Shlomo Lkhoolkhoon,
Here is news about the progress of the Synod.
Poosh BaShlomo Lkhoolkhoon,
Yuhannon

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Sfeir: Maronites not alone in this country

Patriarch sends Message of unity and reconciliation ‘Lebanon belongs to us and our Muslim compatriots and other Christian communities in Lebanon’

Hanna Khoury
(Lebanon) Daily Star correspondent

Are the Maronites for Lebanon? Or is Lebanon for the Maronites? asked Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir in an address, marking the end of
the first of a three-week Maronite synod at the Saydet Al-Jabal convent in the Kesrouan village of Fatqa.

Sfeir’s message revolved around the theme of unity. He said the Maronites were devoted to a Lebanon that was for all the Lebanese and called on the Maronite community to stop thinking that they are “alone in this country.”

Sfeir is known for his conciliatory tone with other religious confessions in Lebanon in spite of his outspoken criticism of the government and Syria’s role in the country.

“Lebanon belongs to us and our Muslim compatriots and other Christian communities in Lebanon. This is a fact that we adhere to,” Sfeir said.

Some speakers at the synod had in the days past slammed the lack of development and finance plans nationwide, while others had called for the
redistribution of the country’s wealth, cautioning against letting the gap between the rich and poor exceed the acceptable limit.

Sfeir in his address also praised the synod’s organizational efforts that were undertaken by the Maronite bishops’ general-secretary, Bishop Youssef Beshara.

The synod is to resume its normal sessions on Monday June 16, with all of next week being devoted to a conclave for the Maronite bishops, from here and abroad.

The conclave, the first of its kind in more than a century, is expected to appoint new Maronite bishops to vacant positions in both New York and the Tyre diocese.

Consequently, the gates of Bkirki will be closed for the annual week-long Maronite bishops’ conclave.The synod has discussed so far the Maronite Church’s identity, its mission and its relation to other faiths. It is scheduled to discuss the Church’s religious laws and the conditions of Maronites abroad.

Its decisions will regulate the actions of the Church for the few decades to come.

Shlomo Lkhoolkhoon,
Here is some general information abut the Synod with links.

Poosh BaShlomo Lkhoolkhoon,
Yuhannon

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The main link is: http://www.maronitesynod.org/INDEX-english.htm
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Open Letter to Beit Maroun (House of Maron) on the purpose of the Synod.

Its importance

For the first time in decades, the Maronite family, widespread around the world, will gather around the Patriarch, head of the Maronite church, symbol of its unity and representative of all clergy, priests, nuns and laity.

Its goals

- To discover the Maronite heritage and traditions to consolidate the Maronite identity.

- To perform the required renewal in the ecclesiastical life.

- To confirm the unity of the Maronite church in the patriarchal territory and in the countries of expansion and its commitment toward its regional issues where it exists.

- A call for hope and adherence to faith and holding on to the message conveyed to all faithful despite their concerns.

How do we participate?

- By praying: to recite the special prayer of the synod

- By renewing our faith in following Christ and observing His Ways and Teachings.

- By expressing the ideas and suggestions concerning the subjects of discussion and submitting them to the Secretary General of the Synod.

Bishop Youssef Bechara
Secretary General of the Synod
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The Maronite Patriarchal Assembly'sofficial logo represents:

On top there is the Coat of Arms of the Maronite Patriarchate to represent the universality and the unity of the Maronite Church.

The Antiochene Cross (three bar Cross) is in the center to represent the tree of life as envisioned by the Syriac writers. It also represents the unity between bishops, patriarch and the Holy See.

Under the Cross there is Christ's promise "I am with you to the end of time".

The color green represents life and hope.

The color gold represents God's benevolence.

The circle represents perfection.

The title "Maronite Patriarchal Assembly" represents the unity of Maronites throughout the world.

The circle rests on a base to represent the stability and depth of the Church.
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Prayer of the Maronite Patriarchal Synod

O Holy Father, Source of all good gifts, You created us in

Your image and likeness; throughout the ages,

You held us in your fatherly providence and gave us the promise of Your divine blessings.

In the fullness of time, You sent us Your beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ who took flesh from the Virgin Mary, for our salvation and renewal.

We thank you, O Lord, for Your infinite love: through it You chose the Church, gathered her from all nations and assembled her around the wedding banquet of the Lamb. You enriched her with the gifts of Your Holy Spirit. You enlightened her with your life-giving commands. You confirmed her on the faith of the Apostles who carried the good news of the Gospel to the entire world.

We ask You, O Lord God, bless the works of our Maronite Synod and send us Your Holy Spirit. May He abide in our hearts and enlighten our minds, and may we listen to His inspirations and act according to His directives.

Pour upon us Your mercy, that we may return to You and, in love, return to each other, be renewed by hope and abide in holiness.

Confirm our Maronite Church, faithful to the Gospel, that we may witness to the legacy handed to us by our holy fathers and forefathers, and that we may become in this land of the East, as well as in the world, a living sign of the culture of love through encounter, dialogue and participation in building up Your Kingdom.

We ask this, through the intercession of our Mother, the Virgin Mary, St. Maron, St. John Maron, the Apostles and Martyrs, and all our holy Fathers.

To You be glory and thanksgiving, for ever.

Amen.
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Patriarchal Message

By the grace of God,

Patriarch of Antioch and All the East,

To Our brother Bishops and All Sons and Daughters of

Our Church,

Clergy and Lay Faithful,

Dear Brothers and Sons and Daughters,

Peace and Apostolic Blessing.

This year, we dedicate our letter of Great Lent to the Maronite Patriarchal Assembly , which will open its sessions during the first and third weeks of the upcoming month of June. Since such an Assembly, according to Church canons which define it and convoke it, is a Church activity par excellence, all faithful, clergy and laity, are affected by it, though on different levels. We depend, of course, on the work of the experts and specialists to prepare the texts for study and discussion, before being adopted as synodal documents; however, it is also true that many are those who contribute, one way or another, in putting the final touch to those texts.

We thus consider the synodal work as a work of the Church, embracing all her members. It does not limit itself only to the members of the clergy.

Given the importance of the Councils in the Universal Church in general, and within our own Church particularly, we deem necessary to talk to you, in this letter, about:

1. The Councils in the Church, in general

2. The Councils in our Maronite Church

3. The Maronite Patriarchal Assembly

I. An Historical Overview

II. The Identity of the Assembly and Its Objectives

III. The Topics of the Assembly

4. The Participation in the Assembly.

Part One: The Councils In the Church 1. The convening of councils is closely connected to the birth of the Church. The Book of the Acts of the Apostles tells us, indeed, in Chapter 15, the story of the controversy raised among the first Christians. Those of Jewish origin demanded that the Mosaic law, including circumcision, be observed by all those who converted from paganism (15:6). As the Apostles and Presbyters met to discuss the issue, Peter and James put an end to the controversy. It is on this occasion that the first synodal letter was ever written, starting as follows: "The Apostles, Presbyters and the Brothers to those who are in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia of Gentile origin: Peace" (15:23). This letter determines the observances imposed on Christians who were just liberated from the ancient law and received salvation through their faith in Christ. It is worthy to note here, on one hand, the consultation taking place among the Apostles, Presbyters and Brothers about an issue in litigation; and, on the other hand, the settlement made on such issue in a spirit of participation and with the assistance of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 15:23-29)



2. The Church followed such a procedure in convoking further councils. Her purpose was to define Christian doctrine, clarify and protect it from errors and from the heresies which started to infiltrate the Church, causing corruption into the doctrine and divisions among the faithful. The Ecumenical Councils, convened during the first eight centuries of Christianity, are seven: The most important among them are the Council of Nicea (325), the Council of Ephesus (341), the First Council of Constantinople (381) and the Council of Chalcedon (451). These councils define and clarify the contents of faith about God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. They teach the essential truths of the Christian doctrine as included in the Creed which we still recite during our liturgical celebrations.

There is no need to recall here all the councils; we, however, deem necessary to allude to two of them, which marked the Church life with a distinctive and permanent mark, - that is the Tridentine Council and the Vatican Council II. These two councils exercised a great influence upon our own Church, as we shall note later on.

The Tridentine Council was held in the Italian city of Trent in the year 1545. The works of this Council extended in a span of almost twenty years and convened in three different sessions. It was intended to confront the movement of the Reformists led by Luther and Calvin, who questioned a large number of accepted beliefs, such as the sacraments, interpretation of the Scriptures, the Church authority, the Church law and other subjects. This Council committed itself to the study of those topics, defining the Church doctrine and excommunicating whoever opposed it. At the same time, it paved the way to a true movement of Reform, creating a Church renewal and reaching most of the churches in the world. One of the results of such Reform was the creation of the Maronite College in Rome in 15 84 for the training of our clergy and later, the summon of the Synod of Mount Lebanon of Louaizeh. (We will discuss this later on.)

