Web Site Home - Theology Home - Hierarchy Home - Locations Home - Education Home - Stewardship Home - Links Home - Vendors Home - Alphabetical Index Home - Thesaurus Home - Sitemap Home - Arabic fonts Melkite Greek Catholic Church Information CenterHoly SynodThe Holy Synod is composed of the Patriarch / Batriyark and all the Sayenda / Bishops. The Holy Synod meets annually for a week June. Usually, the meeting is at the Patriarchal Residence in Ain Traz, Lebanon.<.p> Some Actions of the Holy SynodThe Holy Synod discusses issues concerning the Melkite Catholic Church. The Holy Synod has many committees, which make reports to the Holy Synod. The Holy Synod decides issues within the Melkite Catholic Church.
June 2010June 2009June-July 2003The text below is from the Zenit Web Site.GREEK-MELKITE BISHOPS OFFER TO HELP IN DIALOGUE WITH ISLAM DAMASCUS, Syria, JULY 3, 2003 (Zenit.org).- Bishops of the Catholic Church of Greek-Melkite rite made an appeal for "the great nations not to spare any effort to establish a just, global and complete peace" in the Holy Land. Their appeal was reflected in a statement issued at the end of their synod, held for the first time in Syria. The June 17-27 gathering brought together 30 of the 37 Melkite bishops and four general superiors of religious, under the presidency of His Beatitude Gregory III Laham, patriarch of Antioch of the Greek-Melkites. The synod fathers stated that they are ready to "make our Church a platform to help Arab leaders to act in the framework of justice, peace and development." Likewise, the bishops offered to "help the Western world to understand Islam and Muslim-Christian relations," Vatican Radio reported. The Greek-Melkite Church has 1.5 million faithful in the Middle East and in the diaspora. The focus of the synod was the formation of parish priests. The bishops also examined plans for the next patriarchal conclave scheduled for 2006. ZE03070322 email this article: http://www.zenit.org/senglish/send_friend/index.phtml?sid=38239 June 2003LocationThe first five days of the Synod, 17-22 June, will be held at the International Encounter Center, St. Thomas Monastery in Saydnaya, 20 miles East of Damascus, Syria. United States BishopsBishop John Elya was given a clean bill of health by his doctor and flew to the Middle East on 10 June to attend the annual meeting of the Holy Synod of the Bishops of the Melkite Church. Bishop John will return to the US on 10 July. June 2002His Beatitude, Gregorios III, Patriarch / Batriyark of the cities of Antioch, Alexandria and Jerusalem, of Cilicia, Syria, Iberia, Arabia Mesopotamia, Pentapolis, Ethiopia, of all of Egypt and the entire East, Father of Fathers, Pastor of Pastors, Bishop of Bishops, the Thirteenth of The Holy Apostles and all the bishops of the Melkite-Greek Catholic Church will meet at the Patriarchal Residence in Rabweh, Antelias, Lebanon, from Monday 17 June to Sunday 23 June. May God bless and guide their deliberations and decisions. June 2001The Holy Synod of all the Melkite Greek Catholic bishops in the world, led by His Beatitude, Gregorios III, Patriarch / Batriyark of the cities of Antioch, Alexandria and Jerusalem, of Cilicia, Syria, Iberia, Arabia Mesopotamia, Pentapolis, Ethiopia, of all of Egypt and the entire East, Father of Fathers, Pastor of Pastors, Bishop of Bishops, the Thirteenth of The Holy Apostles, began this week at the Patriarch's residence in Rabweh, Lebanon. November 2000Synod Elects New Patriarch (11/00) New Melkite Patriarch Gregory the ThirdComplete text of letter Date: Thursday, November 23, 2000, From: Bishop John Elya, To:His Flock, Subject: Patriarchate Progress ReportFrom the Patriarchal Residence in Rabweh, near Antelias, Beirut, Lebanon, I wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving Day, overflowing with the blessings of the Lord. + Bishop John Elya I am pleased to send you the following progress report on the situation of the Melkite Patriarchate regarding the resignation of His Beatitude, Patriarch Maximos V Hakim, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, of Alexandria and of Jerusalem. His Beatitude, 92 year old, bedridden since he had a stroke last February, presented his resignation to the Melkite Synod in a letter dated on October 17, signed by him and four witnesses. After due consultation with His Holiness Pope John Paul II and the Congregation for the Eastern Churches, an exceptional Synod of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church was held at the Patriarchal Residence, Rabweh, Lebanon on Wednesday, November 22, 2000. It was convened and presided by the Patriarchal Administrator, Archbishop John Haddad of Tyre. The Synod was attended by the following Hierarchs who had come from the Middle East, the Americas and Australia: The Synod was attended by the following Hierarchs who had come from the Middle East, the Americas and Australia: Elias Zoghby (Emeritus of Baalbek) Divided by their sees or residence, they had come from: Lebanon (12), Syria (7), the Holy Land (3), Egypt (1), the United States (1), Canada (2), Brazil (1) Venezuela (1) and Australia (1). It is worth mentioning that, among the members attending the Synod, seven were retired bishops. In contrast to some other Bishops' gatherings such as the National Conference of Catholic Bishop of America (NCCB), and the Consistory of Cardinals, the retired bishops in attendance at the Melkite Synod