Syriac Orthodox Church Of Antioch

"Patriarchal Encyclical - 2003"

IN THE NAME OF THE SELF- EXISTENT
SEMPITERNAL OF NECESSARY EXISTENCE THE ALMIGHTY
IGNATIUS PATRIARCH OF THE HOLY SEE OF ANTIOCH AND ALL THE EAST
SUPREME HEAD OF THE UNIVERSAL SYRIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH IN THE WORLD
ZAKKA I, IWAS

We offer apostolic benediction, prayer, and greetings in the Lord to our brethren, their Eminencies the Metropolitans, our spiritual children the venerable priests, monks, nuns, deacons, deaconesses, and our blessed Syrian Orthodox people. May the divine providence embrace them through the prayers of the Virgin Mary the Mother of God and St. Peter the head of the apostles, and the rest of the Martyrs and Saints. Amen.

LET US ANSWER THE CALL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST

The Lord Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:18).

In the hardship of life in this world and its pitch-darkness, to which man came after his fall into the sin of arrogance, and his separation from heaven and dismissal from Paradise to the land of misery, humanity in its entirety wandered aimlessly in the dark night. It was burdened under the yoke of the accursed Devil, as St. Paul says, “For all have sinned and are short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Mankind became badly in need of God of glory, the Savior Whom God the Father promised to send in order to reconcile heaven with earth and make peace between the Creator of heaven and earth and man, the highest among His creation. In this connection, St. Paul the Apostle says, “But the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son Who, born of a woman, became subject to the law, to redeem them who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons” (Galatians 4: 4,5), “For we do not have a High Priest Who cannot sympathize with our weakness, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).

Yes, the Lord Jesus sensed practically, during His public divine dispensation in flesh, the misery of Mankind and their suffering in their bitter clash with their bitter enemy the Devil, who always tries to enter them into severe temptation. St. Peter, the head of the apostles, warns us against him saying, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the Devil walks about like a roaming lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.” (1 Peter 5:8,9).

How often the Devil and his hosts used natural factors to destroy the souls of man! How much severe pain, violent suffering, distresses, and severe hardships he caused to them! How many of them he deceived and thus they left the house of the Heavenly Father just as the prodigal son did. They squandered the graces that were showered upon them and wallowed in sin in strange land, and consequently anxiety, worry, despair, and pangs of remorse ruled over them because they separated from God. In this connection prophet Isaiah tells people like those, “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden his face from you, so that He will not hear.” (Isaiah 59: 1,2). God spoke to the fathers throughout the ages and generations through prophets, and brought through them to humanity laws and codes and passed ordinances so that they might be close to God. But some of those who were entrusted with the task of preservation of the laws and teaching them to humanity added to these laws their own human commandments that were hard to observe. The Lord Jesus therefore, scolded them saying, “Woe to you also, you lawyers! For you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers” (Luke 11:46). Accordingly, the Lord Jesus called all men burdened with hardships of life to follow Him, so that they may find full rest in flesh and spirit. He said, “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28-30).

Yes, in all the stages of our life on earth as individuals and as groups we enter into severe and different temptations, and face very many hard obstacles. It is not easy to break through these obstacles by ourselves unless we answer the call of the Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ. He is calling us to follow Him and carry His pleasant and light yoke, which is the cross of sacrifice and self-denial. In this way we will be liberated from the heavy yoke of the Devil, taking Jesus as an example, learning from Him meekness and humbleness so that we may gain from him real comfort and happiness in both worlds.

Dearly beloved: once, the Lord Jesus spent a whole day teaching people and healing their sick until He got tired. When evening approached, He commanded His disciples to cross to the other side of the lake. The disciples dismissed the crowed and took the small boat that was kept ready for Him (Mark 3:9). The Lord Jesus slept on a pillow at the stern of the boat. A great windstorm arose. The sea grew rough and the waves surged. The waves beat into the boat and almost sank it. The disciples sensed the danger and were terrified. After they exerted their utmost effort using all their expertise in sailing to save the boat and failed, and hence lost hope of escaping, they turned to the Lord Jesus and awoke Him saying, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? Then He rose and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Peace, be still! And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. And He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith? And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him! (Mark 4:38-41). This is the first time the holy Gospel mentions that the Lord slept. The Devil seized the opportunity of the sleeping of the Lord, and caused the sea to be agitated so that the righteous disciples of the Lord may perish. But it is said that the Lord never sleeps or slumbers, and He is the mighty guard of His followers, as prophet David said in his intimate discourse with Him, “Who is mighty like you? You rule over the splendor of the sea, when its waves mount up, you still them” (Psalm 89:8,9). So, the Lord rose up immediately and rebuked the wind saying to the sea, “Quiet! Be still.” Then the wind died down and there was a great calm. The great power of the Lord on the forces of nature over which man has no authority was manifested. The Lord rebuked His disciples saying, “Why do you have no faith.”

In this crooked generation of ours, and in the hardship of our life as individuals or groups, we, who have received the grace of Holy Baptism in the name of Jesus, often look like His righteous disciples and become worried when we are faced with misfortune and hardships. We forget that the ship will never sink as long as the Lord is on board. The holy church of the Lord resembles a ship in the high seas; it will never shake no matter how small it is, and no matter how much it is tossed about by furious winds. But when we distance ourselves from the Lord, and the Lord stands away from us and from our ship, then we will sense the danger because the Devil then would roar like a wild beast wanting to swallow us.

Let us then, our dearly beloved, be with the Lord always in word and in deed so that we may receive from Him divine power and feel that His divine providence embraces us, and His tending eye looking at us. He saves us from hardship and distress that we may not become shaken no matter how fierce the battle with the Devil and his hosts of devils and men is. We have to remain steadfast and firm in our strong faith. Christ is with us and He promised us saying, “For wherever two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them” (Matthew 18:20). Therefore, He never neglects us nor He abandons us; rather he is “Emanuel”, God is with us. He will not take His Holy Spirit away from us. Even though God sometimes allows the Devil to enter us into the trial of temptation, but He does not allow him to destroy us. In this regard, St. Paul the Apostle says, “But God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (I Corinthians 10:13).

Dearly beloved: in the present hard circumstances that our world is going through today, when violence, injustice and tyranny is widespread, and most people have distanced themselves from God, let us answer the call of our Lord Jesus Christ and turn to Him. Let us recite the prayer of one of the righteous in his intimate discourse with Jesus as he says, “I have believed in you Lord, strengthen my faith. I have trusted you, strengthen my trust.” Let us say with the composer of the Psalms, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want….He restores my soul. He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. I will fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:1-4).

Let us seize the opportunity of the arrival of the blessed Lent and couple our fast with prayer, earnest repentance, and almsgiving. Let us ask the Lord to spread His peace and security over all regions of the globe, and enter us not into temptations, but deliver us from the evil one.

May God accept your fast, prayers, and alms, dear faithful, and make you worthy to joyfully and happily celebrate the feast of His resurrection from the dead.

May the grace be with you.

Issued at our Patriarchal house in Damascus, Syria,

On the seventeenth day of the month of February, in the year two thousand and three, which is the 23rd year of our Patriarchal reign.

"Patriarchal Encyclical - Lent 2002"

PRAYER

We offer apostolic benediction, benevolent prayers, and greetings in the Lord to our brethren, their Eminencies the Metropolitans, our spiritual children the venerable priests, the devout monks, nuns, deacons, and our blessed Syrian Orthodox people. May the divine providence embrace them through the prayers of the Virgin Mary the Mother of God and St. Peter, the head of the apostles, and the rest of the Martyrs and Saints. Amen.

