Bishop Ibrahim: How to build the Church

We asked Bishop Ibrahim Ibrahim, Bishop of the Melkite Catholic Church in Canada, how he was able to build the Cathedral in Montreal which cost $10 million dollars. The answer came with a story of a visit he made to the pastor of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the area Fr. Arsanios. The late priest said to Most Reverend Ibrahim that when he wanted to build the church, he was faced with an impossible task: the Church council objected to the project that would cost $6 million when they had only $36,000. The bank told the priest that a loan was not justifiable. Then Rev. Arsanios said to the bank and the council: My father is very rich – He will supply. The remark about “Our Father in heaven” ringed in our ears. “Since I felt that faith I have never lost it – I am never worried.” The impeccably enthusiastic bishop said last night at Jesus the King Church. Here he was teaching the flock! Everything we have is a gift from God, he resounded. “Everyone is given talents which can and should be invested to serve the other – Not only bishops or priests are called to the priesthood; for we all have a share in the priesthood of Christ” echoing the authentic teaching of the Church expounded in Vatican II. Then, in a moment of sheer greatness - the greatness of humility, he turned to the parents and to the young youth who came to hear him and said in a bold voice: It is true that the Church needs the youth, but it is also true that the youth need the Church. “Without you the Church will have no future, but remember too that without the Church you will have no future.” A silent moment went on as if I was gazing into eternity! Then Bishop Ibrahim gave the final word that every young Christian must remember and every parent must teach his children. He said “We are not a social club but the Apostolic Church that fed many generations for 2,000 years – There is absolutely no comparison between what each one of us can give and what the mother of all has given and continues to give!” This was a word that we all needed to hear. Bishop Ibrahim built the Church by establishing many activities for the young and the younger then built the Cathedral. He said his dream is to build the Melkite Church, a strong Church, everywhere there are Melkites in Canada, that will carry the great tradition into this land. This was indeed a word that we all needed to hear. It is up to this community to remember his word, cherish it, and invest her talents to enthusiastically build the Church. By the way, enthusiasm comes from the original “en” which means “within” and “Theou” which means “God.” The enthusiasm which Bishop Ibrahim expressed meant he carried within him “God!”

The Quest for Christian Unity

Although Christian unity is urgently needed, there is little hope that it will materialize soon. One of the major stumbling blocks is rivalry between ecclesial jurisdictions of patriarchs and bishops who each claims to have the sole right of leading the community in the same city. An example may suffice: In Egypt, there are three patriarchs - the Coptic Orthodox Pope; the Greek Orthodox Patriarch; and the Coptic Catholic Patriarch. Although the Chalcedonian Orthodox Churches and the Non-Chalcedonian Churches (including the Coptic Orthodox Church) have signed agreements since 1989 that they share the same doctrines and have the same fasts, they are still not yet one Church. As for relations with the Coptic Catholic Church, tension continues to exist between Coptic Catholics and Coptic Orthodox Christians in spite of mutual visits between the heads of both and agreements between the Catholic Church and the Coptic Orthodox Church.

In fact, all the major schisms in Christian history were partly caused by rivalry. The divisions which arose from the 5th century show rivalry for precedence between three main Sees of Christendom: Constantinople, Alexandria, and Antioch. The 11th century Great Schism between the See of Rome and the See of Constantinople was probably caused by a rift of estrangement in their respective cultures but was nevertheless a matter of rivalry.

The Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches reached a reunion in two Councils: The Council of Lyons I (1274) and the Council of Florence (concluded in 1445). However, the reunion fell upon the collapse of Constantinople to the Muslim Ottomans in 1453 since the military aid promised by Catholics did not help the Greek Orthodox in defending the city.

If we look at the world from our human perspective then we will surely be disappointed by the continuous failures of us Christians to be like Christ.