As for Vatican Council II, closest to us in time, it was held between 1963 and 1965, while the convocation and the preparations started since 1959, right after the election of Blessed Pope John XXIII. His Holiness wanted this Council to be pastoral and ecumenical, addressing, on one hand, the internal renewal of the Church and her relationship with the world in which we live; and, on the other hand, fostering seriously the unity of all Christians. The purpose was not to confront new heresies nor to condemn opposing doctrines. This Council is considered, at least from a church standpoint, as one of the most momentous events of the twentieth century. In order to have a grasp on it in all its aspects, we must go back to its exceptional documents; they, in fact, set clear guidelines for our reflection and ecclesial work. It is worthy to note here the most significant among those guidelines, - the understanding of the Church as people of God, the role of the laity within her, her relationship with other Christians and religions, her mission in the world and her position with regard to today's problems. Besides, the Council ratified the liturgical renewal, gave priority to ecumenism and called for renewal in all aspects of Church life.

3. The above are examples of councils held in past and recent times. They were ecumenical councils, because they took place upon a convocation by the Pope to all the Bishops of the Catholic world, and because he presides over them in person or through his representatives. After his approval and their promulgation by him, their resolutions become mandatory for all the children of the Church.

There are provincial councils. Held with the approval of the head of a church, they address questions regarding a particular region. The Bishops of the region discuss those questions and take the appropriate resolutions, with, of course, the approval of the Holy See.

There are, also, local councils, called patriarchal or eparchial councils. They present for consideration the problems of a local church or a particular eparchy. The patriarchal councils must obtain the approval of the Synod of Bishops of the patriarchal church, while the eparchial councils must have the approval of the eparchial Bishop.

4. When they are convened by the church head, - the one who has the jurisdiction to convoke them, the councils are considered by the church canons as the highest authority within such a church, provided they are done in total harmony with the authority of the Pope and without any reduction of such authority. Since it is difficult to convene ecumenical councils on a regular cycle, the Catholic Church adopted a new procedure, - that is the Synod of Bishops: The Pope summons representatives of the Catholic Conferences of Bishops in the world; they meet regularly every three years, to study a special topic regarding the Church as a whole or one particular region or country (for example, "Synod for Lebanon"). This Synod does not possess a legislative character; however, it presents to the Pope its resolutions, and in light of them, the Pope publishes an apostolic exhortation which includes the essence of these resolutions and proclaims the teachings of the Church about the topic discussed by the fathers of the Synod.

The Vatican Council II recommended that the bishops of a particular country or region meet on a yearly basis and study the affairs of their country or their region. It also entrusted to them the convocation of local or provincial councils according to the needs of their churches, with the approval of the Holy See. On its part, The Code of Canons of Eastern Churches cites the convocation of patriarchal and eparchial councils in the following canons: 140-145, (Patriarchal Assembly); 235242, (Eparchial Assembly).

The summon to the councils is very old in the Church, beginning with the fourth century (the Council of Nicea in 325) until our own times. There is urgency and a sense of obligation in their summoning. In fact, the Synod of Mount Lebanon (173 6) recollects a long list of resolutions about them, concluding with the words: "One should not neglect the convocation of eparchial councils in every eparchy and of regional councils in which bishops and archbishops meet around His Beatitude, the Patriarch, in order to revise moral discipline within the Church, correct errors, settle disputes and other things, according to our holy canons." (Synod of Mount Lebanon, On Bishops, #29) It also determines that the interval of time separating one council from another should not exceed three years.

5. A question comes to mind: "Why this insistence on summoning councils?" We do not want to dwell on the obvious reasons, those which relate to matters of organization and administration, and which require constant consultation and joint decisions. Rather, we want to look at the profound reasons which touch on the nature of the Church and her mission.

The Church embodies the continuity of Christ's presence and His action; she meets upon a calling from Christ, her invisible Head, and acts under the inspiration of His Holy Spirit: She carries on his threefold mission of teaching, sanctifying, and governing. When the Church meets, the Lord is present in her; she calls on his presence and seeks the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in everything she discusses. The gift of the Spirit appears in the Church when all her members use their gifts for the sake of building her up. St. Paul expresses this reality in his first letter to the Corinthians as he compares the Church to a body "in which all members cooperate according to the gift of each one." (Chapter 12) The same appears in his letter to the Romans: "For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and everyone member of one another. We have, then, gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us.." (Romans 12:4-6) The councils, as diverse as they are, gather those spiritual gifts, - numerous, different and distinct, and utilize them for the good of the body, that is the Church, scattered everywhere. The Spirit supports her, enlightens her in her research, discussions, resolutions and decisions, so that she may act for the sake of all. For this reason, the ecumenical councils convoked and recognized by His Holiness, the Pope, are considered exempt of error in matters of doctrine and Christian morality.

It is from this ecclesial and diverse standpoint that the councils are convened - that is, to express the unity and universality of the Church, explain her faith, protect her beliefs, outline the conduct of her children and their roles within her, and define her relationship with the world surrounding her. In her, the mission of teaching, handed on to her by the Lord Jesus before His ascension to heaven, is revealed in a wonderful manner.

Part Two: The Councils in Our Maronite Church

6. Our Maronite Church learned from the experience of the Universal Church in this area. Beginning with the 16`h century, she held her own councils. The Synod of Mount Lebanon, held in 1736 in the Monastery of Our Lady of Louaizeh, represents the center of attention, most significant among them all, because of the wide range of topics treated in this Synod, and the vast results which affected the whole of our Church life. Before touching on this Council, we should cast a quick look at the other councils, the previous as well as the later ones.

7. Seven councils were held in the 16'x' century. Prominent among them are four: the Council of 1580, during the time of Patriarch Mikhael Rizzi; two Councils in 1596, during the times of Patriarch Sarkis Rizzi and Patriarch

Youssef Rizzi; and the Council of 1598, during the time of Patriarch Youssef Rizzi himself. The remaining three councils were held in 1557, during the time of Patriarch Moussa Akkari, and 1569 and 1587, during the time of Patriarch Mikhael Rizzi. All these councils took place in the patriarchal residence of Qannoubine, except the council of 1598, which met in the Church of Saint Moura, in the village of Moussa (Ehden). In the 17' century, only one council was held in the year 1644, in Hrash, during the time of Patriarch Youssef Accouri (see "History of the Law of the Maronite Church " by Msgr. Joseph Feghali; see `AI-Manarat" of 1983, Vol. I: this whole volume is dedicated to the Maronite councils).

Of all these councils, the most important was the Council of 1580, convened in the presence of two delegates from the Holy See, one of them being the Jesuit Father Eliano. Father Eliano wrote the texts based on the Tridentine Council. The Maronite Church has to abide by them in order to show the conformity in her beliefs, discipline and sacraments with the Church of Rome. The Council begins with an exposition of the basic truths of the Catholic faith, the seven sacraments of the Church and the various books of the Holy Scriptures. The Council resolves, among other things, the convocation of a council every three years (Canon 9).

8. The provincial Synod of Mount Lebanon (1736) convened during the time of Patriarch Youssef Dergharn Al-Khazen, in the presence of the Apostolic Delegate, [the Maronite] Youssef Semaan Assemani. Assemani brought with him a Latin copy of the works of the Council, based on the canons of the Roman Church, especially the Tridentine Council. The Patriarch and Bishops had made the request to His Holiness, Pope Clement XII, to send them Assemani "in order to reform those things that infiltrated the Church discipline and compromised its original nature and splendor, for they were unable by themselves to reform them and bring them to order." (see "Al-Manarat", p86).

If we look at the table of contents of the Council, we realize the magnitude of the topics addressed by it. It is divided into four parts: Part One, composed of five chapters, covers the Catholic faith, Christian education, the preaching of the Word of God, the publication of books and their use, the feast days and fasting, the devotion to saints, and the veneration of relics and sacred images. Part Two, of fourteen chapters, discusses the sacraments, indulgences, penal sanctions and others. Part Three, of six chapters, touches on the Holy Orders, bishops, priests, the Patriarch and his privileges and tribunals. Part Four, of seven chapters, deals with churches, schools, monasteries, and conciliar resolutions.

The Appendix to the Council includes forty-three chapters; it covers topics of diverse interest, from indulgences; to papal letters, rules for monasteries, schools, feast days and fasting. Besides, all correspondence in connection with the Council was also added at the end of the volume.

In recalling all these titles, our intention is to incite people to go back to the Council's documents, read them, and discover the treasures they hold, their resolutions and directives, some of which assume a prophetic character, especially in regard to education.

In spite of all what has been said, this Council still remains the subject of research, study and analysis for many scholars. It is but a sign telling us of the kind of qualitative change this Council brought to our Church life and which is still manifest in our history.

Yet, one must admit that these innovations dictated by the Council took a long time before being put into practice. For that matter, the convocation to further councils was required.