The Lord Jesus said, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened” (Matthew 7: 6, 8).

Lend your ears all you travelers on the road of life in this world, you whom the different burdens of life have worn out and its varied worries have troubled. The Lord Jesus prescribes to you the medicine for this ailment, which is to raise prayers in His name to the heavenly Father. Jesus promises that your fervent petitions will be answered if presented with solid faith. Apostle Paul defines this faith saying, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). To have faith in God is to acknowledge, in thought, in heart and in tongue, His existence and in all the facts of faith which His beloved Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, has revealed to us. Pour, therefore, your souls, hearts and minds before Him in humility, meekness, repentance and total remorse for all the trespasses you have committed, and He will conceal your sins and give you rest from your labors. He will rejoice by you returning to Him in repentance, just as the father of the prodigal son rejoiced by the return of his son in repentance. The father forgave his disobedience and his squandering his wealth in extravagance and sinful living, and accepted his confession of his sins and his repentance. The prodigal son had said to his father, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no more worthy to be called your son.” The father said to his servants, “Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let us have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found. So they began to celebrate.” (Luke 15:21-24).

The Lord Jesus taught us to call the heavenly Father “Our Father in heaven” so that we may address Him with the liberty of His children. The Lord Jesus did so to encourage us to stand before the heavenly Father as His children in grace and beseech Him in the name of His beloved Son. He did so also to encourage us to worship the heavenly Father in spirit and truth, and to unload our distress before Him.

The Lord Jesus compared the righteousness of the Heavenly Father with the compassion of human father towards his children saying, “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in Heaven give good gifts to those who ask him.” (Matthew 7:9-11).

Dearly beloved:

No two believers will disagree that man, since the beginning of his existence, has been clashing with the devil and his forces in a relentless war. In this connection, Apostle Peter urges us to resist our enemy, the devil, saying, “Be vigilant and alert, because your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, knowing that your brethren who are in the world also suffer these same afflictions.” (I Peter 5: 8, 9).

Praying to God is thus very necessary, and seeking the help of God is always a must, so that God may save us from our vicious enemy, the devil. The Lord describes the devil saying to the Jews, “You are of your father, the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was murderer from the beginning, and has never stood by the truth, for there is no truth in him.” (John 8:44). This accursed devil is still setting traps for us trying to catch and enter us into temptation that we may fall into the chasm of sin, as he did to Adam, the father of mankind. For this reason, the Lord Jesus taught us in the Lord’s Prayer to ask the Heavenly Father and say, “Enter us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” The Lord Jesus proclaimed to us the love of God saying, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only one begotten Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16). The Lord Jesus redeemed us by His precious Blood and gave us victory over the devil. He, like us, entered into temptation in everything except sin, and gave us victory over the devil. Therefore, if we persist on praying to the heavenly Father in His name, He will definitely be with us in our struggle with the devil, and we will conquer the enemy of God and man with the power of the Lord Jesus. Jesus commands us saying, “Wake up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is indeed ready, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41). Jesus likewise says about some kind of devils who enter men and torture them, “Nevertheless, this kind does not come out except by fasting and prayer.” (Matthew 17:21). How powerful, therefore, the prayer of the repenting, even the righteous, believer is when he raises his heart, mind and soul to heaven. In doing so, his prayer may enter before the throne of mightiness as sweet smelling incense, and be answered.

Concerning the power of prayer, Apostle James teaches us a timeless lesson, “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Elijah was a weak man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth its fruits.” (James 5:16-18). When a believer raises his heart, soul and mind to God in solid faith, firm hope, and pure love, God answers his prayer and forgives his trespasses, after he himself has forgiven those who trespassed against him. The repenting tax collector prayed to God in the temple in humility and with contrite heart, standing in awe, beating his heart and saying, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” Jesus said about him, “I tell you that this man went home justified” (Luke 18: 13, 14). Also, the repenting thief who was crucified with the Lord Jesus and announced his faith in Him while on the Cross, raised his prayer to Him in firm hope saying, “remember me when you come in your kingdom” (Luke 23:42). His request was granted immediately, and he became worthy to hear the Lord’s true promise, “Truly I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43).

If, however, our prayer is not answered, let us then examine ourselves and see if we prayed in faith or not, and if we repented to our Lord or not. The Lord does not accept the prayer of a sinner except in one case, that is, when a sinner asks God for forgiveness with earnest repentance, abundant tear, and determination not to return to sin. God, however, may not answer our prayer for there could be certain harm against the salvation of our souls, if prayer were to be answered. God knows what is best for us. God also may delay answering our prayer so that we may show the strength of our belief in His power. The Holy Gospel makes mention of the Canaanite woman who followed the Lord Jesus when He was in the vicinity of Tyre and Sidon. The woman was crying, “Have mercy on me, O my Lord, Son of David, my daughter is severely possessed by a demon” (Matthew 15:22). Jesus did not answer her right away. Rather, He delayed as if He did not want to grant her request, so that he might show the strength of her faith to the crowd. She kept persistently and insistently crying. After He spoke to her, it became evident to the people, from her answer, that she told the truth and that her faith in Jesus was firm. The woman answered the Lord humbly and wisely, and the Lord praised her faith and healed her daughter possessed by demons. The Canaanite woman is an example for us to follow. We should pray without tepidity, and object not the will of God, but rather submit to it. If we ever show any objection to whatever happens to us, let it be in humility and wisdom, saying, “Let your will be done, O Lord”. The Lord Jesus taught us to pray the way He Himself did. He used to, glory to Him, retire with the heavenly Father for several times everyday in fervent prayers. When Jesus prayed, His prayer was intimate discourse with own self, for He and the Father are one in substance. He is in the Father and the Father is in Him, as He said about Himself (John 14:10). When His disciples once asked Him to teach them how to pray, He taught them to direct their prayer to the heavenly Father, “When you pray, pray like this; Our Father in heaven…” (Matthew 6:9-13; Luke 11:1- 4). Jesus taught us and His disciples this very short prayer, which we call “the Lord’s prayer” and presented it as a model for us from which we adopt our own petitions which we present to God. In this prayer, He incorporated themes embracing thanking God for His graces, which he always bestows on us, glorification of His name, and our petition to Him to fulfill the needs of our souls and bodies, and thus we worship Him in spirit and truth.

We must, therefore, persevere in public prayer together with all the faithful in the holy church, and in partaking in the holy Mass. Also, we must follow the steps of our fathers in performing prayer in mornings and evenings in our homes for the entire household, in addition to our own solitary prayers, so that we may continue to communicate with our great God. By doing so, we draw from Him strength, wisdom and triumph over our enemy, the devil, and his hosts, and protection against his followers, evil men.

Because we are in need to know the will of our Lord, we must carry on reading the holy Bible, and listen well that we may hear the commandments of our Lord Jesus Christ in piety and fear of God. We must observe these commandments avoiding what is forbidden in the commandments of the Lord, presenting to Him prayer of thanksgiving and gratitude, and believing that He is our God, savior and redeemer. For without faith, there is no prayer. How can we pray to Him whom we do not believe in. The Lord commanded us saying; “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it, and it will be yours” (Mark 11:24).

May the Lord God bless you, and make you worthy to renew your spiritual relationship with Him, glory to Him. May He accept your fast, prayers and almsgivings, and make you worthy to celebrate the feast of His glorious resurrection from the dead in joy, happiness, good health, and great success. May His grace be with you.

Aboun d’bashmayo w’sharko.

Issued at our Patriarchal house in Damascus, Syria,
On the 24th day of January, in the year two thousand and two of our Lord,
Which is the 22nd year of our Patriarchal reign.