enjoy full rights of voting and being voted, on a par with all other bishops. This concern is a good illustration of the traditional high esteem and piety in which Easterners hold the wisdom of old age. According to the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, a bishop must present his resignation from office at the completion of 75 years of age. However nothing is mentioned about the retirement of the Patriarch. Four bishops were excused from attending the Synod: Archbishop Capucci, former Patriarchal Vicar of Jerusalem and former Apostolic Visitator in Europe; Archbishop Joseph Raya former Archbishop Of Haifa, Nazareth and Galilee, presently residing at Madonna House, Combermere, Ontario, Canada; Bishop Spiridon Matar, retired Bishop of Brazil, anad His Excellency, Bishop Nicholas Samra, Auxiliary Bishop of Newton, USA, who had undergone recently a surgical operation. The following Press Release was issued by the Patriarchate in this regard {signed by the Most Rev. Archbishop Jean Mansour, the Patriarchal Adminiistrator} : n 1 - The Holy Synod of the Bishops of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church held on November 22, accepted the resignation of His Beatitude, Maximos Hakim V, which he had presented to the Synod {by writing, signed by him and by four witnesses,} on October 17, 2000. n On this occasion, the Fathers of the Synod addressed to His Beatitude, the following letter: "To His Beatitude Patriarch Maximos V Hakim, The Fathers of the Holy Synod meeting today at the Patriarchal Residence at Rabweh, beg your blessing and your prayer. They express to your Beatitude their gratitude and their appreciation for your great efforts and your valuable endeavors to enhance our Church on all levels and to makke it grow spirituall, pastorally and physically, withiin the traditional area of the Patriarchate and in the Countries of Emigration. Our Church owes you many memorable favors, which history will write in golden letters On its shining pages, and which your children will remember with great esteem and pride. We implore long life for your Beatitude and we ask for your good prayers and your paternal blessings, so that we can continue our journey with diligence and perseverance that you and your great predecessors traced for us in the past." n 2 - The Synod decided to call for an "elective Synod" {for the election of a new Patriarch / Batriyark} at 10:00 AM, on Monday, November 27. n 3 - The Fathers of the Synod ask all their children, clergy, religious and laity, and all their friends, to help them through their prayers to Good, so that He will give them the assistance and the Inspiration of His Holy Sppirit, in order to elect the person who will be the father, the shepherd and the faithful servant to the Church and the people." Message from the Exceptional Synod of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church(11/00) by Eparch John ElyaHoly Synod Will Consider Resignation, Election of Patriarch / BatriyarkHis Beatitude, Maximos V, Melkite-Greek Catholic Patriarch / Batriyark of Antioch and All the East, of Alexandria, and of Jerusalem since 22 November 1967, has submitted his resignation to the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church. Born on 18 May 1908 in Tanta, Egypt, His Beatitude has been incapacitated by the effects of a stroke since early this year. In June, Metropolitan John Haddad, Archbishop of Tyre, has been Apostolic Administrator of the Patriarchate. On 22 November, the 33rd anniversary of the election of Maximos V as Patriarch, the Synod will meet at the Patriarchate in Rabweh, Lebanon, to accept his resignation and to elect a new Patriarch / Batriyark. After his election, the new Patriarchate will send a letter announcing his election to the Pope in Rome. The Pope will respond with an acknowledgement of the election and a reaffirmation of the communion of the two Churches. Our Bishops John and Nicholas will fly to Lebanon today (Nov. 19) to participate in the meeting of the Synod. May God guide all our bishops to choose a wise, strong, and loving Father for our Church. Holy Synod September 2000His Excellency, Bishop Nicholas Samra reports on the Synod of Melkite Bishops in Lebanon and His Beatitude, Maximos VHis Excellency, Bishop Nicholas Samra recently wrote to all the clergy of the diocese after his return from the meeting of Synod of Melkite Bishops in Lebanon. "Our Synod," he wrote, "was held under the direction of Archbishop John Haddad, Metropolitan of Tyre and Apostolic Administrator of the Patriarchate. His Beatitude, Maximos V is in very poor health-his life is between bed and a chair and he is unable to walk at all. He is aware, knew all of us, and spoke with each one, yet his medical team does not expect full recovery. He has 24-hour care by a professional staff; please keep him in your prayers and recommend him to the prayers of the faithful." Web Site Home - Theology Home - Hierarchy Home - Locations Home - Education Home - Stewardship Home - Links Home - Vendors Home - Alphabetical Index Home - Thesaurus Home - Sitemap Home - Arabic fonts Melkite Greek Catholic Church Information Center Martha Liles Web URL address: Melkite Greek Catholic Church Information Center or https://www.mliles.com/melkite/ E-mail: mliles@mliles.com or mliles@mliles.com Melkite Greek Catholic Church Information Center is
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