9. Three councils were summoned during the time of Patriarch Simon Awad: the first in 1744 was held in Bekaata (Kesrouan); the second in 1747 and the third in 1755 in Qannoubine. Another council was held in 1756 in Bekaata by Patriarch Tobie Al-Khazen. On the other hand, a Council was held in the Monastery of Mayfouq in 1780 at the request of the Apostolic Delegate and under the presidency of the Patriarchal Vicar, Bishop Mikhael al-Khazen. Patriarch Youssef Estephan convoked three Councils, the first in 1768 in the Monastery of St. Joseph Al-Hosn in Ghosta, the second in 1786 in Ain Chkeek in Wata Jaouz, the third in Bkerke in 1790.

During the 19' century, two councils were held, one in the Monastery of Our Lady of Louaizeh in 1818 during the time of Patriarch Youhanna Helou, the second in 1856 during the time of Patriarch Boulos Massad.

The councils convoked after the Synod of Mount Lebanon, upon request of the Holy See, were mostly intended to implement the decisions of the Synod itself, especially those related to the eparchies, the definition of the bishops' competence, the responsibilities of pastors, monks, nuns, the use of the liturgical books and other things.

10. No council was convened during the second half of the 19' century. This interruption in time opened a big gap in the government of Church, as it was practiced according to decisions made by previous councils. At the start of the 20' century, some voices among the clergy and the laity as well began to be heard: they were calling for a new Maronite council.

"In 1921, Bishop Besharra Chemali presented a report to Pope Benedict XV, in which he requested the foundation of a central Maronite seminary. This seminary would foster life in our Maronite Church and serve as a base for a radical reform within her." He goes on to demonstrate the need of such an institution and then comes to the idea of a council, adding: "[this Seminary] will cooperate in the preparation of a new Mount Lebanon council in which all canonical, administrative and liturgical questions will be clarified, defined and adapted to the current needs. It would be easy, once the proposed Seminary is established, to appoint various committees taken from among its faculty; they would be given the task to study all kinds of topics on discipline, liturgy, canon law, to be used as a consultation plan for a council. Great would be our joy if we could summon in the year 1936, on the occasion of the second bicentennial of the Synod of Mount Lebanon, a second Council which would represent the dawn of a new life and a needed implementation of the 1736 Council." (See: "Ar-Rabitat" Magazine, No. 6, 1986, pp. 13-21).

If we glance at the conferences held by the association, "The Sacerdotal League ", the gatherings of clergy and lay people, their publications and statements, we find out that all of them call for renewal and enlist the topics that should be subjects for study. Such claims emerged more particularly after Vatican Council II, because of all the revisions the Council introduced in the Church worldwide. Their echo reached us in a letter, already more than thirty years old, addressed to the Church authority by more than one hundred priests. The letter reads: "It seems obvious to us that the best way to undertake the reform and the renewal according to your wishes, our own wishes and the yearning of the Christian people, is to summon a council similar to that of Vatican Council IL" The letter then displays a list of topics whose studies were deemed urgent (January 27, 1973). All those ideas and suggestions became quite obvious, following various workshops held by the movement "A Church for our World", who presented them in a well thought and unified project, at the end of the year 1982.

We, ourselves, wrote an article published in "Al-Manarat" in 1983, about the influence of the religious councils on the life of the Maronite Church. We concluded, saying: "A century and a quarter have already gone after the convocation of the last council. Right after the conclusion of Vatican Council II, some precursory signs appeared on the horizon. They told of the need for the revision of many Church matters, through the convocation of a Maronite council. However, the events which befell Lebanon, and still do, prevented the fulfillment of such a need. We pray that the time of trials will pass, that Lebanon may regain the security and peace yearned for by its children, and that the spirit may breathe again and renew the face of the earth." (`Al-Manarat", p. 10).

After our election to Patriarch in 1986, we addressed our children, the monks, who came to congratulate us, and whose Superior General called for a council: "Many are the wishes as the dust of time is piling over many of our institutions, traditions and customs. After a journey of two hundred fifty years, it is about time that we shake the dust and revise many of our affairs. We welcome the idea [of a general council]; however we must prepare for it and guarantee the support of our Synod of Bishops and especially the blessing of His Holiness, Pope John Paul 11" (`An-Nahar ", 4-5-1986).

In view of what we just exposed at length, in view of the calling for renewal presented to us, either by Vatican Council II, in the Code of Canons for the Eastern Churches, or in the episcopal councils held in various countries and on every level, we deemed necessary to put in motion the convocation of a new council. This is what, indeed, we agreed upon with our brother Bishops.

Part Three: The Maronite Patriarchal Assembly

I. Historical Outlook

11. In 1985, the members of the Sacerdotal League, gathered in our Seminary of Ghazir for their annual spiritual retreat, with the late Father Youakim Moubarak as their retreat master, launched a pastoral survey for a Maronite synodal journey. In this survey, they sought a large number of faithful and asked questions relating to the idea and topics of a council. Then in 1987, they presented to us the results of the survey. In June of the same year, during our Synod of Bishops, we resolved to appoint a synodal Commission under the presidency of His Excellency, the late Bishop Youssef Khoury and with the membership of Bishops John Chedid, Youssef Becharra and Becharra Rai. We assigned to them the task to explore the proper times and climate for the convocation of a general Maronite council, for the revision of our Church matters. With the assistance of delegates taken from eparchies and religious orders, among clergy and lay experts, the Commission began its work; it appointed Father Youakim Moubarak as General Secretary, assisted by Father Mounir Khairallah. In June 1988, the members presented the results of their work to our patriarchal Synod. We commended them for a job well done and authorized them, as they concluded this preliminary stage, to begin the preparatory work for the council.

12. The Commission worked hard in setting the final plan of the files for study. The experts devoted their time to the writing of the texts and their continuous revision. Year after year, the Commission kept informing us of the progress of its work until the month of June, 1991.

13. On June 12, 1991, His Holiness, John Paul II, announced the convocation of a Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for Lebanon. The members of the Commission were compelled to cease temporarily their own work, in order to join all the efforts for the success of the new Synod; they would also benefit from its results in preparing the texts of the forthcoming Maronite council. In the meanwhile, the Commission lost their President on February 2, 1992. His Holiness appointed Bishop Bechara Rai as Coordinator of the Synod. However, our own Synod of Bishops, in their desire to pursue the preparatory work of the Maronite council, appointed, in June 1992, a new Commission, having Bishop Youssef Becharra for President and Bishops John Chedid, Antoine Hamid Mourani, and Boulos Matar for members. Later on, they were joined by Bishop Francis Baissari.

14. At the conclusion of the "Synod for Lebanon" and after the proclamation of the Apostolic Exhortation, "New Hope for Lebanon", on May 10, 1995, the Commission resumed its monthly meetings, with a new General Secretariat, composed of Father Mounir Khairallah, Father Richard Abi-Saleh, and Father Boulos Rouhanna. They resumed their contact with the experts and delineated the methodology of their work: the texts are first accepted by the Central Committee; then they are mailed to the Bishops, General Superiors of men and women religious, seminaries, and universities, they are submitted for discussion in small groups and amended with suggestions and remarks; finally they are sent back to the authors in order to be rewritten.

During the month of June of every year, the Commission presented its report to our Synod of Bishops, giving account of the course of its task and its progress. In June of 2000, the Commission handed us the first draft of all the Council's files.

15. The Preparatory Commission came to realize that some of the topics dealt with sensitive issues and needed clarification and close examination before the convening the Council. It thus held two sessions: the first discussed on one hand, the issue of the identity and, on .he other, the belonging to the Maronite Church of the Maronites of the patriarchal territory as well as those of the Expansion. The second session looked at the structure of the Maronite Church and the relationship ,within her, between the hierarchy and the religious orders. During that later session, we presented a paper galled "The Structure of the Maronite Church: A Vision of the Future".

16. Once the Preparatory Commission completed most of the files and mailed them to those concerned, it presented to us, during our Synod of Bishops of June 2002, a plan of action for the coming years. After studying this plan, we resolved to open the first sessions of the Council during the first and third weeks of June of 2003. The sessions of the Council will take place in Our Lady of the Mountain, Fatqua (Kesrewan), while the opening and concluding Liturgy will be celebrated in our patriarchal Residence of Bkerke.

17. We replaced the Preparatory Commission with an expanded Central Commission. We appointed the following members:

Bishop Youssef Becharra: President

Bishops: Roland Aboujaoudi; Chekrallah Harb; Becharra Rai; Boutros Gemayel; Francis Baissari; Boulos Matar; Samir Mazloum; Antoine Nabil Andary; Abbot Francois Eid; General Superior Khalil Alwan; Abbot Boulos Tannouori; Chorbishop Camille Zaidan; Msgr. Mounir Khairallah; Mother Dominic Halby; Fr. Richard Abou- Saleh; Fr. Boulos Rouhanna; Fr. Salim Dakkash; Fr. Nasser Gemayel; Sister Yara Mata; Ambassador Simon Karam; and Mrs. Simone Moubarak: members.

This Commission was assigned the role to continue the works of preparation and to be in charge of the works before and after the Council.

We also appointed the President of the Commission as Secretary General. He was assisted by Msgr. Mounir Khairallah, Father Richard Abou-Saleh and Father Boulos Rouhanna, for the Executive and Synodal affairs, and by Father Khalil Alwan for the administrative and organizational affairs of the synodal sessions.