"True Faith in our Lord Jesus Christ"
From the 1998 Patriarchal encyclical of
His Holiness Moran Mor Ignatius Zakka I Iwas
Translated and Published by
the Archdiocese Of The Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch
For The Eastern USA,
Lent 1998

We extend our apostolic benediction, best wishes and greetings to our brothers, their eminence, the metropolitans; to our spiritual children: The honorable vicars, priests, monks, nuns, deacons and deaconesses; and to all our esteemed Syrian Orthodox faithful. May the divine providence protect you through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, Mother of God, chief of the apostles saint Peter and all the saints and martyrs. Amen.

True Faith In Our Lord Jesus Christ

" Simon Peter answered and said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. " ( Matthew 16:16 ).

Mahatma Ghandi, the famous Indian thinker, told some western preachers: " I want your Christ, not your Christianity. " Once, he was asked to speak to a multi ethnic and religious group and he responded by opening the Holy Gospel and proceeding to read the Sermon (of the Lord Jesus) on the Mount, He also declared that he read it always.

Mahatma Ghandi and other such non-Christian leaders of nations, great thinkers, philosophers and scientists throughout the ages, knew the Lord Jesus through His divine and moral teachings and through His pure and holy reputation. They perceived Him only as a great prophet and an outstanding social reformer. Howbeit, by such assumptions, some ancient and contemporary pretenders changed the Gospel of salvation into a social gospel. By so doing, they fell into heresy and strayed from the true path. They pretended to be Christians in order to spread their awful teachings. However, their Christianity is false and Jesus Has distanced Himself from them of whom He had said: " Many will say to Me in that day ( Judgment Day ), Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness! " (Matthew 7:22-23). The Lord Jesus also warns us against deceivers and those who have gone astray, saying: " Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits " ( Matthew 7:15-16 ). Likewise, concerning this, St. Paul writes to the faithful in Galatia, saying: " But there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed " ( Galatians 1:7-9 ).

Yea, the Lord Jesus elevated humanity to high standards by blessing the poor in spirit, the pure in hearts, the humble and their pious likes. He also hated sin and condemned it, but loved the sinner and called him to repentance. However, Not only did He condemn the sin of adultery, for example, but also denounced the evil and lustful eye, which is both the root of this sin and its origin, by saying: " You have heard that it was said to those of old, you shall not commit adultery. But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell " ( Matthew 5:27-29 ). The Lord Jesus laid down the golden rule on how should one deal with his brother, saying: " Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets " ( Matthew 7:12 ). Obviously, the Lord Jesus lived on earth according to His own divine teachings in a manner that this world had never seen. It shall never again witness such a historical person or even a legendary being who would possess the wonderful traits and noble characteristics of the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, He also, made of Himself a true example for humanity through His pure walk and noble character, by which He affirmed the possibility of applying His divine commandments and heavenly teachings, which, when heeded, leads man to evangelical perfection. Because the law of the Lord Jesus is not a fantastic law which one cannot observe! And it is not such a heavy burden which none might bear! On the contrary, the Lord's burden is easy and His load is light. The Lord Jesus invites us to imitate Him, saying: " Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light " ( Matthew 11:28-30 ).

Indeed, it would be very dangerous, and alien to the spirit of the Holy Gospel, to assume that the Lord Jesus is equivalent to Moses, Elijah and the rest of the prophets. Because He is not simply a just man and a great prophet! On the contrary, He is infallible to the point that He challenged His enemies by declaring to them and His followers: " Which of you convicts Me of sin " ( John 8:46 )? This infallibility of Christ gives a clear proof that He is superior to man. On one occasion, He said: " No one is good but One, that is, God " ( Matthew 19:17 ). Here, the Apostle Paul clarifies the truth about the Lord's divinity, by saying: " And without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness: God was: manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among Gentiles, believed in by the world, received up in glory " (1 Timothy 3:16), and this verse by St. Paul is a summary of faith in the divine incarnation. Moreover, the Apostle John explains the ultimate purpose for writing the Holy Gospel by saying: " But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His Name " ( John 20:31 ). Even the Lord Jesus did clearly direct the eyes of His followers to reflect on His divine person. For He is God's Only-begotten Son Who came from heaven for the salvation of humanity, saying: " For God so loved the world that He gave His Only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life " ( John 3:16 ). The Lord even let the world know that He is " The Light of the World " ( John 8:12; 9:5 ), " The Way, The Truth, and The Life " ( John 14:6 ), " The Resurrection and the Life " ( John 11:25 ) and also that: " He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live " ( John 11:25 ).

In the region of Caesarea Philippi, Jesus did not ask for the opinion of His disciples on His noble teachings, neither for their thoughts regarding His amazing miracles, rather He wanted to know what the people and they were saying concerning His divine person, He said: " Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? So they said, Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets. He said to them, But who do you say that I am? Simon Peter answered and said, You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Jesus answered and said to him, Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father Who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it " ( Matthew 16:13-18 ). He also blessed Simon Peter because flesh and blood did not reveal to him that divine truth and noble tenet of faith, but heaven did, which also testified concerning Jesus immediately after His baptism by John. For the heavens opened up and the Holy Spirit descended on the person of Jesus in the form of a dove to distinguish Him from the people, while the Father's voice came out from heaven, saying: " You are My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased. " ( Matthew 3:17; Mark 1:11 Luke 3:22 ). The heavenly Father testified again about His Son, on the day when the Lord Jesus was transfigured on the mount, in the presence of three of His disciples, Moses and Elijah appeared with Him, saying: " This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him " ( Matthew 17:5 )! For our Lord Jesus Christ did surely establish His true religion on the noble doctrine that He is the Only-begotten Son of God. For He came into the world to fill the hearts and minds of mankind with His divine being, and whoever does not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God becomes a stranger to Christ. Likewise, every institution which claims to be as one of the churches of Christ, but does not believe that Jesus Christ is: " God was manifested in the flesh " (1 Timothy 3:16 ) as expressed by the Apostle Paul, and that: He is of one substance with His Father as put in the canon of the Nicaean Creed, then that institution has no connection with Christ at all. Christ is also eternal and everlasting, as He declared saying: " Before Abraham was, I AM " ( John 8:58 ). Moreover, the word: " I AM " is the same word for " I AM " which God gave for Himself when He told Moses: " Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, " I AM " has sent me to you " ( Exodus 3:14 ). The Lord Jesus even declared that He is of one substance with God the Father, saying: " He who has seen Me has seen the Father " ( John 14:9 ), " All things that the Father Has are Mine " ( John 16:15 ), " No one comes to the Father except through Me " ( John 14:6 ) He also said: " Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going " ( John 8:14 ). Even when He set the sacrament of Holy Baptism -making it a gate through which to enter into the sheepfold, meaning His Holy Church- He revealed that He is of one substance with the Father and the Holy Spirit. He also explained the doctrine of One God in three persons by saying to His disciples: " Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit ( Matthew 28:19 ). "

True faith in our Lord Jesus Christ was indeed summarized by the First Ecumenical Synod of Nicaea (325 AD) in the Creed of Faith which it authored. It came from the summarized canons of faith originally set by the Holy Apostles and their disciples, the Holy Fathers. This Creed was recited by all who come forward to receive the sacrament of Holy Baptism, at the beginning of the service of this sacrament. This same Nicaean Creed is recited by the faithful every evening and morning, and every occasion in which they prayed to God. By so doing, they confess their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ Who Was begotten of the Father before all the worlds. For He is the Only-begotten Son of God and Was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and of the Virgin Mary and saved the world by His suffering, death, resurrection and His ascension into heaven and He will come again, on the Last Day, to judge both the living and the dead, and His kingdom shall have no end.