An Inspiration

I am unable to forget the man who inspired generations by his example. Paul Antaki who passed away a week ago is the man. His practice of virtues to a heroic level include humility, discernment of the spirits, and self-sacrifice. Many of the people who knew him recounted how he spoke of himself as Fr. Paul Antaki when he was already a bishop. He never made a public appearance for self-promotion - a lesson for other bishops. He always sat among others, not above them. I recall that Paul Antaki is the one who, by the grace of God, introduced me to my new life with my partner for life my wife. As I knew her through activities in the Supreme Council of the Melkite Youth in Egypt, I cannot forget that he was the inspiration and creator of the Council and the instrumental agent of God who through such activities brought many men and women to marriage in the Church. He blessed our engagement in 1979 and on April 25, 1982, he presided over our wedding at St. Cyril in Heliopolis. Before immigrating to Canada, Archbishop Paul Antaki encouraged us with the words: May your departure to Canada be a seed of renewal in the life of Christians in the land of Canada. He knew about the secular atmosphere that was becoming anti-Christian in Canada. In his discernment, he gave us powerful advice hardly matched by other spiritual leaders. He encouraged and worked himself in retreats with young adults to prepare them for their vocations. His work was fruitful in the many souls he sent to sacramental marriage and to sacramental priesthood. Of a high class socially, he never condescended but on the contrary appreciated what is good and positive in everyone and everything. Moderate in his outlook, he moved people who knew him to serious active life tempered by moderation for the glory of God whom he loved. In my work under his guidance, I can testify to his active work with lay movements in the Catholic Church and to his spirit of moderating openness with commitment to Tradition. If I can ascribe St. Augustine's words "Be moderate in everything except in love" to anyone's work, it is to Paul Antaki's.

His self-sacrifice has been attested to by many witnesses. Among them, we count my brother Dr. Samir Farahat, FRCP (ENT) who took him to other specialists for his hurting knee. When asked by doctors about how many times does he climb stairs a day, his response was: 30 times. Samir asked him why? The archbishop replied that he visited many parishioners everyday which required him to climb up many stairs! On the ecumenical front, Archbishop Antaki was always receptive of dialogue. In 1971, he invited Archbishop Paul Minas of the Antiochine Greek Orthodox Church to give a lecture in the Patriarchal residence that I attended. In 1972, when Patriarch Shenouda III Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church declared that he will not tire until there is one Church in Egypt, Archbishop Paul Antaki responded in his homily at St. Cyril's Church saying "Our hearts danced when we heard these words"! May Paul Antaki be a star in heaven as he was on earth leading the Pilgrim Church to Christ!

Paul Antaki The Great

We are saddened by the passing away of the holy archbishop, and dean of all Greek Melkite Catholic bishops, Paul Antaki in Cairo, Egypt. Our consolation is that he will now intercede before Christ in heaven for everyone and especially for the suffering ones on Earth and in Purgatory. Paul Antaki was a great example for me personally and for many other people of several generations especially in his deep commitment to the Church, living spirituality, commitment to the young adults, vocations to the priesthood, and extreme humility coupled with extraordinary capacity for self-sacrifice which he practiced unceasingly. I recall his letters to me since I arrived in Canada which he signed as Fr. Paul Antaki and his constant encouragement. I do not know much about the iron person Paul Antaki who managed to earn the respect and love of everyone I know he knew. But this is what little I know: After serving as a priest director of the Patriarchal College, he worked tirelessly in the parishes of Alexandria and Cairo. At the young age of 42, he was elevated to the ranks of bishops by the synod headed by Patriarch Maximus V in 1968 to be General Patriarchal Vicar on the See of Alexandria, Egypt and Sudan. Many pastoral visits to the parishes in all of Egypt and Sudan followed his installation. In 1971, I requested my first meeting with him in which it became apparent to me that this man was truly a man of ecumenical breadth and commitment to dialogue with the Orthodox Churches. He was enthusiastic about the youth and actively managed their activities in the Melkite parishes in Egypt and Sudan. I worked under his direction in the Catholic Apostolic movements and conferences held from 1972 which brought together some highly intellectual Catholics and the Catholic youth. In January 1978, he inaugurated the first youth meeting with the Patriarch and soon asked me to lead the new Supreme Council of Melkite Youth (university and older) in Egypt which I served for one year. Three times he called me to the priesthood and three times I declined, but he never gave up on the youth. In 1984 he accepted to be my guest for a few days when he visited Toronto, Canada. Archbishop Antaki visited Toronto again in 1990, celebrated Mass at our home, and at St. Luke Roman Catholic Church (used at the time by Melkite Catholics in Toronto.) As always, his presence meant a special occasion to my family and to the many other friends who knew him.