We authorized the Secretary General to address invitations to those who may be concerned according to Canon 143 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches.

We personally addressed invitations to the Council to those who must be invited. Besides, the Commission is publishing a "Guidebook of the Council", which includes all the details for the Council, its stages and the progress of its work.

II. The Identity of the Council and Its Objectives

18. From a canonical standpoint, we relied on the framework described by the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches (Canons 140 - 145). The Patriarchal Assembly, which is to meet every five years (Canon 141), is presided by the Patriarch; it is the consultative body of the whole Church; it assists the Patriarch and the Synod of Bishops of the patriarchal church in matters of great importance, producing harmony between, on one hand, the various aspects of her mission, means and ecclesial discipline, and on the other, the signs of times and the common good of the particular Church; it must also take into consideration the common good of each region where various sui iuris Churches coexist. The Council brings together bishops, priests, monks, nuns, lay faithful, men and women, and experts in various fields. Though advisory by nature, from a canonical point of view, it enjoys however an official character. The Church authority has to give it proper attention and consideration, and extend to its resolutions the canonical form they deserve. Indeed, it may become, for the whole Church, a source of growth and renewal, and outline for her the path of the future.

19. We should not stop at the canonical aspect of the Council, but rather at its ecclesial aspect. This is indeed the first time where the Maronite family is brought together. The sons and daughters of St. Maron in the patriarchal territory as well as in the eparchies of the Expansion, of far and near, will head toward the patriarchal Residence in Lebanon, bearing in their hearts and minds their noble heritage with great expectations. They meet around their Patriarch, head of their Church, symbol and protector of their unity. They share prayer, reflection and discussion about their own affairs, looking with confidence and hope into the future, confirmed by their faith in the Lord Jesus, and bound in unity to their saint fathers, from Maron to Sharbel to Rafka, through the hosts of martyrs who were loyal to their Lord and their mission.

20. This Council would continue the calls of the previous ones, those Maronite and those ecumenical, especially the Vatican Council II. We deem necessary to recall here all the basic principles set by the Apostolic Exhortation, "New Hope for Lebanon", so that our Church may renew herself and become a leaven of reconciliation and peace, and a promoter of dialogue and love. The Exhortation urged each one of the patriarchal Churches to preserve her traditions, for each one of them enjoys a special cultural patrimony and a distinctive eeclesial, liturgical, theological, spiritual and disciplinary tradition (No. 8). Elsewhere, the Exhortation explains that such a heritage deserves not only to be respected and preserved, but also to be confirmed and encouraged (No. 21). It also calls for a renewed evaluation of those traditions which are tied to the Fathers and to the liturgy, particularly within the Antiochene Churches who share a joint tradition. This is, indeed, a vital requirement, on one hand, for their own renewal (No. 41), and on the other, for the ecumenical dialogue and mission among them. The Exhortation openly states that the Antiochene tradition, in its Aramaic and Greek roots, has been transmitted through the Fathers of the Church, the spiritual authors, the Divine Liturgy and through the example of martyrs and men and women saints. Fidelity to such a tradition helps for a true return to the sources. Through it, the Holy Spirit works for the renewal of every particular Church and for the development of "communion" among themselves (No. 40). The Exhortation insists on the rediscovery of the Antiochene heritage and its study, in depth, for the sake of an efficient ecumenical dialogue.

21. These testimonies illustrate for us the limits of our synodal action and its importance. We do not intend to study the various topics only from a general and theological approach. Each topic is assigned three centers of interest to be observed as close as possible: the first one takes us back to the past; the second analyzes the current reality; and the third envisions the future and provides suggestions. The purpose of adopting such centers or such methodology is to show the distinctive character of our Church and her patrimony; it confirms in us our ecclesial identity, illustrates for us the guidelines of our mission, preserves us from deviation and mistakes, and, without denying the progress and growth we have experienced in the course of time, strengthens us in our own heritage.

Our deep-felt roots and firmly established traditions will protect us from getting lost and deliver us from anxiety toward the future.

III. The Topics of the Council

22. We did mention earlier the attempts made for the preparation of a list of topics for study. The Preparatory Commission, benefiting from such attempts as well as from the opinions of the participants in the Pastoral Survey, established the structure of those topics. Our Synod of Bishops agreed to them. Here they are:

1. Theological Introduction : Church of Hope, an Act of Faith for our World

File One: Identity of the Maronite Church, Her

Vocation and Mission

2. Identity of the Maronite Church

3. Apostolic and Missionary Vocation of the Maronite Church

4. Ecumenical Vocation of the Maronite Church

5. Vocation of the Maronite Church in Her Relationship with Islam and the Arab World

File Two: Pastoral Renewal in the Maronite Church On Persons:

6. Priests in the Maronite Church: Their Priesthood, vocation,

training and ministry

7. Religious Life in the Maronite Church

8. Laity in the Maronite Church

9. Maronite Family

10. Youth

On Structures:

11. Maronite Patriarchate

12. Episcopal Collegiality in the Maronite Church

13. Parish and Pastoral Ministry

On Pastoral Life:

14. Education/Proclamation and Ongoing Training for Adult Lay Faithful

15. Liturgy

File Three: Maronite Church in Today's World

16. Maronite Church in Today's World

17. Maronite Church and Politics

18. Maronite Church, Apostle of Modernity

19. Maronite Church and the Media

20. Maronite Church and the Sociological Question

21. Maronite Church and Economic Affairs

22. Maronite Church and the Land

File Four: Laws and Rules of the Maronite Church

23. Laws and Rules of the Maronite Church

File Five: The Maronite Church and Her

Expansion in the World

24. The Maronite Church and Her Expansion in the World (11 countries).

23. The review of the topics offered to the conscience of the Council displays the magnitude of the challenges facing us; they demand from us all to confront them with awareness, openness and joint responsibility. We do not intend to predict here what the discussions and the interventions will lead to; they will appear in time and will enrich every topic presented for discussion. However, we would like to bring to attention, as of now, some of the urgent problems which provoke our reflection and our prayer.

A. The First File proposes three important issues: the first one touches on the identity of the Maronite Church from an historical and theological standpoint. An identity is established and perpetuated only on clearly defined foundations. Therefore, there is a permanent need of historical and theological research; it does not stop at the Council itself; it rather grows out of the Council in order to be for us and for our children, wherever they may be, a nourishment for their faith and their belonging, as well as a support during their centuries old journey. The second issue is linked to the Antiochene dimension of our Church and her noble common patrimony with the other Antiochene Churches. Such dimension compels us to explore such a patrimony in the various fields, especially the ecumenical one. We wish to see the day come when all our Churches gather in one Antiochene Council! The third issue concerns our relationship with the Arab World and Islam. Such a topic is of such importance, especially in the present circumstances, that it requires from us to mobilize all our Church potential. We have to focus on history as well as on our daily and multi-faceted experience, on the current reality and its challenge, on the role it imposes on us, and on the mission we are destined to accomplish. We have to protect our joint experience and our common values; we have to strengthen the dialogue among us and reject every defamation and accusation; we have to promote the human beings and defend their rights; we have to set the foundations for democratic laws within our societies to which we, organically, belong.

B. The Second File , which deals with the topic of renewal, presents for consideration structural problems and life's affairs. Among the structural problems, there is the understanding of the patriarchal Church: on one hand, between the Patriarch and Bishops and their firm relationship within the work of their permanent Synod; on the other, between them and the different groups of faithful, clergy and religious men and women. Such relationships, based on clear ecclesial foundations, are the guarantee for us to realize our yearning for unity in reflection and action, while we let each group enjoy their own independence and govern their own internal affairs. Whenever we believe that we can think and live separated from others and from our patrimony and history, we are reneging our identity. As for the affairs that relate to life, they are many. We mention only three. The first is tied to a religious culture. It should be acquired by adults, in order to enable them to confront with faith the hurdles of life and play their role as leaven in the dough and as light of the world. The providing of such a culture is the duty of both the clergy and the people at the same time. One of the efficient means to realize it is the use of the religious media. The second regards the on-going education of the clergy in all the stages of life. In fact, the priests are those who embody among the people the presence of the Church and the mission of Christ. Such education represents an essential center of interest among the concerns of our Church. The third concerns the youth with the difficulties they confront before their education and their future, and before the questions they ask about their fate. The attention in this area represents one of our priorities in action and preoccupation, in order for us to guarantee their future as well as the future of the Church and the homeland.

C. The Third File is abundant in questions and problems of life. The first among them deals with Church and politics. This problem must denounce the current confusions and biased rumors which depict the position of the Church as partial, factional and lost into political labyrinths. The Church position is but a reminder of the rights of human beings and their dignity; a defense of freedoms and a warning against selfish passions; a call for the sovereignty, independence and free choice of the homeland. Those are the general principles taught by the Church. They appeared in the Apostolic Exhortation, "New Hope for Lebanon", which addresses, at length, national matters. National matters are, in fact, part of this year's program, within the general five year program prepared by our patriarchal Commission for the application of the Exhortation. We urge our children, the politicians, to seek inspiration in these teachings and directives, so that their choices and political conduct become a service to their country and countrymen, not a compliance to desires, motives and conspiracies which have nothing to do with the common good.