Indeed, preaching about the good life of the Lord Jesus, and His moral and noble parables, without declaring the true belief in His divinity and His Eternal Sonship to the heavenly Father, diminishes His due honor and is an estrangement from the fountains of His divine teachings and heavenly commandments. It becomes rather a rejection of Him Who says: " Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God. But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God " ( Luke 12:8-9 ).

Therefore, as we question our conscience, heart and mind, we must ask ourselves a very important question whose answer will determine our eternal destiny. Do we truly believe in the Only-begotten Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, and accept Him also as our own Savior and of the world? Though the Apostle Thomas once doubted the resurrection of the Lord Jesus from the dead, yet he remained among the company of his brothers, the disciples, so the Lord Jesus pitied him and appeared to him on the eighth day after His resurrection. He tenderly talked to him and gently rebuked him, prompting Thomas to worship Him " And Thomas answered and said to Him, My Lord and my God ! Jesus said to him, Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed " ( John 20:28-29 ).

Beloved, we do not behold the Lord Jesus through our mere eyes, but rather we see Him through the eyes of faith, and we believe that He is the Only-begotten Son of God and the Savior of the world! as He taught us by His Holy Gospel, and as we had received from the Holy Apostles and just Fathers. May we then beseech Him to increase our faith and strengthen us to combine faith with good deeds. The Apostle James says: " Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, You have faith, and I have works. Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe -- and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead " ( James 2:17-20 )! Didn't the demons confess Him, saying: " What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time " ( Matthew 8:29 ) i.e., before the Day of Judgment? However, He used to rebuke and order them to leave people.

Thus my beloved, in the advent of Holy Lent, let us seize this occasion to renew our covenant with the Lord Jesus, the Only-begotten Son of God, carry His Holy Cross and follow Him, as did our fathers who begat us in the flesh, as well as those who spiritually begat us. For they all were just, heeding the Lord's commandments and upholding His laws through fasting, prayers and the giving of alms. May we also distance ourselves from the deceived and the deceivers, and from modern deceivers who stray from the true path and renew the ancient cults and heresies which the Holy Church has condemned since its inception throughout ageless time. Let us also plead with God to increase our faith by sending unto us His Holy Spirit which was spoken of by the Lord Jesus: " But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My Name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you " ( John 14:26 ). Moreover, the apostle Paul says: " Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit " ( 1 Corinthians 12:3 ).

Finally, we should combine our true faith in our Lord Jesus Christ with a holy way of life so that our Christianity may be true and pure, not a false one, approved by our Christ Who commanded us to: " Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven ( Matthew 5:16 ). May God accept your fast, your prayers and offerings and bless you with good health, honorable success and long life. May He also prepare you to joyfully and happily celebrate the feast of His resurrection from the dead, and may He be merciful to your faithful departed ones. May the grace of God be with you. Amen.

Our Father Who art in heaven etc.

Issued at our Patriarchal Headquarters.

Damascus, Syria.

January 1st , 1998

The 18th year of our Patriarchal reign.

Translated and Published by the

Archdiocese Of The Syrian Orthodox Church for the Eastern United States

February 9, 1998

"Sacrament of the Holy Priesthood"
From the 1997 Patriarchal encyclical of His Holiness Moran Mor Ignatius Zakka I Iwas
Translated and Published by the Archdiocese Of The Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch For The Eastern USA, Fall 1997

Inquiring after you we say:

We thank you for your filial noble feeling in inviting us to preside in the meetings of the Convention of the three Patriarchal Vicariates of our Holy Church, the Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch in the United States and Canada which will be held this year in the City of Los Angeles, California, hosted by your flourishing Archdiocese, in the period between 31 July to 3 August, 1997.

It gives us pleasure to accept your kind invitation to gather together, God willing, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ who promised us saying: " For where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in their midst of them." (Matth 18:20). It is our hope that the lord will bless our gathering by his presence amongst us so that we may glorify and thank Him for His abundant gifts that cannot be told, for " Every good endowment and very perfect gift is from above coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change" (James 1:17), as Apostle James says.

Dearly Beloved: You have done excellent in choosing the Sacrament of the Holy Priesthood immediately after he had founded His Holy Church on the rock of true faith which was proclaimed by St. Peter the head of the Apostles, who said to the Lord Jesus: " You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God" . And Jesus answered him: Blessed and happy are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in Heaven; and I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church and the doors of sheol shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven" ( Matt 16:16-19).

The Lord gave all the Apostles this power when he appeared to them on of the eve of his resurrection from among the dead as they were assembled in the upper room while the doors were locked. He stood in their midst and said: ''peace be with you. As the father has sent me, even so I send you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any they are retained'' John 20:21 and 22). He thus ordained them priests, as we are taught by our fathers the saints. Likewise, he ordained them bishops when '' He took them out as far as Bethany, and he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and went up to heaven" (Luke 24: 51 and 52). Thus, the Lord installed in his church shepherds, ministers, teachers and guides and gave them the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, that he may protect and keep them in the truth and remind them with all that Jesus said to them to safeguard the precious jewel of the true faith. He made them, his faithful stewards and partners in the power of shepherding his sheep, endowed with the faculty of speech, on the pastures of his divine teachings, and the stream of waters of his Holy living Gospel so that they may timely offer food to his servants. In this regard, St. Paul says: '' And no one takes this honor upon him self but only he who is called of God, as was Aaron" (Hebr 5:4).

Therefore, priests and bishops in their different ranks are set apart by God from among the faithful to go before the people and offer sacrifices for the remission of their own sins as well as the sins of the people. The Lord God thus bestows upon them the grace of carrying the mission of the priesthood and hence obtain divine power exclusive to those who are selected for this high honor with all its spiritual rights and privileges and related duties and burdens. This includes: looking for the lost sheep and carrying it on the shoulders and brining it back to the fold, awaiting the prodigal son, rejoicing by his return and reestablishing trust with him. It also includes calling upon parishioners, warning the urging them to repent, otherwise the Lord would punish His shepherds according to the prophet Ezekiel: ''If I say to the wicked, ' you shall surly die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand" ( Ezek 3:18).

In reviewing the duties and privileges of the priest, we realize that the priest, whose mission is primarily to the voice of the people to God and raise his prayers to Him, also performs the duty of a prophet in conveying the voice of God to the people. Priests, thus, must warn, preach to sinners and instruct them to observe the divine commandments. Further, they should make themselves good examples for them, in this way they become a light for the world and salt for earth.

The Lord Jesus Himself, had chosen and called His righteous apostles and pious disciples, and they had accepted His invitation by their full free will leaving behind everything for His sake. He graduated them in His divine school. He used to retire with them from time to time and explain to them His parables and divine teachings so that they may understand what He was aiming at in his invaluable sermons. He further gave them the keys of knowledge and understanding the essence of God's commandments and prohibitions. Also, He bestowed on them the power of teaching, edification, disciplining, justification and sanctification for the building of the Holy Body of Christ which is the Church. Devils submitted to them in His name, as they joyfully told Him after returning from a journey where He had sent them in pairs before Him to every city and place He had intended to go. He said to them: " Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you; but rejoice that your names are written in Heaven" (Luke 10:19-20). From here, we know that the wage of the Lord's priests is kept in heaven and not on earth to witch He sent them to preach the Gospel of Salvation. He never promised them with bodily rest and happiness. On the contrary, he demanded of them self-denial, carrying the cross and following Him in the trial of pain and sacrifice in all worldly matters. He said to them: " Take no gold, nor silver, nor copper in your belts, no bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor a staff for the laborer deserves his food. Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves… and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved… and do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matth 10: 7-28). With this, the Lord told them about the hardships they would encounter in life so long as they have chosen to enter through the narrow door and walk in the difficult road leading to the kingdom. At the same time, He assured them of His protection and of their exalted position with Him saying: "But so far as you are concerned, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Therefore fear not. Whoever receives you, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives Him who sent me. He who receives a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and whoever receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man's reward" (Matth: 10:30, 41and 42).