In 2002, Archbishop Paul Antaki resigned as Patriarchal Vicar in Cairo due to reaching the age of 75 but remained a spiritual director for many people and was followed by Archbishop Joseph Jules Zerey who is today the General Patriarchal Vicar on the See of Jerusalem. When the choir director Joseph Homsy passed away, I informed him of the sad news and he immediately contacted the Homsy families with condolences. Many other stories come to mind about how this man of God implanted a great spiritual plant in Egypt, but I will leave them to another post. To the Greek Melkite Catholic Church together with all its bishops, priests, orders and faithful all over the world, the passing away of Paul Antaki is a moment for celebration and not for sending condolences since I believe heaven is now celebrating the arrival of this humble servant. I am confident that Paul Antaki will be elevated to the ranks of the blessed as John Paul the Great. As he is a great Christian, I wish, therefore, to call him Paul Antaki the Great!

Is this the last Christmas in Jerusalem?

In view of this year’s developments in the Arab world, we need to understand the crisis that Christians are facing in the Middle East. First: Let us go back to the roots of Christianity. How were the early Christians able to spread Christ’s message with power from the Holy Land to the Roman world and eastbound to India? The Church was born in Jerusalem and so too was the Council of the Apostles held. Guided by the Holy Spirit, the Council opened the Church to the Gentiles and, by the same Spirit, 1900 years later Vatican II Council opened the Catholic Church to other Christians in the world. While the Apostles were one, today’s Apostolic Churches are not. Christians in the Middle East suffer because of divisions mainly between Catholic Christians and Orthodox Christians. As we approach the year 2012 and in this Christmas, let’s pray for an Ecumenical Council convoked by the Pope that would invite Catholic and Orthodox bishops to participate and therefore seek to unite all Catholics and Orthodox of the world. In the 50^th anniversary of the opening of Vatican II, this step would not only protect Christians in the East from violent fundamentalism but also Christians in the West from atheism. And, above all, it would resound the prayers of the early Christians “Come O Lord” (Revelation 22: 20). Second: To preserve Christian presence in the Middle East and guarantee their human rights to freely practice their religion, let’s recall the message of the Holy Father on January 1^st this year in which he asked for the protection of Christians in the Middle East. Since then he implored us many times to support those poor and suffering Christians in the region. Charity demands us to help them financially and spiritually.

As evidence for the demand of helping those needy people, recent findings in anthropology point to the development of reciprocity since the earliest human tribal societies. Reciprocity entails trade of goods for the benefit of my nation and yours. It results in collaboration of economies for the survival of all. Anthropologists found evidence too for self-sacrifice for the survival of the community which reminds us of the sacrifices that love requires. Total selfless love springs from Christ alone “who though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”(Phil 2: 6-11). It is in this spirit that the early Christians shared everything (Acts 2: 44).

While many Christians dedicate much of their time and money in charitable works, the world needs more of them and their charity to spread the good news of Christ. This reminds us that we must do like the widow whom Christ praised. She was not praised for how much she gave but for how much of her survival need she gave. It is the free response to God’s grace, which is love, that matters. Everyone can generously support the above causes by giving from his heart in spite of the global economic crisis. In Jerusalem started Christ’s mission; and to Jerusalem He must come back. Every time, we sacrifice for our suffering brothers in the lands that carried the first Christian mission to the world, we share in the Christian hope of blessing on the Day of the Lord by the Judge and God of all. And while Christmas is here, it is not enough for Christians to worship Christ in their Churches. We must worship him too in our actions of good will towards the least of His brothers.