As for the economic and social questions, they are as important as the political one. We know that the three of them are profoundly connected. There is no doubt that our role should be significant in that field even though we cannot replace the state, and do not wish to replace it at all. We already took some initiatives here. We will continue to join hands with people of good will and our many qualified children; we will put together a development plan, relying on the material and moral potential of the Church - for her own sake and the sake of the people. We commend every initiative, be it from individuals or institutions, civil or religious, which contributes to alleviate the heavy burden placed upon the citizens and helps in the creation of jobs, so that our children remain firmly attached to their land. In fact, the attachment to the homeland, especially in times of trial, is one of our first duties; more so, it is a choice for our mission within this homeland.

More than once, we expressed such a message in the letters that we addressed in company of our brothers, the Eastern Catholic Patriarchs. However, those who are responsible in this country must provide the conditions of a free and dignified life to the individual citizens as well as the communities.

D. The Fourth File examines the canonical and disciplinary issues which held a large part of the previous Maronite councils. As we realize the importance of discipline and law, we cannot separate them today from the theology of the Church and her spiritual life. We have definite things regarding discipline and administration; they are determined by the canons on all and every level of the Church structures; among them we have active secretariats, which should be created and made efficient in order to realize the participation in the council. Besides, many are the conferences and boards recommended by the canons. Yet, the canons do not create life; they only discipline it and guide it on the path of holiness.

E. The Fifth File touches on one of the most important issues which confront the Church and the country as well, - that is the emigration of our children which did intensify for the last quarter of a century. There is a link between emigration and expatriation. Expatriation, in fact, paves the way first to an internal emigration and then to an external one. When it lasts a long period of time, emigration leads to the shrinking of the bonds to the point of disappearance. Then begins the journey in exile, which hurts the identity and the sense of belonging at their very heart. As a Church, we must find the proper ways guaranteeing for our children of the Expansion the preservation of their heritage and, at the same time, that of their new various belongings. They would not then lose their identity and we would not have to lose them twice. The participation of delegates coming from the eparchies of the Expansion, the intellectual contribution of bishops and priests and the possession of true data on this issue will enable us to better understand the problem and prepare a plan for its study. We will benefit from it, all of us, those of the homeland as well as those in the countries of Expansion. We will discover the immense potential existing among our children of the Expansion. They may then mobilize such a potential, from an ecclesial as well as a national standpoint, wherever they are settled now and wherever their roots are solidly anchored in the countries they left.

Part Four: Participation in the Council

24. Canon 143 of the Code of Canons for the Eastern Churches determines those who are to be convoked to the Council. Besides the Bishops, Superiors General of Religious men and women, rectors of Catholic universities, deans of institutes of theology and canon law, there are priests, monks, nuns and lay faithful from all eparchies. The participation of lay faithful is not new to us. Throughout history, our councils are well known in counting lay faithful among them. This is the sign of an ecclesial Eastern understanding, appropriate and true. It should be always present in our life. This kind of diversity opens the space for the participation of a large number of talents, all used for the good of the Church. If we add the number of experts, authors of the texts and commissions who worked during the preparatory stage, it clearly appears that the Council is not the work of an individual or a small group; it is rather the result of labor pains undergone by the entire people: they join their effort to reflect, they gather all kinds of experiences and they bear their hope, knit with faith, prayer and love of the Church. The Council progresses without deviation under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, for our goal is the radiance of Christ's face within the face of our Church, today. She enters the Third Millennium, confident that God is calling her to continue her journey without fear nor hesitation.

In spite of this large number of participants, there are still many of our children who wish to be part of the Council. As we appreciate their wish, we are compelled to observe the canons and limit the number. However, we advise them all to participate in certain ways which are different and to which we will allude soon. We know that there is no precedence of one participant over another, except for the efficient contribution they provide, be it from inside or from outside the Council, and for their active loyalty to the Church, the vigor of their faith and the spiritual radiance of their life.

25. The canons also allow the invitation of people who belong to other Churches, Catholic and non-Catholic. We are doing so, in order to foster among us the ecclesial "communion" in brotherly love and ecumenical spirit. We are, indeed, connected churches, tied to each other with the bonds of the same faith and the same destiny. We are called to face our obstacles, especially the pastoral ones, in a spirit of openness and solidarity for the welfare of our sons and daughters.

We will also invite observers among our brother Muslims as it was done during the "Synod for Lebanon". We are convinced, on one hand, of the principle of open communication, sincerity and transparency; and, on the other, the principle of honest sharing in what enables us to build up the human being in Lebanon and build the homeland itself. Their symbolic participation illustrates the distinctive characters of Lebanon/the message, as mentioned more than once by His Holiness the Pope. It shows at the same time our common will to be together, remain together and work together, - especially in our Church Council which will reveal our choices as faithful and as citizens.

26. It is about time to brief you quickly about the work of the Council itself and about the time needed for that: The texts of the various files are distributed to the participants. They study them and make their remarks during the general sessions, which begin in the first week of the upcoming month of June. The week is dedicated to the interventions of the participants. During the second week, the experts of the special commissions spend time studying the remarks. Meanwhile, the Bishops go about their usual annual retreat. In the third week of the month, the remarks are presented to the members of the Council. Once approved by them, these remarks are considered as amendments and are included in the core of the texts. With this, the first stage of the Council is concluded.

During the period of time that extends from July 2003 until June 2004, the writing of the texts will resume in light of the proposed amendments. Then, once more, they are distributed to the members of the Council.

The second stage takes place in the first and third weeks of the month of June of the year 2004. The texts are again the subject of study. When the members of the Council agree to them, they will be approved. However, these texts are not yet considered ecclesial documents. They are not ready for publication, until they receive the final approval of the proper ecclesial authority.

All the above mentioned matters are explained in great detail in the "Guidebook of the Patriarchal Assembly ".

27. We must now clarify a few things, in order to avoid confusion or inappropriate interpretation.

a) The texts proposed for study and discussion are not final. They are only drafts, subject to modifications made by the remarks received and which may lead to eliminations, additions or further development. For the moment. these texts are not considered official texts. Their publication as representing the official position of the Church is not allowed. They are still, indeed, in the stage of preparation and clarification. If they are put into the hands of the media and see publication at the wrong time, they may be exposed to deformation, partition or misinterpretation about the Church position.

b) Some may ask: "Why the methodology of the `Synod for Lebanon' is not adopted here?" In fact, the Synod prepared its "general outlines", then presented them to the people, and at last the people responded with their remarks.

The methodology proper to the Council differs from that of the Synod. After the study of the "general outlines", the work of the Synod is based on the formulation of an agenda serving as a working plan for the Synod. It adopts the suggestions and resolutions taken from there and presents them to the Pope. It is the Pope himself who, relying on these resolutions and suggestions, promulgates the results of the Synod with an Apostolic Exhortation. This exhortation becomes an official document of the Church, but not a conciliar one.

As for the Council, it devotes itself to the study of texts they present to the Bishops for their approval and adoption, before becoming conciliar documents. These texts are first written by special commissions; then they are revised and approved by a Central Commission; they are sent back to the members of the Council for remarks; then they are written once more; finally they are revised again by the members of the Council for approval. This is the methodology adopted by the Councils.

c) Such a methodology, however, does not mean at all the exclusion of the role of the people and the participation of the faithful. The question is: "How do we participate, independently of being inside or outside the Council?"

28. There are three ways of participating in the Council:

1. By Praying for the Success of the Council : Prayer is an essential element in invoking the grace of the Holy Spirit and the light of his inspiration. On the Spirit, the Apostles relied in their first council held in Jerusalem. Besides, you all know the role played by prayer for the success of the "Synod for Lebanon", -prayer raised by individuals as well as by communities, families, schools, monasteries and parishes. We hope that the same will happen in regard to our upcoming Council.

2. By Return to God : Along with the prayer, there is the return to God, in order to discover his will and accomplish it, not only on the individual level, but also on the communal ecclesial one. The Council is a joint endeavor, whose purpose is renewal. Renewal is not possible without a return to God and an upright conduct based on the Gospel's principles and the Church's teachings.

3. By Intellectual Participation : It comes as a crowning to the spiritual one. It is manifested in the indepth study of the proposed topics of the files, done through lectures and workshops and addressed to all groups of faithful through our educational and pastoral institutions. We highly recommend that those who are competent among our people deliver to the General Commission of the Council some of their serious studies, to be of help in the preparation of the documents and to assist the participants on the Council. At the same time, we urge the Council's Commission for Communications to do such a work and to provide the best of advice in order for us to reach our goals, mobilize our diverse capabilities, avoid the missteps, correct our errors and preserve the ecclesial spirit of the Council.

We urge all our eparchies, our religious orders and institutions to create in their midst such commissions for study and prayer.

