Recently in Eastern Church Category

On Saturday, 17 March 2012, Pope Shenouda III, the 117th head of the Coptic Christians died. Shenouda was the successor of Saint Mark. He led his Church since November 1971.

UK's Mail Online has a story of Pope Shenouda with other photos here. Plus, the Washington Post has an article to read.

Pope Benedict XVI sent this note of condolence to the Coptic Christians:

On learning of the sad departure to God, our common Father, of His Holiness Shenouda III, Patriarch of Alexandria on the See of Saint Mark the Evangelist, I wish to express to the members of the Holy Synod, to the priests and all the faithful of all the Patriarchate, my most sincere brotherly compassion. I recall with gratitude his commitment to Christian Unity, his memorable visit to my predecessor Pope Paul VI, and their signing of the Joint Declaration of Faith in the Incarnation of the Son of God together in Rome, on May 10, 1973, as well as his Cairo meeting with Pope John Paul II during the Great Jubilee of the Incarnation, on February24, 2000. I can say how the Catholic Church as a whole shares the grief that afflicts the Orthodox Copts, and how she stands in fervent prayer asking that He, who is who is the Resurrection and the Life, might welcome his faithful servant. May the God of all mercy receive Pope Shenouda in His joy, His peace and light.

When I met Pope Shenouda in St Louis, Missouri in 1994, it was a very interesting experience all around. May God be merciful to him and Saint Mark his steps to paradise.

The photo above is of Pope Shenouda sitting on his throne one last time before burial. Perhaps the Roman bishops would like to adopt this practice.

Patriarch Béshara Raï, 71, is making a pastoral visit to the Maronite Catholic communities in both US eparchies from 4 to 23 October 2011. His Beatitude will visit Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon  and the Eparchy of St Maron of Brooklyn.

President Barack Obama has roundly refused to meet the Patriarch. Bishop Gregory openly makes the case that it is a mistake of the current administration to ignore His Beatitude's visit to the USA.

Béshara Raï, was elected on March 15, 2011 as the 77th Patriarch of the Maronite Church.

Bishop Gregory's letter:

September 30, 2011

Dear Mr. President:

I am terribly disappointed with the rebuff of Patriarch Bechara Peter Rai who is the Catholic leader of the Maronites worldwide and one of the most respected Christian leaders in Lebanon and the Middle East . The motto of his coat of arms reflects his personality and is call for "communion and love." He has been trying to achieve what no other Middle Eastern political or a religious leader has been able to do: meet others with respect and love, not take sides, and build bridges to a future that will hopefully lead to peace and happiness for all people in the Middle East.

Muslim and Christian groups have all found in him a real father, a Patriarch.  Because he has spoken out expressing his concern for the future of Christians in the Middle East , he has been rebuffed by you and your Administration. It is pure hypocrisy for the leader of the free world to refuse to meet with Patriarch Rai especially since the Prime Minister of Israel can come and completely disregard essential parts of a peace plan and still be given a warm welcome, and the King of Saudi Arabia, where Christians have no freedom whatsoever, can be received with highest honors. Mr. President, you are ignoring the plight of Christians in the Middle East!

Patriarch Rai's warning about the future of Christians in Syria is not taboo. Christians are in a state of peril in the same way that Christians of Iraq were a few years ago when two thirds of them migrated out of the country and are still not protected to this day. To say the Patriarch supports dictators and sides with terrorists is pure nonsense. With his own unique charisma, Patriarch Rai has reached out to all Lebanese with whom he has to live side-by-side. It is a beautiful outreach, one that is uniquely his, without having to be beholden to anyone.  He speaks with love and tempers the divisive, hateful talk of many. He gives hope

A new day is dawning in the Middle East. The Arab Spring is happening with little vision for the summer that will ensue.  Mr. President, you do not have to agree on everything with Patriarch Rai, but there is no need to avoid or rebuff him.  By doing so, you are showing your disrespect for him and for all Christians of the Middle East.

+ Gregory J Mansour

Bishop of the Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn

I am happy to recommend my friend's recently published book, The Liturgical Commentaries of St Symeon of Thessalonika.