The Apostle Paul advises the faithful to honor the clergy. He says; "We beseech you, brethren, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work" (I Thess 5:12).

But the best and the highest reward are received by the shepherds in Heaven. In this regard, apostle Paul says: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day" (2 Tim 4: 7-8). Thus, those whom the Lord called in this life and they answered His call, and whom He sent, and they fought for the sake of salvation of their souls and those of others, will be called by the Lord to enter His Heavenly Kingdom to inherit the everlasting bliss, being crowned with the crown of righteous, the pious, and the saints. They will be all with the Lord Jesus who promised: "If any one serves me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall my servant be also; if any one serves me, the Father will honor him" (John 12:26).

Dearly beloved:

Let us take the opportunity of us being gathered together, clergy and people, in this blessed Convention, and renew our vow to God to observe His commandments. Let us also renew our pledge to one another to cooperate with each other towards the salvation of our souls and the progress and prosperity of our Holy Syrian Orthodox Church, and thus receive God's reward on earth and Heaven, and may His Grace be with you all forever. Amen.

Issued at our Patriarchate in Damascus, Syria on the 25th of March, in the year one thousand nine hundred and ninety seven, which is the 17th year of our Patriarchate.

"True Repentance"
From the 1997 Patriarchal encyclical of His Holiness Moran Mor Ignatius Zakka I Iwas
Translated and Published by
the Archdiocese Of
The Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch
For The Eastern USA, March 1997
IN THE NAME OF THE ETERNAL, DIVINE AND ALMIGHTY BEING

IGNATIUS ZAKKA I IWAS PATRIARCH OF THE APOSTOLIC SEE OF ANTIOCH AND ALL THE EAST, SUPREME HEAD OF THE UNIVERSAL SYRIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH.

WE EXTEND OUR APOSTOLIC BENEDICTION, BEST WISHES AND GREETINGS TO OUR BROTHERS THE EMINENT METROPOLITANS; TO OUR SPIRITUAL CHILDREN: THE HONORABLE PRIESTS, MONKS, NUNS, DEACONS AND DEACONESSES; AND TO ALL OUR ESTEEMED SYRIAN ORTHODOX PEOPLE. MAY THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE PROTECT THEM THROUGH THE INTERCESSION OF THE VIRGIN MARY, CHIEF OF THE APOSTLES SAINT PETER AND ALL THE SAINTS AND MARTYRS. AMEN.

TRUE REPENTANCE

"From that time on Jesus began to preach: 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near'." ( Matt. 4:17 )

Man, with all his intelligence, can not fathom the depth of God's love to mankind or to comprehend its essence. For He (God) has loved them even to death, the death on the Cross. The Holy Gospel declares: For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. (Jn. 3:16). Love was the main reason why God sent His Only-begotten Son into our world. He was incarnate by the Holy Spirit and of the Virgin Mary, and was crucified for us, and died and was buried and rose on the third day according to His will, as stated in the Nicene Creed of Faith. Thus He redeemed us who believe in Him, and forgave the original sin we inherited from our first parents, along with our personal sins committed before we were baptized in His Name and received salvation, thus fulfilling His divine promise: Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned (Mk.16:16). Because we were baptized in His name, we were born through the water and Spirit a second birth from heaven, and we were justified and sanctified to be children of God by grace, and heirs to His heavenly kingdom. This is the ultimate motive behind the mystery of incarnation and redemption. Concerning this, the Apostle Paul says: Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners-- of whom I am the worst. (1Tim.1:15). Therefore, when the Lord Jesus publicly began His divine mission in the flesh, by announcing His noble heavenly message, the Gospel of Repentance, He said: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near (Matt.4:17). he also said: The time has come and The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news (Mk.1:15). The Apostle Peter also told those who were troubled in their hearts, after hearing his sermon on the fiftieth day, and asked him and the other apostles: Brothers, what shall we do? Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:37-38). Hence, the message of redemption, brought by our Lord Jesus Christ, is to prepare man for eternal life, by true repentance and true faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, by accepting Him as the Savior of the world, by being baptized in His Name and by obeying His divine laws. In this regard, our Lord Jesus says to His heavenly Father: Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, Whom You have sent (Jn. 17:3).

Yes, God Almighty knows that we are weak humans, always prone to enter into hard temptations, and eventually fall into the pit of sins so long as we are in this human body. Yet, since we have been baptized in our Lord's Holy Name, and the Holy Spirit dwells in us, God has prepared for us a way of repentance in order to return to Him after we confess our sins and are sorry for the trespasses which we have committed. Before the ascension of our Lord Jesus into heaven, He gave His pure apostles, and just disciples, the authority to bind and loose sins by saying: Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven (Jn.20:22-23). Through this divine power, the Lord grants graciously the forgiveness of sins to the believers who present to God a pure repentance, because sin is a rebellion and a transgression against the Almighty, and an alienation from Him. The Prophet Isaiah says: But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that he will not hear (Isa. 59:2). The Apostle John, describes sin also as a transgression: Everyone who sins breaks the law (I Jn. 3:4). This law-breaking is the lack of harmony between the thoughts, words and deeds of man; and the commandments of God. By sinning, he breaks the law, rebels against God and obeys Satan, the enemy of God and man at the same time. For Satan is the tempter who tries to entrap man and snare him into disobedience. Moreover, any kind of sin is deemed as breaking the law of God, His commandments and all He forbids, as if it were committed directly against the Almighty. This is what prompted the Prophet David, who committed a terrible sin, to plead with God saying: Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight (Ps. 51:4). Yet, to explain that this sin was personal, and that he also inherited the original sin, he adds: Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me (Ps.51:5).

Sin is very awful indeed and leads to eternal death. The Apostle James said: and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death (Jas. 1:15). For the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). Therefore when sin overtakes a person, he becomes overwhelmed with apprehension, anxiety, guilt and instability. In fear and trepidation, He expects severe punishment as a consequence for what he has committed. But thanks be to God for sending His Son, Who became an atonement for us by His death on the Cross, thus abolishing sin by His resurrection from among the dead. In so doing, He reconciled us with His heavenly Father, Who wants us to be at peace with heaven in order to be worthy to inherit the kingdom of God. For we have been justified from the original sin when we were buried with Christ in Baptism, even to death, and rose with Him to a new life. Yet, we are humans, and are always susceptible to sin, but on Judgment Day the Lord shall not ask: why did you sin? but rather: why didn't you repent?

Repentance is a return to God and an obedience to His divine laws. When a sinner searches his soul entirely, deeply, faithfully and honestly, and compares his wretched and sad state of sin, with the happy state which preceded his fall into sin and iniquity, when he was in his Father's abode with a clear conscience and at peace; he will confess his sins, and feel sorry for his wrongdoing and transgression against God's laws, and anxiously determine to return to God through repentance. He should not be content with simply doing so, but should also emulate the Prodigal Son who said: I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men (Lk. 15:18-19). Sure enough, he (the Prodigal Son) wearing his worn-out and soiled clothes and with his many sins, went to his father, and lo, he found him impatiently waiting for his return. So, The son said to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found'. (Lk. 15:21-24).