Conclusion

The Council is a journey which is part of that journey of ecclesial renewal, practiced by our Church throughout centuries. Every renewal has its rules, means and motives, but the j journey will not stop going forward. Let us repeat here the words of His Holiness the Pope in his Apostolic Exhortation, "New Hope for Lebanon": "This document offers some principles for reflection, directives for renewal and concrete suggestions. It will remain for you, during the coming years, a guide for a permanent renewal .... You must keep reflecting on what is proposed to you .... Do not consider that, with the publication of the Apostolic Exhortation, the Synod comes to an end. I exhort you earnestly to seek all means possible so that this Exhortation may be accepted fraternally and efficiently. Put into practice what I am proposing to you .... Continue to use a critical mind and be obedient to the work of the Holy Spirit. Let the Gospel of Jesus Christ be your inspiration, that, renewed by the Spirit, Christ himself may be your true hope.

Then, you will remain together and bear witness to his love."

The purpose of every council, especially this one, is to be a revision of our own behavior with God and among ourselves, we mean, strictly speaking, during the years when the war was raging in our land and the years after. A quick look at what happened among us, at what is still happening, in fact, will compel us, if we intend to be true to ourselves and to our country, to leave the past behind us, cement firm bonds of solidarity among us, and liberate ourselves from the severe crisis facing us. Nobody ignores that our Christian faith was, for our fathers and forefathers, who found refuge in these mountains, their way of salvation; it is also for us as it was for them, the way of salvation, in spite of the changing times and circumstances. We hope that this Council will instigate the will in us to follow the right path, to choose love over conflict and to conform ourselves to the teachings of our Maronite Church. For more than thirteen centuries, she has been leading the way in our journey . We also hope that this Council will provide our Church and her children, those who reside within the patriarchal territory as well as those who live in the countries of Expansion, with a new and sound beginning, firmly anchored on our historical roots and looking at the future with great hope. The adherence to the authenticity of our heritage does not mean our recoiling within ourselves; it rather guarantees for us continuity in life and testimony wherever we live; it opens us to all things new that take us forward without taking away from us the values of a dignified and free life and without exiling us from our own selves and our commitment to the calls of our times and milieu.

We place this Council under the wing of our Mother, the Virgin Mary, who walked with us in our historical journey, protected us from all harms and confirmed us, beyond all obstacles, in her Son's love and her own love.

Throughout centuries, we found in our saints, especially St. Maron, St. Sharbel, St. Rafka and Blessed Hardini, the signposts of guidance on the road to holiness, which is the calling of the Lord to us, so that we may live together, supporting and comforting each other, within his Church who remains inspired by the Holy Spirit.
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Contact

Secretary General, Zouk Mosbeh - Lebanon

Telephone: +961 9 225923

Fax: +961 9 225924

E-mail: secretariat@maronitesynod.org

Thank you for sharing with us news of the Maronite Church. I would like to know why the Council of Trent had that impact in the Maronites, more than in the other Eastern Catholic Churches (maybe the Armenian Church was the one who was influenced by Trent too). Is it why they have first communions and unleavened bread without the chalice?

The Synod in Lebanon is a possitive thing. I have read that relationships between Maronite and Melkites-Orthodox in Lebanon, for example, are not so good because of political reasons. How is that?

Damascus smiles on Maronite Synod
Sfeir succeeds in effort to mend fences
Zeina Abu Rizk
Special to The Daily Star

The recent Maronite Synod was historical in every sense of the word. The first such Synod since 1736, it clarified the Maronite Church’s position on a number of crucial issues and also served to confirm its essential Arab identity.
The Synod was a step forward in relations between the Christian communities of Lebanon and Syria, which warmly welcomed its results. Sources in Damascus said that Syria wanted to prove to Bkirki its appreciation for the stance adopted by the Church during the Synod.
However, the sources added that any serious improvement on the Bkirki-Syrian track should be gradual, slow and sure, avoiding possible mistakes that undo progress that might be achieved.
These steps would ultimately lead to official contact between Bkirki and Syrian officials, but it is still too soon to predict when and what exactly it will involve, the sources said.
The Syrian sources said the Synod’s resolutions last Saturday reflected Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir’s “wisdom and sound thinking” and helped reinforce the respect Damascus has for the prelate. They said the Synod’s resolutions consolidated the patriarch’s image as a national leader in the eyes of Damascus.
A number of issues and points in the Synod’s final statement were behind this satisfaction, notably, the absence of a direct reference to Syria and its presence here.
Although the statement asserted Lebanon’s sovereignty, independence and liberty, as Bkirki has always done over the past decade, it did not call for a Syrian withdrawal.
This is a significant departure from the successive calls of the Council of Maronite Bishops in September 2000 and September 2001 for Syrian troops to be pulled out of Lebanon in accordance with the 1989 Taif Accord that ended the civil war a year later.
The church also emphasized its place in the Arab world and denied that it ever had plans
for a separate Christian Maronite entity.
No Maronite Christian can dispute this statement because Bkirki is the supreme authority for Maronite Christians across the world and the patriarch, the head of the Maronite community, is the spiritual authority for all Maronites.
One of the Synod’s participants explained that this meant the Maronite diaspora, spread all over the world, cannot ignore the Synod’s decision.
Maronites live in many parts of the world, and some would argue that many Maronites were no longer truly Lebanese, and so those who were not did not need to follow Bkirki.
Synod sources said that the confirmation of Bkirki’s supreme authority at the Synod would help cut short any attempt to break away from the patriarchate’s control.
Sfeir indirectly referred to Bkirki’s authority in the homily he delivered right after the proclamation of the Synod’s resolutions. The patriarch asserted that Lebanon was the home of all Maronites, and is to the Maronite community what Rome is to Catholics.
Sources said this was an effort to clear up misunderstandings at last year’s World Maronite Congress in Los Angeles, during which a number of Christians adopted positions which contradicted the authorities’ official line and approved the US Congress’ bill to hold Syria accountable for its alleged support of terrorism and its “occupation” of Lebanon.
Last month, Sfeir said that he still wanted the Syrian troops to leave Lebanon but affirmed that the Maronites should not rely on US pressures in Damascus in this regard. The Syrians should leave Lebanon on good terms, he said.
Another significant development at the Synod was the presence of representatives from the Sunni, Shiite and Druze communities.
Sources at the Synod explained that this was to show that there was no hidden agenda in the Maronite Church, and that by inviting eminent Muslim figures to the Synod, the clergy wanted to prove that Bkirki shares the same “national” vision as the other communities in Lebanon.
The sources close to Damascus said that the Synod’s resolutions in general were “outstanding,” and considered them among the most important resolutions ever made by an ecclesiastical gathering, whether in modern history or in ancient times.
In addition to its results, Damascus sources also praised the extraordinary nature of the Synod. This Synod was the first in the Maronite Church for 267 years, and was attended by numerous high-ranking Christian spiritual leaders, among them four patriarchs, 36 Maronite bishops and more than 400 others, including the representatives of Muslim communities.
For Syrian officials, the Maronite Church has “detached itself” from the Catholic and Orthodox churches, through its strong and clear stands, particularly those favorable to the Arabs. In return, the sources said, there is a complete commitment on Syria’s part to “make the patriarch feel completely at ease, on important issues or unimportant ones.”
“Damascus wants the patriarch to be comfortable even with the tiniest details,” one of the sources said, adding that to further this goal, consultations were continuously under way between Syria and Bkirki.

Shlomo Lkhoolkhoon,
Here is the entire text of the comunique from our Patriarchal Synod (published at Our Lady of the Mount, 21st June, 2003).

Poosh BaShlomo Lkhoolkhoon,
Yuhannon

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1. By the grace of God, answering the summons of His Most Eminent Beatitude Cardinal Nasrallah Peter Sfeir, Patriarch of Antioch and of All the East, the Maronite Patriarchal Synod held its first session from the 1st of June to the 7th of June and from the 16th to the 21st of the same month, in the year 2003, at the House named Our Lady of the Mount at Fatka in the casa of Kesrouan, Lebanon. In accordance with the sacred canons, those taking part included Their Excellencies the Bishops of the Maronite Church (each accompanied by a priest, by a member of a religious community of men or women, and by two lay persons from among the members of his diocese), the Most Reverend Superior Generals of the Maronite religious orders of men and women, the Presidents of Universities, the Deans of the Faculties of Theology and of Canon Law, the Superiors of Maronite seminaries in Lebanon and abroad, a number of experts in various fields, and the members of the Central Committee responsible for supervising the preparation of the Synod from the beginning until the final day.

We have answered this summons with hearts filled with ineffable joy at this meeting of the entire Maronite family, bishoprics and communities, for the first time since the Maronite Church spread across the world. We have come from Lebanon, Syria, the Holy Land, Jordan, Egypt, Cyprus, Europe, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, the United States of America, Canada and Australia. The place of our meeting has been transformed into a cenacle and its occasion has been a new Pentecost of the Spirit, concomitant with the Feast of the first Pentecost. (Acts 2, 1-13) We have all spontaneously felt that our assembly under this form bears within itself the leaven of its success and that this Patriarchal Synod will present itself as a great turning point in the present and future history of the Maronite Church.