From the book:

This volume contains an edition and facing English translation of Explanation of the Divine Temple and "On the Sacred Liturgy," the two commentaries on the pontifical (hierarchal) Byzantine Divine Liturgy by St. Symeon of Thessalonika (†1429). This edition is based on MS Zagora 23, which contains extensive corrections and additions apparently added to the text by the author himself. The book opens with a historical and theological foreword on liturgical commentaries and mystagogy by Archimandrite Robert Taft. The introduction surveys the life and career of St. Symeon, analyzes the structure and theology of the commentaries, and concludes with an account of technical and editorial questions. The index includes references to names, places, and topics in Symeon's text and in the introduction and traces key terms in the commentaries in both Greek and English.

A review:

With this book Fr. Steven Hawkes-Teeples, SJ, Professor of Byzantine Liturgy at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome, fills a gaping hole in the scholarly literature associated with the overlapping academic fields of Byzantine Studies, Medieval Studies, Orthodox Theology, and Oriental Liturgiology. The present volume represents the first translation into any modern western academic language of both commentaries of St. Symeon of Thessalonika (d. 1429) on the Byzantine Divine Liturgy or Eucharist. Such neglect is surprising, for St. Symeon is an author of the first importance. As the last and most prolific Orthodox liturgical theologian of the Byzantine era, who lived at the point when the Byzantine Empire was moving toward its demise before the Ottoman onslaught, he crowns and closes his era. -- Robert F. Taft 

It's like having your favorite but not too seen aunt Gretchen over the house for coffee to remember what she looks like and to keep up some appearances of genuine love. I shouldn't make light of such encounters; they are important. It's tradition and tradition is a very good thing. On the feast of Saints Peter and Paul a delegation is sent to Rome to meet the Pope, to exchange fraternal greetings, to listen to a brief discourse that's on the mind of the Pope, to hear what the Patriarch of Constantinople has to say, etc. The whole thing is repeated on November 30 when Rome sends a delegation to Constantinople for the feast of Saint Andrew. The trouble is, does anything concrete result from these yearly meetings? What are the implications of this type of high level meeting?  Note the Pope's perspective and his hope. There is an important rhythm of dialogue that happens in coming to understand human and ecclesial complexities which have an end in mind. Two of the Pope's paragraphs are noted below. 

The Orthodox delegation included: His Eminence, Emmanuel, metropolitan of France and Director of the Office of the Orthodox Church to the European Union, Bishop Athenagoras, Bishop of Sinope and auxiliary to the metropolitan of Belgium and Archimandrite Maximus Pothos, vicar general of the metropolitan of Switerland.

Watch the video report from H2O News.

We follow with great attention the work of the Mixed Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church as a whole. From a purely human point of view, one might have the impression that the theological dialogue is having trouble in progressing. In reality, the rhythm of dialogue is linked to the complexity of the themes being discussed, which call for an extraordinary effort of study, of reflection and of reciprocal openness. We are called to continue this course together in charity, invoking light and inspiration from the Holy Spirit, in the certainty that He wishes to lead us to the full accomplishment of the will of Christ: that they may all be one (John 17:21). I am particularly grateful to all the members of the Mixed Commission and in particular to the co-Presidents, His Eminence the Metropolitan of Pergamum Ioannis and His Eminence Cardinal Kurt Koch, for their tireless dedication, their patience and their competence.

His Beatitude Sviatsolav is making headlines these days with all kinds of hott button issues. The news is reporting, predictably, that His Beatitude wants to work on relations with the Russian Orthodox Church. No doubt his own predictions for dialogue leading to deeper full, visible unity would indicate his desire to be fraternal with the ROC and one may also say that he's taking note of Pope Benedict's desire to meet with Patriarch Kyril.

Sviatsolav said: "Our church has voiced its readiness and openness for a dialogue ever since it emerged from the underground." And he's also reported to have said, "I think that today, we should heal the wounds rather than irritate and deepen them. One can heal the wounds of our memory only with mutual forgiveness. Therefore, as for any our brethren or neighbors who wounded us or were wounded by us, the best way to communicate is to be open in a brotherly dialogue, be open to the purification of our memory, to ask for forgiveness and to forgive."