All this signifies God's love for the sinner and His anticipation for him to return safely to his home. Furthermore the Lord, Who is the Good Shepherd, always searches for the lost sheep. And when He finds him, He carries him upon His shoulders and brings him to the sheep's fold. Likewise, the father restored to his prodigal son his rank and stature, and dressed him with a new robe, to become a new man with a new life. He placed on his finger the ring of the Covenant, thus renewing with him the Covenant and his trust in him. He also hosted a fancy feast for the local people that they could rejoice with him, and joyfully welcome the return of the prodigal son into their society.

The anger and sadness of the eldest son on his brother's return, represents the hypocrisy of the Scribes and Pharisees and their lack of desire to save the tax collectors and sinners. They do not enter the kingdom of God and they do not let anybody else enter either. Those Scribes and Pharisees even objected to the Lord Jesus for He befriended tax collectors and sinners and sat with them and opened for them the door of repentance to attain salvation by saying: It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners (Matt. 9:12-13). The Lord confirmed this when He accepted the penitents who came back to Him with solid faith, by forgiving their sins. In this manner, the Lord forgave Zacchaeus and Matthew, the tax collectors, Mary Magdalene, the adulterous woman, the Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob, the apostle Peter, the remorseful thief and others. Moreover, the Lord Jesus still forgives all penitents who come to Him with a true and complete repentance. Concerning this, the apostle John says: My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atonement for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world (I Jn. 2:1-2).

Oh, how great is God's love for the world, His mercy to the sinners and His desire for their return to Him in repentance! He will surely receive them just as the father welcomed his prodigal son. And how wretched is the sinner, who is ignorant of his misery while he is in a sinful state and has no desire to return to God in repentance. The persistence of the sinner in his sin, and his creation of phony excuses to justify himself, are but an insult to the long-suffering patience of Almighty God. Whereas true repentance produces spiritual happiness which fills the heart of the penitent with joy for his salvation, by making peace and reconciliation with the Lord God. Even heaven rejoices with the penitent. The Lord Jesus says: I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent (Lk. 15:7). This joy points to the true and ultimate faith which fills the heart and the mind.

Surely, the penitent who receives forgiveness for his sins from the Lord by means of a valid priest, (authorized by the Lord Jesus to loosen sins) must continue his relationship as a son with the Heavenly Father by living virtuously, thus producing fruit in keeping with repentance. (Matt. 3:8). Likewise, John the Baptist commanded those who came to him to confess their sins, and then he baptized them with the baptism of repentance, and gave them the good news of the eminent coming of the Savior, saying: "Produce fruit befitting repentance...".

A penitent should not simply be content with the forgiveness of his sins, but he should ask God like the Prophet David, who sinned and repented, cried and begged the Lord saying: Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your unfailing love; according to Your great compassion blot out my transgressions.... Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners will turn back to You (Ps. 51:1,10-13). A penitent is in need of renewal, renewal of the heart as well as of the conscience. He must pray to God that the Holy Spirit not be taken from him, because if the Good Spirit leaves a person, the evil spirit will replace it as in the case of Saul. David himself experienced this and prayed that the Holy Spirit not depart from him, but rather lead him into the proper paths, that he might remain firm in a state of justification and righteousness: the state which was restored to him after he came back to God through true repentance.

Truly, evil has spread wildly in this corrupt generation. We are drowning in iniquity, and are in desperate need of true repentance, reflected by sorrow and regret over the sins which we committed and are determined to avoid. Again, let us emulate the Prophet David in asking forgiveness from God and doing penance to Him. And, just like the Prodigal Son, may we return to the Father's home, with sorrow and repentance. Moreover, let us confess our sins to a lawful priest, that he might enrich us with his spiritual advice, as a healing and protecting medicine. And by the authority of the Sacred Priesthood ascribed to him by God, he will recite the prayer of absolution. Through this, we earn the right to return to our previous state of grace, which we received from our Savior and Redeemer Jesus Christ. Dearly beloved,

In this evil generation, as we prepare to bid farewell to the twentieth century and usher in the twenty-first, we observe humanity marching in darkness, lost in the crooked ways of this world, enslaved by the heavy yoke of sin, and resembling the Prodigal Son in leaving his father's house and squandering his money on a wasteful life. May the sinning believer also emulate the Prodigal Son in his true repentance and righteous return to the home of his father, that the Father may receive him joyfully. The Holy Church is in need of a goodly number of our budding youth, of both genders, who fear God and heed His commandments, produce good fruits worthy of repentance, and whose hearts are purified and souls renewed. People who make themselves good examples to others by keeping God's laws and regulations. Who, along with us, listen to the Lord Jesus and hear His divine voice calling us today, just as He called the people twenty centuries ago and until now, through the mouths of His priests: The time has come," He said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news (Mk. 1:15). If the time of our Lord Jesus Christ's coming, twenty centuries ago, has been fulfilled, and all prophecies have come true and salvation completed, then, the time for His second coming approaches according to His true and divine promises. He also Had appointed it since the beginning. Therefore, let us repent and believe in the Holy Gospel as the Lord commands us. May we also heed the call of the Holy Spirit as He warns and cautions us saying: Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts (Ps. 95:7-8). Also, let us repent immediately because we do not know when the Lord will come again to judge the world, or when we are going to depart from this temporal life to eternity. If we are not in a repentant state, it will be too late for sorrow. Therefore, let us be ready, awake and anxious for our meeting with the Lord Jesus, so that He may make us worthy to be with the Good Thief in the paradise of joy.

May God accept your repentance, your fasting, your prayers and offerings. May He also be merciful to your faithful departed, and prepare you to celebrate His Glorious Resurrection with spiritual joy and happiness. After a full life, may He also make you worthy to enjoy the grace of His heavenly kingdom in the company of the repentant faithful, the just and the righteous. Amen. Our Father Who art in heaven...etc.

"The Holy Eucharist"
From the 1991 Patriarchal lental
encyclical of His Holiness Moran Mor Ignatius Zakka I Iwas
Patriarch of Antioch and All the East , Supreme Head of the Universal Syrian Orthodox Church.

The Lord Jesus set the foundation of the marvelous Sacrament of The Holy Eucharist by declaring Himself truly to be: "The bread that came down from heaven". This proclamation surprised His listeners, who belonged to different sectors of society of the old order, along with their varied religious, cultural and social levels. Also their opinions, judging the mission of the Lord Jesus, were contradicting. Many of them recognized Him as the expected Messiah: The hope of nations and generations. Others thought He was one of the prophets. Yet, others rejected Him and were waiting for Him trying to trap Him into saying something He could be arrested for. Therefore they asked Him to perform a miracle by reminding Him of the incident of the descent of Manna from heaven upon their forefathers in the wilderness. " Then Jesus said unto them, very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father Who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world " ( John 6:32-33 ). He continued saying: " I am the bread of life, whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty " ( John 6:35 ).

The multitudes could not comprehend this truth which is beyond the grasp of the human mind. In the Holy Gospel, the apostle John says: "Then the Jews began to complain about Him because He said: I am the bread that came down from heaven." ( John 6:41 ). These words were even difficult to some of His disciples who interpreted them materially for they were asking each other saying: " how can He give us his body to eat?" And in order to reaffirm this divine teaching to them, our Lord explained it fully, and added further to clarify the effects of the Sacrament of The Holy Eucharist saying, "...unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat My flesh and drink My blood have eternal life and I will raise them up on the last day; for My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. Those who eat My flesh and drink My blood abide in Me, and I in them" ( John 6:53-56 ).