2. The Synod opened during the evening of Sunday, June 1st with a Solemn Mass celebrated by His Most Eminent Beatitude the President of the Synod on the great esplanade of the Patriarchal Seat at Bkerki, with the participation of His Beatitude the Syriac Patriarch Boutros VIII Abd El Ahad and Their Excellencies the Bishops and in the presence of His Beatitude Gregory III Laham, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East for the Greek Melkite Catholics, of His Beatitude Nerses Bedros XIX, Patriarch of Cilicia for the Armenian Catholics, of the representative of His Excellency the Apostolic Nuncio to Lebanon, of Their Excellencies the Bishops representing various Churches, of the members of the Synod, and of a great number of priests, of men and women religious, and of the faithful. Together they raised their prayers in union with all the Maronites in Lebanon and in the whole world for the intention of the Synod which they had been a long time wholeheartedly calling for.

3. The sittings started the following morning with a speech of welcome and orientation delivered by His Most Eminent Beatitude the President of the Synod, followed by the reading of a message sent by His Eminence Cardinal Patriarch Moussa 1st Daoud, President of the Congregation of the Eastern Churches, in which His Eminence expressed his desire for the success of the work of the Synod. This was followed by a message of greeting delivered by His Excellency the Apostolic Nuncio Monsignor Luigi Gatti. At the commencement of the second week a message was read coming from His Excellency the President of the Lebanese Republic General Emile Lahoud and addressed to His Beatitude the Patriarch as President of the Synod and to all the members of the Synod, wishing them success in their work.

The invitation to attend and to take part in the work of the Synod was accepted by prelates representing the Catholic, Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox Churches, the heads of the Evangelical church communities, representatives of the non-Maronite religious orders, and delegates from the Sunnite, Shi’ite and Druze communities in Lebanon, and it is at this point that we wish to thank them for their presence. The Synod was honored by a brief visit from His Beatitude and Eminence Cardinal Stephanos Ghattas, Patriarch of Alexandria for the Coptic Catholics, coming from Cairo specially for the occasion.

The motives

4. The first reason motivating this great spiritual initiative is the Second Spring whose winds have blown over the Universal Church as a result of the Council Vatican II and also as a result of the Synod for Lebanon convoked by His Holiness the Sovereign Pontiff Pope John Paul II and closed on 10 May, 1997 in the Basilica of Our Lady of Lebanon by the signing of the Apostolic Exhortation New Hope for Lebanon. To these must be added the Jubilee Year 2000 and the commencement of the third millennium.

The second reason lies in the need for the Maronite Church to see and to meet its children and for all to pray together and to invoke the Holy Spirit in order to examine what their Church has become and what has happened to its identity, its unity and its mission after the great changes in it result from the dispersion of most of its children all over the globe. The Synod has come to concretize the immense and profound expectations in the heart of the Church and to crown the considerable efforts exerted in its preparation for more than fifteen years. It has been marked by a positive and constructive spirit expressed in the presentation of the subjects, treated in all liberty and simplicity, and by the perfect charity and attention of the audience during the discussions.

A Patriarchal Church which is Antiochean and Syriac

5. The subject of the identity of the Maronite Church and of its appartenance held the attention of all the participants without exception. The children of our Church, whose history has been bound up with the soil of Lebanon for fourteen centuries, and which has become rooted in the Arab world, have by their dispersion carried their Church to the five continents. The result has been the existence of a Mother Church in Lebanon, spiritual motherland, and of Churches of the Diaspora. Their experiences have been varied according to the diversity of the new cultural and social climates that they have come to know. Their languages have become many and these have been introduced by degrees into their liturgical prayers. They have therefore had to strive to ensure the preservation of the heritage of their Antiochean Syriac Church, both in Lebanon and in the world outside, with its unity, its riches and its diversity, in order that within the Church Universal it should be “fully equipped and ready for any good work” (2 Tim. 3, 17) and “in the work of service, building up the body of Christ. (Eph. 4, 12)

We have confirmed the Eastern identity of our Church as well as its Antiochean roots and attachment. We have examined under a new light the content of the above-mentioned Apostolic Exhortation of His Holiness the Pope urging us to reveal this tradition which we share with our brothers of the other Antiochean Churches. We have become more fully aware of the demands imposed by the membership of our Church in the family of Syriac Churches spreading from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean, a membership which associates us in a most precious cultural heritage. For the Syriac tradition is a noble and spiritual one, which has enriched the Universal Church “just as the other ecclesiastical traditions with their liturgical, theological, spiritual and organizational inheritance (have done).” (Cf. Code of Canon Law for the Eastern Churches, 18) We have perceived the importance of the encounter in our Church of the two dimensions, Catholic and Eastern, and of its insertion in the Arab World, facts which have particularly enabled it to enter into contact with every community, to affirm its vocation of ecumenical service, to engage in Islamo-Christian dialogue and to put its seal on the ties through which peoples and civilizations communicate with each other. We have clearly seen the eremitical heritage as an essential component of our ecclesiastical identity, which from its very origins has been marked by the monastic spirit associated with Saint Maron, its patron, and with the monastery on the river Orontes which bore his name. This is an inheritance which has led our Church to draw closer to the others insofar as its draws closer to its Lord and finds itself in him. Concerning this identity, proposals have been made expressing a wish for a deep study to be made of it throughout the coming year. This elucidation will help to bring together the children of this Church and to involve them in its vocation and its mission wherever they may find themselves.

A Church undergoing renewal in its people and in its structures

6. We then turned to the second item on the agenda, entitled The Pastoral Renewal of the Maronite Church. We turned our attention to those who take up the mission of the Church, these being in turn its bishops, its priests, those in religion, its laity and its families responsible for the continuity of its generations, and its upcoming youth, and discussed the place to be reserved for them in its heart. We considered at length the extreme importance to be attached to the formation of priests in order that they should be active in the present times. Ideas and proposals were presented concerning cooperation between the dioceses in order to ensure a more complete sacerdotal service. One proposal concerned the possible founding in the future of a seminary for the missions where the candidates for this vocation would be prepared to serve wherever they were called, in particular in the dioceses of the Diaspora, where the harvest is great but the laborers few. As for the monastic life, we have thanked God for having given it the grace of indefectibility and of growth in its double character, contemplative and missionary, ever since the birth of our Church. The religious orders of men and women, through their monasteries and educational institutions, everywhere go hand in hand with the onward progress of the Church, being witnesses to the absolute nature of the Gospel and devoting them selves generously to any pastoral service demanded of them for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

Concerning the laity, one idea has been retained, namely that those in authority should show their concern for the laity bearing in mind the latter’s role in the Church. The authorities should provide them with the means of success and ensure for them a formation both basic and continued. In this connection, women should have an active presence in the Church in a way allowing the spiritual and human charisma with which they have been endowed by God for the good and edification of the Church not to be neglected.

The family and its problems were subjects of keen interest. The family is the foundation of society and a school for faith and for the virtues. The participants in the Synod asked for a pastoral plan to be drawn up to promote it in every circumstance and for untiring efforts to be deployed for its support and protection, for it to remain the first witness to the value of life and of its sacred character, from its inception to its final end.

As for the young, they were the object of the liveliest interest during the Synod. In Lebanon today they live under the shadow of oppressive anxiety as they face an uncertain future. The Synod called on the authorities in the Churches to take the affairs of young people more closely under their spiritual and humanitarian care and to use the means at their disposal to help them in the difficulties which they could not face alone, in the pursuit of their studies, in the founding of their families and in the search for employment which was no longer within their reach.

We also examined the question of the renewal of the structures of our Church. There was unanimous agreement about the role of the Patriarchal See in assuring the unity of the Maronites scattered around the entire world. The Patriarch is the reference point of the Church, its father and its head. We were also unanimous in recognizing the role of the liturgy as an element federating Maronites in various countries of the world. When the faithful undertake to recite one and the same prayer and to celebrate Mass according to the same rite in their living language, they are enabled to embark on the true way to unity and to preserve this. No less encouraging was the attitude of the representatives of the Diaspora who not only gave their accord to the Maronite liturgy and made clear their readiness to practice it but even strongly wished to contribute to the task of its reform!

