However, they do not know that the Lord of heaven and
earth, Who created them both, also provided that we may traverse the
distance separating the two in spirit through Faith, and may attain the
future with God-given hope toward achieving His promise to us. The
present life is transient, but the future one is permanent. We all look
forward in great expectation, remaining steadfast with this hope in the
face of death, crouching close to destroy your bodies and souls.
However, our hope in the resurrection of Christ has broken the sting of
death in this trial of endurance.
O brethren of faith, our children of Aleppo, it is
undeniable that, facing such a trial, it will only be proper if man
confronts it with his true identity and faith. You have been tempted to
betray the love of Christ towards us, and to let hearts and consciences
grow dim to the degree of conceding to the pursuit of the path of the
passions and all the odious forms of selfishness. When we see you strong
and consistent, brethren, our hearts rejoice with the sight of your
love among the wreckage of fallen humanity, whose self-centeredness has
truly reached the gates of Hades. By your love we conquer everything,
and by it you overcome all forms of death, so that you may enter into
the Kingdom of the God of Love. Amongst devastation, death and fatality,
the edifice of your love will be built as a final judgment in the trial of conscience.
O brethren of blood, our children of Aleppo, you
have been judged, and you will be judged. Some of you have received the
favorable judgment of God to be martyrs and confessors, and some of you
live the testimony of unsurpassed hope, in silence or under threat, in
weakness or in agony. However, by your perseverance you muzzled those
who lay a wager for your betrayal, apostasy, and feebleness in the face
of weakness, enticement, or threat. Your blood, whether still pulsating
or shed, is a balm to your families and to your brethren, and a seal of
victory in the trial of immortality.
O brethren of truth, our children of Aleppo, be
assured that he who has declared victory over obvious truth and hidden
falsehood is silenced. We see them through the eyes of the heart, and
fathom what is noticeable in them, in their words (media) and actions,
as well as in their secret intentions, and consciences. No truth will
supersede the truth of God and man, regardless of their proliferated
sins. This is the cry of John in all of us: "He that loveth not his
brother abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer.”
(1 Jn 3:14 to 15). We will not plea-bargain when falsely accused, and we
will not yield to anyone except to the Truth. We proclaim it with you,
at the heart of your suffering, struggle, steadfastness, and courage. By
this, you have disclosed their evident error in the trial of the truth.
O brethren and compatriots, our children of Aleppo,
your wound is our wound, and your pain is our pain, and your tears are
our tears, and your life is our life. Our hands are extended to you, and
our hearts have room for all of you. Let us shake hands, talk to each
other, have peace, reconciliation, mutual understanding, cooperation,
and integration. The solution is not achieved by violence, but by
multiple forms of dialogue. The fear comes when human civilization
perishes and disappears, and when this trial takes a prolonged time.
With you we raise the flag of the brotherhood in the trial of unity.
O brethren of same destiny, our children of Aleppo,
our East is made up of deserts, rocks, mountains, rivers, water, and
trees. If they vanish, life will no longer exist, and it will have no
meaning. Our East has become an open arena for all evils. The bargain of
this trial is to demolish life in its cradle, shatter civilizations,
remove the rudiments of its landmarks, conceal its characteristics,
displace man, destroy history, and disfigure the identity of God. Our
victory of truth on earth is derived from heaven, but not by calling
upon God to be exploited, as impulses of passions, of which heaven is
completely acquitted! We are aware that we are devoted to stay in the
East, to which we belong, of which we are, in which we bear witness to
our faith, from which our witness starts out, and on which we build our
humanity. The one God was not for us a subject of dispute, and reason
for fighting, or cause of division. We learned to address Him as "Our
Father" (Matthew 6.9), so we are all, "Brethren." We can speak to
everyone in truth and love, and "to lay down our lives for them" (1 Jn
3:16); and so we are able to ask them to confess that we share a common
destiny. Either we all hold tight to it together, or we all lose! No
believer or nonbeliever, whoever he is, may become, whether from the
East or outside it, and bear a false witness, blinded to what is going
on here. With you we raise the banner of brotherhood, confounding the
false witnesses to this human and religious trial.
O brethren in humanity, our children of Aleppo, our
cause is beyond one group or nation, and wider than one region or land.
Our ordeal is a test for all humanity in modern world, which is
distorted by its enslavement various distractions rather than God. We
are thankful for all those who are aware of these perils, and for those
are striving to contain them, treat them, and prevent them. We will not
turn to be a title of an issue to be resolved and decrypted. We are not
like this, for you are our issue! We are vigilant, from our dwelling
place, over the consciences of those who willingly continue to eradicate
our cause: the human right and the true God. Is it not
unreasonable for roles to be exchanged, so that the sentenced might
become a judge, even if he was in a cell, and the judge might become
sentenced, even though he is sitting on the judgment seat?
O brethren in completeness, our children of Aleppo,
He Who was incarnate for us, carried our nature, endured unjust
sentence, ascended on the Cross, went to Hades and then arose to heaven,
has taught us that we are your "brethren", unworthy though we be, and
that "Thine Father is our Father and Thine God is our God" (Jn 20:17).
Our peace and joy in you have reached to a level whose height and depth
is unattainable in our spiritual life, and whose length and width is
immeasurable in our material life! It is a joy, and peace, according to
measure of the giver: “My Peace I leave with you, My joy I give unto
you… no man taketh from you.” (Jn 14:27; 16:22). You have determined to
give us your joy and your peace! How great is our victory, and how
benevolent is God’s judgment!
These are the ten categories of the brethren, and the "book" of our
complete defense, which we "took out of the right hand of him that sat
upon the throne.” (Rev 5:7). This is our good news to you; “Listen to
them” (Acts 2:14), so great is our consolation in you. We are all aware
that the trial is not over yet, as we have yet many rounds, according to
the will of the Holy One. "What shall we say then? Is there
unrighteousness with God? God forbid… What if God, willing to shew his
wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the
vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: and that he might make known
the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore
prepared unto glory... "(Romans 9:14; 22-23).
This is a victory of the right hand of the Most High, accomplished
through you and through us! As our unceasing encounter is sustained in
prayer for all, we lift it up to Thee, O Lord, for unto Thee belongs,
glory, power, worship, and dominion forever! Amen.
The V. Rev. Michel Najim