Yes, whoever contemplates in the Lord's teaching, the great sacrifice of the Lord, will be transfigured before Him. His self-denial is not only by bearing great pains and dying on the cross for the salvation of the world, but also by giving Himself to the believers, as spiritual food. They will be nourished by receiving Him, and they will grow in grace and be fortified and will abide in Christ, and finally, they will be worthy to inherit with Him His Heavenly Kingdom.

The Lord gave Himself to His pure disciples in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. He gave the Eucharist in the form of bread and wine before He delivered Himself willingly into the hands of His enemies -the Jews- for crucifixion and death, as a redemption for humanity.

On the night of His passion, and after eating the Jewish Passover Meal with His righteous disciples, "Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it He broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said: Take, eat; this is My body. Then He took a cup and after giving thanks He gave it to them, saying: Drink from it all of you; for this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." ( Matthew 26:26-28 ) and ( Mark 14:22-24 ).

Thus, the Lord established the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist and granted His pure disciples the authority to offer the bloodless, divine sacrifice by saying to them: "...do this in remembrance of Me." ( Luke 22:19 ). In fulfillment of this Commandment of the Lord, and by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the disciples set up the ritual of offering this divine sacrifice which is called The Order of Service of the Divine Eucharist. The Book of Acts of the Apostles mentions that the early Christians "Continued steadfastly in the .. fellowship, in the breaking of bread and in prayers." ( Acts 2:42 ), which indicates their actual participation in the Divine Sacrament and the receiving of the Holy Eucharist which is His holy body and blood.

This bloodless sacrifice is a remembrance of the Sacrifice on the Cross and an extension of it and the continuation of its benefits. Furthermore, its true offerer is the Lord Christ, who gave Himself as a redemptive offering on the cross.

The Lord Jesus offers Himself on the Holy Altar as a bloodless sacrifice in the form of bread and wine. The Holy Bible said about Him, "You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek." ( Hebrews 5:6 ). Melchizedek was a king of the Holy City and its priest during the time of Abraham, the father of the Patriarchs, and his sacrifice was bread and wine; symbolizing the sacrifice of the new covenant just as he -Melchizedek- was a symbol of Jesus, the great priest.

The priest who offers the sacrifice of the new covenant, represents the Lord Jesus. Therefore, the believers who participate in the Holy Eucharist, should be of one accord with the priest, who offers the sacrament, in order to receive Christ's blessings. They should also receive the Holy Communion. For, if the physical food nourishes the body, the Holy Eucharist -the body and blood of Christ- is the food of the soul which makes its partaker worthy to be united with Christ. Concerning this matter, the Lord says: "Those who eat My flesh and drink My blood abide in Me and I in them" ( John 6:56 ). St. Paul explains this relationship between Christ and the true believer by saying: "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me..." ( Galatians 2:20 ).

Therefore, the Holy Eucharist, grants us the Spiritual life in Christ and makes us abide in Him; so we grow and become strengthened spiritually. If that is so, then our abstinence from receiving it will be a terrible and irreplaceable loss. For we will be compared to the branch which is separated from the vine; it will dry up, whither, die and be thrown into the fire. That's why the Lord Jesus warns and cautions us saying: "Unless you eat the body of the Son Of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves." ( John 6:53 ). Hence, the church imposed punishment upon the heretics, schismatics, and criminals by denying them the receiving of the Holy Eucharist and the participation in the Divine Liturgy.

Dearly Beloved; Because of the sacredness of the Holy Eucharist, it is required that the believers be prepared, body and soul, before they receive it. Their bodies must be clean, and they must be in a state of grace; meaning that they had offered a true penance and lawfully confessed before the lawful priest. They must also adhere to the order of communion abstaining. Concerning this matter, Saint Paul says: "But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner, eats and drinks judgment to himself not discerning the Lord's body". ( 1 Corinthians 11:28,29 ). Thus, Whoever comes to receive the Holy Eucharist must gather his thoughts and proceed, with the fear of God, with humility and meekness, and with a burning desire that matches "the desire of the deer to the streams of water " ( Psalms 41:2 ). Thus thanking God for His indescribable grace, for who has redeemed us by His sacrifice on the Cross; and bestowed upon us the sacrifice of the Holy Communion which is called "Eucharist" or the Sacrament of Thanksgiving.

Beloved, it is regrettable that many of the church sons and daughters, nowadays, have neglected to come forth to the table of the Lord, not comprehending that they are exposing their souls to eternal perdition. So, let us all return to God, with true penance, so that we may be worthy of partaking of the Lord's Table. Let us be united with Him, the Lord of Glory, and He with us, to grow in grace and be worthy to inherit His Heavenly Kingdom.

May the Lord God bless you and accept your prayers and alms. May He have mercy upon your faithful departed. Amen.

"The Patriarchal Decree of 1994"
The Patriarchal Journal
vol.32 - March/April 1994 - No. 133/134. Pages 130-136.

We grant apostolic blessing, invocation and peace in the Lord to our brothers: the most honorable His Beatitude the Catholicos, their Eminences the Metropolitans, the notables, our sons the representatives of the noble Archbishoprics and priests, monks, deacons and the assembled members of our people the Syrian Orthodox in the whole world. May the providence of the Lord be bestowed on them by the mediation of the Virgin Mary and Saint Peter the chief of the Apostles and all the martyrs and saints. Amen.

Saint James said: "Resist the devil and he will flee from you." (James 4:7)

Dearly Beloved:

A violent struggle began between the powers of good and the powers of evil when God created humanity in his image and planted for them the paradise of Eden so they would enjoy it and raise him up as Lord of all creation. So Satan, who was one of the favorite angels, became envious of their happiness and because of his pride and opposition to God on high Satan and his followers fell from heaven and they were changed into evil beings, enemies of God and humanity. Satan deceived our first parents and caused them to fall in the sin of pride and greed, so they were cast out of their paradise into the land of toil. What increases the danger of this mortal enemy is that he himself is an unseen being. His secret is disguise and his power is so great that he can effect the human mind trying to deceive it by deception and if anyone yields to him and believes him he falls into sin.

Satan appears in his work through other beings as he did in paradise when he materialized in a snake which was the most deceptive of all the wild animals (Genesis 3:1). Thus he made our first parents fall in sin. Satan also appears through temptations that come upon our humanity with the permission of God on High, as in what happened to Job the Righteous. Satan's goal in this is to make humanity fall in sin and sin is transgression of the law of God. In this way it makes sinful humanity enemies of God and friends of Satan and his soldiers who are considered the most dangerous enemies of humanity because they are like ravenous wolves that come in the clothing of sheep to devour the flock. They would not be discovered until after they have annihilated most of the flock.

What makes things worse is that satan deludes some of the people into thinking that he does not exist. In that way he gets rid of their opposition to him. But the Holy Bible tells us about the existence of this evil one and reveals for us his tricks and malevolence for he is a real person without a material body, that is free from any matter. The Bible calls him satan, that is the adversary. It also calls him the devil or the false accuser, because he complains about God to people (Genesis 3:1-5) and complains about people to God (Job 1:9-11, Revelation 12:10). It also calls him the evil one, and gives him similar names. To protect us from him God called him our enemy by saying to the snake which satan materialized in Paradise: "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel" (Genesis 3:15). For this enmity protects us from annihilation and warns us about our enemy, the devil.

The Lord Jesus unmasked for us the character of our enemy, the devil, and taught us to pray to the heavenly Father saying: "Do not lead us into temptation but deliver us from the evil one" (Matthew 6:13 Arabic translation). The Apostle Peter warns us: "Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kind of suffering" (I Peter 5:8-9). Also the Apostle James in the verse of our subject urges us saying, "Resist the devil and he will flee from you" (James 4:7).