From this theme we passed to that of the pastorate and evangelization. Light was shed on a new coordination of these activities. They should no longer be the work of isolated individuals however capable, for the pastoral work of the Church has to be transformed into an organized activity reflecting the reality of its collegiality, although it has also to be stressed that Church organization does not exclude the role of witnesses to the faith but rather calls for it; the true apostle, according to Saint Paul is one “who has seen Jesus Our Lord” and who has known him with true knowledge. (1 Cor. 9, 1)

A Church truly present

7. We have reviewed another imported subject, that of the Maronite Church in the world of today. This concerns the service given by the Church in the fields of policy, culture, sociology, the economy and information, to mention only a few. In this context the world of today refers first to Lebanon, then to the Arab World, where the presence of the Maronite Church goes far back in history, and then to the world where our Church has spread in recent times. We have stressed that the mission of the Church in the political, social and other domains derives first of all from its spiritual truth, as may be seen from the consistency of its action throughout history. In the political sphere, the Maronite Church has never wished to be a national Church and its vocation has never been to lay hands on a land of its own to the exclusion of others. Rather, God has always inspired the faithful of this Church with the mission of sharing its destiny with others within one political entity. However, this spiritual orientation does not signify that its faithful renounce their legitimate rights as citizens or that they are not attached to their land or respectful of its sacred value.

As for the presence of the Church in Lebanon, we have reaffirmed that the choice made by the Maronites is that of coexistence and inter-community harmony. We have also reaffirmed that Lebanon has no worth or real existence without liberty. Social harmony and liberty are the two inseparable conditions for Lebanon remaining true to itself. It is according to this principle that our gaze is turned towards the present Lebanese reality. In point of fact, the return to normality has been slow and progress largely stymied. All-round participation in responsibility is slow in coming. Full exercise of freedom has yet to be translated in sound democratic practice. This is why the invitation of the Church to embrace the values of participation and of liberty in order to restore to Lebanon all the components of its sovereignty, independence and autonomy of decision is addressed to all; in this way Lebanon may fulfill its mission of being “a message of liberty and a model of pluralism for East and West”, according to the terms used by the Sovereign Pontiff. (Message of 8 September, 1989, No. 6)

In dealing with the social problems in Lebanon, whatever was said about them was only the echo of the recriminations of those who are weighed down by their burden. Indeed, the percentage of citizens reduced to a state of need and of want has reached an appalling figure. The difficulties concerning instruction, medical attention and housing are ever mounting under the pressure of public and private debt. Unemployment is driving young people into exile following the lack of work and of investment. But everyone knows that no investment will come to Lebanon unless a favorable political stability is to be found there. However the Church and its children will not stifle the flame of hope in their hearts. The Synod has taken up these subjects in order to continue to examine them and the Church stands in love and solidarity beside each and all in their passage through this period of acute crisis.

Whatever may be said about the services rendered to Lebanon by the Maronites is also true of the services they have rendered to the Arab World in which they live. The Maronites make up a part of this world and of the human values which it has capitalized throughout its history. In this setting the Maronite Church has been the apostle of modernity taken in its positive meaning. It has contributed to its literary and intellectual renaissance and in every country has borne witness to democratic values and the rights of the human person. Today still, it is called upon to show solidarity with all its strength in order to bring about justice and freedom and to promote their development in order that the rising generations may enjoy them and in order that just solutions may be found for the causes of peoples and of states, with the Palestinian Cause first and foremost.

In the world outside, it has fallen to the Maronites to be one of the elements making it possible for religions and civilizations to come together. Their contribution to this encounter may be considered to be of particular value, for they have unfailingly brought to the new home countries a unique collective experience of inter-communal harmony and of dialogue in practical life, all of which makes them apostles of concord between peoples. For by their culture they transmit irrefutable proof that a deadly evil lies in the clash of civilizations and that dialogue between them alone guarantees a promising future for the whole of humanity.

A Church which completes its particular canon law

8. Before dealing with the question of the “Expansion”, we approached canonical matters. There were demands that these should be brought to a conclusion next year. In this framework, the participants one and all expressed the need to create a more complete and close canonical bond between the Maronite Church of the Expansion and the Patriarchal See in Lebanon, in order to confirm this Church’s unity and preserve its identity. As the Synod made clear in its texts and in the speeches and recommendations of its members, concerning the identity of the Maronite Church, its spirituality, its characteristics, its conditions of existence and its mission, we shall have to complete the canon law particular to our Church in this spirit, for it is the best means, together with the common law, for preserving our heritage and putting it at the service of the Church, the faithful and society. The recommendations put forward by the Synod will demand resolutions to be taken by the Synod of Bishops of our Church. These resolutions, drawn up in the form of articles, will have an obligatory character and serve as an orientation for the faithful of the Maronite Church, its institutions and its organs wherever they are to be found. This is an undertaking which is both essential and long-term. In any case, the ecclesiastical canons and juridical systems can in no way supplant the law of love prescribed by Christ (John 15, 12), nor the faith, grace and charisma which should be the rule for Christian behavior. The canons and systems rather give them priority, favor their development and activate their exercise (Pope John Paul II: Sacrae Disciplinae Canones), for “the good of souls must always be the outstanding law in the Church.” (Review of Canon law 1752)

The Mother Church and the Churches of the Expansion

9. The Maronite “Expansion” has been studied under every angle and perhaps for the first time with such clarity. Any first historical stage in the relation between the Lebanon in its homeland and the Lebanon of the emigration is now a thing of the past. Emigration is no longer a temporary option for those who have left their country in the hope of returning there as soon as possible; it has become a new presence in new countries, and a new human experience of the life of their Church in its extension throughout the world. However, this situation does not prevent us from envisaging the return of those Lebanese who, being obliged to leave their country under the pressure of the tragic events that rent their land during the recent war, still have the wish to return there in order once again to take up active life on its soil. On the contrary, we must act in order to satisfy this desire and to put an end to this exodus which like a hemorrhage threatens the very existence and destiny of Lebanon by the loss of the outstanding abilities of its youth and its brains.

Today a second stage of the expansion is also at a critical point. This is the period of adaptation to the ways of the citizens of those countries of which our emigrants have settled, whose destinies they have assumed and where they have succeeded most remarkably in every field. They have been helped in this by the spirit of openness of the Vatican II Council, which called on the whole Church to preserve the Eastern Churches, now perceived throughout the Christian world as a precious spiritual treasure. Others must respect them and from their authentic spiritual riches.

And here today we see beginning to appear in our Church the signs of a third stage turned towards the future. This is the stage of confirmation of its unity, through its spirit and through its heritage; it is also the stage of the exercise of its particular mission in its vast new setting, in world climates now disposed to accept the complementary nature of civilizations or at least feeling the need to do so and to take advantage of it.

This is in effect the stage of conciliation between unity and universality in the Maronite Church. This Church is one by its inheritance, by its prayer, by its saints, by its belonging to the East, by its attachment to its spiritual homeland Lebanon and by its loyalty to its Patriarch who resides at Bkerki and who has been the guarantor of its unity in the past and the present and will be so in the future. It is also universal by its expansion throughout the world and by its role and its mission of meeting others whatever they may be and wherever they may be. Indeed, on the road of the Kingdom of God it has become expert in the matter of harmony between the peoples of the earth, just like the Church of Christ, one, catholic, holy and apostolic, which in the words of Pope Paul VI is an “expert in humanity” throughout the whole world. However, in the context of globalization and of expansion, the guarantor of this unity is always the Church of Lebanon. Without this Church “Maronitism” would be in danger of becoming a mere collection of Maronites.

A Church which takes up the challenge

10. Now that we are closing the first session of this Synod, we all of us turn our thoughts to the second, which will be held towards the end of October next year, 2004. The General Secretariat has put the finishing touches to a plan of action for a new edition of the texts studied during the present session. The revised texts will once again be delivered to the members of the Synod for them to give their opinions before the next full assembly. We have never lost sight of the fact that this Synod is one of all Maronites wherever they are to be found. We ask them to accompany it with their prayers and with their reflections on the subjects put forward. These subjects will reach wherever they may be in a “guide” which will present the summary as well as the problems and which will be the instrument of an immense contribution at every level. We accept these contributions which will enlighten us for drawing up the definitive texts to be adopted later by the Synod. This wide interest on the part of the Maronites, shown by the way they have followed the work of the Synod, will play a great role in the success of this historic event and in the positive consequences expected for the life and for the future of the Maronite Church.

Conclusion

11. This Patriarchal Synod confirms the blessed hope in the hearts of us all. It invites the Maronites assembled there through the intermediary of their representatives to thank God the Father through the grace of the Holy Spirit for the Gospel of Jesus his Son, who has bestowed on them a multitude of graces in the life of their Church. They are renewed in the truth, they will purify their memory and they will brush away the dust of death through the force of the Resurrection. It invites them also to demand from God the grace to be faithful to the mission He has confided to them, that of being witnesses to his Holy Gospel and servants of his universal love; they should face their own future and that of their respective lands with the confidence inspired by faith in Divine Providence which guides us at all times. For the success of the Synod let the faithful implore the intercession of their Mother the Virgin Mary, who has been at their side down the generations, in good times and bad, and the intercession of their saints, Maron, Ephrem, John Maron, Sharbel, Rafka, Blessed Nemetallah, the martyr brothers Massabky and all their martyrs. By doing so they will send up an ardent prayer on behalf of the East from the soil where they gather that it may be freed from wars and conflicts and that the peace of God may reign there under the sign of brotherhood renewed among men. In this way his Name will be sanctified in every place and his Reign will come, the reign of truth, justice, mercy and love.