Yes, God has created humanity rational: that is able to distinguish the difference between good and evil and know what is permitted and what is forbidden. He has the full freedom to choose whatever he wills so that he will be rewarded for good deeds as he will be punished for evil deeds. Since this fierce battle was established between humanity and its enemy, the devil, it has continued through ages and generations and the devil has been victorious over humanity in many rounds. Most of humanity has yielded to his power and exposed themselves to the wrath of God on high and has been annihilated to the extent that the Apostle Paul says in this respect: "since all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" (Rom 3:23). The Lord Jesus said: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life" (John 3:16). So even God on high hates sin, yet he loves the sinner and does not want him to be annihilated. For that reason he said through the tongue of the prophet Ezekiel: "Again, when the wicked turn away from the wickedness they have committed and do what is lawful and right, they shall save their life." (Ezekiel 18:27).

Because humanity was unable to save itself, God willed from the beginning that the second person of the Holy Trinity would be incarnate and redeem humanity with his precious blood. As the devil hid in paradise when he materialized in a snake, so God on high willed the son of God to cover his divinity with the complete human nature which he took from the Virgin Mary so that the devil would not recognize his true nature but immediately after he came out of the water, after his baptism by John in the Jordan, and while he was praying, the heavens parted, the Holy Spirit like a dove came down and alighted on his head and then Satan heard the voice of the Father from Heaven saying: "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased" (Mark 1:11).

On that day the devil began to doubt in the truth of the person of Jesus Christ. When Jesus was taken up into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit by his own will to be tempted by the devil and he fasted 40 days and 40 nights and he became hungry at last (Matthew 4:1,2). The devil took advantage of this prime opportunity to discover the identity of the Lord Jesus and to ascertain his character. He wondered if he was a righteous man called the son of God for his righteousness or if he is truly the Son of God by nature? So the devil came close to the Lord Jesus and tempted him with the three main temptations which any person is usually exposed to, which are (1) greed, (2) love of false glory which is pride, and (3) love of money and all the acquisitions of this fading world. The Apostle John summarized them saying: "Do not love the world or the things in the world. The love of the Father is not in those who love the world; ... And the world and its desire are passing away, but those who do the will of God live forever" (1. John 2:15,17).

Some of the commentators say that the wilderness which Jesus was taken up to was the trackless wilderness where Moses was (Exodus 24:18) and Elijah (1.Kings 19:8) had fasted. Some of them mention that it was the wilderness of Judea where John the Baptist preached repentance. The Apostle Matthew mentioned only the last three temptations, and we understand from his words that he was tempted with them at the end of his fast but it is understood from the words of Mark (Mark 1:12-13) and Luke (Luke 4:1-13) that the Lord Jesus was tempted by the devil throughout the 40 days which he fasted and the temptations were many and various, both of thought and action, beside the last three temptations which were distinguished by their intensity through which the tempter appeared to the eye.

Yes, the Lord Jesus had fasted on behalf of humanity to teach us the fast, to reveal to us the secret of the spiritual weapons with which we defeat the devil. He once said to his apostles about a kind of evil spirit: "But this kind does not come out except by prayer and fasting" (Matthew 17:21).

After the Lord Jesus completed his fast, the devil appeared to him in the wilderness first in the shape of a man coming as a friend pretending love and pity for him when he saw him he was about to die of hunger in that wilderness in which it was impossible for anyone to find food. He drew Jesus' attention to the stones which looked like they were loaves of bread. "The tempter came and said to him, 'If you are the son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread. But he answered, 'It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" (Matthew 4:3-4) This severe temptation resembles the temptation of our first parents when they ate of the forbidden fruit. It is the trap which satan sets for humanity usually to make him doubt in the love and care of God for him.

The answer of the Lord Jesus to the tempter teaches us to avoid gluttony because our first two parents ate from the fruit and died morally. Therefore natural death entered the world and humanity became a candidate for eternal death also. When the first humans fell in this temptation, they changed their paradise into a desolate wilderness, where they were cast out into the land of toil to labor in it and to get their bread by the sweat of their brow. But the Lord Jesus was victorious over the tempter and changed the wilderness of the world into the paradise of comfort.

As for the second temptation the devil appeared to the Lord as an angel. He took the Lord to the Holy City and set him on the side of the holy temple and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you,' and 'On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.' Jesus said to him, 'Again it is written, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test'" (Matthew 4:5-7). This is the temptation of the love of false glory, pride and boasting about what a person can get from success and spiritual and physical strength in the life of this world. Satan had used verses of the Holy Bible for an evil aim and bad intention. The Lord answered refuting him with a teaching also from the Bible. Whoever exploits verses of the Holy Bible and interprets them according to his erroneous opinions and false beliefs has imitated the devil.

Oh dear believer as for the third temptation, the devil revealed in it his true form and appeared in an ugly form, proud of his shame announcing that he is the devil: "Again the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to him, 'All this I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.' Jesus said to him, 'Away with you, Satan! for it is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.' Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him" (Matthew 4:8-11).

>From this temptation we learn that whoever listens to the devil in small things will surely be led to the depths of annihilation, he also would be enslaved by the devil leaving the worship of God. For the devil considers himself as equal to God, and claims deceitfully that all the kingdoms of the world belong to him. All the world was created by God and operates according to the law that God placed in it.

Even though He gave freedom to humanity, some people take advantage of this freedom, and wallow in desires and become enslaved by satan, but that doesn't mean that satan has been given the whole world. This temptation is the temptation of the love of money, inordinate desire and greed and to get them by legal or illegal ways. The Lord Jesus warned us of this vice saying " You can't serve God and money" (Matthew 6:24, Luke 16:13). The apostle Paul said, "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil" (I Timothy 6:10) and in this way the Lord Jesus shamed the devil and defeated him and conquered him. The devil ran away from the presence of the Lord and the angels came and served him and the devil fought the Lord Jesus in the last" round when he entered to Hanan and Caiaphas and Judas and others who cooperated in crucifying the Lord Jesus and in his crucifixion crushed the head of the snake of the ages, the cursed devil, and broke his back and smashed his teeth and gave us victory over him so that even a small child by making the sign of the cross on his face is able to defeat all devils: "But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (I Corinthians 15:57).

Dearly beloved, in these hard times of ours we are in a severe war with satan and his soldiers. About this the apostle Paul says, "For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12) who are trying to make us doubt the truth of God's love for us and want to convince us that he does not protect us and take care of us. They are also trying to cause us to stumble in the truth of his godly promise to his righteous ones. But if we take refuge in the Lord by faith during the tribulations, difficult misfortunes and hard times, He will save us from temptations. What we have to do is pray and fast to defeat the devil and his soldiers.

Dearly beloved, it is a precious opportunity offered to you by the holy church every year during these days by decreeing that you embrace the holy forty days of fasting and the life giving week of passion. So these days will be an arena to fight the devil and defeat him by prayer and fasting and distributing charity to those in need and the poor. ("The God of peace will shortly crush Satan under your feet" Romans 16:20) According to the apostle Paul who urges you also saying, "Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one." (Ephesians 6:14-16) and always pray the Lord's prayer in faith entreating God the Father not to lead you into temptation but to deliver you from the evil one (Matthew 6:13) and to stand against Satan so he flees from you (James 4:7) so the angels will come and serve you.

May God accept your fast and prayers and charities and make you fit to celebrate the feast of his glorious resurrection from the dead and that you may be well and at peace. May the grace of God be with you. Our Father in heaven (etc.).

Issued from the Patriarchal Residence in Damascus, Syria on the sixth of the month of March 1994 which is the fourteenth year of our Patriarchal reign. ")

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