Ishtartv.com -
fides.org
by Gianni Valente, Monday, 5 December 2022
Erbil (Agenzia Fides) - A synodal ecclesial program is fruitful if «it
helps everyone to walk in the faith of the Apostles cherished by Tradition».
For this reason, references to synodal dynamics «cannot be used to open
fractures among members of the Church on questions of faith or morals». Thus
Mar Awa III, Patriarch of the Church of the Assyrian Church of the East, offers
from an oriental perspective suggestive and useful coordinates for looking also
at the synodal process started in the Catholic Church.
On Saturday, November 19, Mar Awa III made his fraternal visit to Pope
Francis, who received him in the Apostolic Palace. On the occasion of his first
trip to Rome as Patriarch, Mar Awa III also held a conference at the Pontifical
University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) on the "theology of
synodality in the Church of the East", within the framework of the
international ecumenical symposium “Listening to the East” promoted by the
Angelicum and the Pro Oriente Foundation to listen to reports, debates and
testimonies on synodality in the life and mission of the Orthodox Churches and
in the ancient Eastern Churches.
In an in-depth interview, released to Fides Agency, the Assyrian
Patriarch criticizes the "demonization" campaigns of the Russian
Orthodox Church and its Patriarch Kirill. Mar Awa also offers unexpected and
illuminating answers on the condition of Christians in the Middle East, on the
search for a common date for the celebration of Easter, on the path towards
full communion between the Assyrian Church of the East and the Church of Rome.
The Primate of the Assyrian Church also mentions the "secret" of the
great missionary progression of the ancient Church of the East, which in the
first Christian centuries had brought the proclamation of the Gospel as far as
China, Mongolia and the Arabian Peninsula.
The 122nd Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, elected on
September 8, 2021 (see Fides, 9/9/2021), comes from the USA and completed part
of his formation in Catholic academies.
He was born 47 years ago in Chicago, and therefore a son of the Assyrian
diaspora in the USA, David Royel was already ordained a deacon at the age of
17, and later obtained degrees in sacred theology at Loyola University of
Chicago and the University of Saint Mary of the Lake. He then obtained a
licentiate in Sacred Theology and a doctorate at the Pontifical Oriental
Institute in Rome. He was ordained Bishop by then Patriarch Mar Dinkha IV in
2008, taking the name Awa (meaning "father" in the Assyrian language)
and became the first US-born Bishop of the Assyrian Church. Before the
patriarchal election, Mar Awa was Bishop of the Assyrian diocese of California
(USA) and Secretary of the Holy Synod.
In the synodal process started in the Catholic Church, some still
suggest looking to the Eastern Churches to "learn" synodality.
In the experience of the Eastern Churches, what is the criterion that
guides and can make the exercise of synodality fruitful in the Church?
MAR AWA III: The synodal dynamic of the Church consists in walking
together in the faith of the apostolic Tradition. The synodal modality serves
to safeguard and confirm the unity of faith in this path, facilitating it for
all and freeing all from useless burdens and ecclesial practices that hinder it.
Therefore the criterion for evaluating the validity and fruitfulness of
a synodal process is whether it, in the present time and in the current
historical condition, helps everyone to walk in the faith of the Apostles
cherished by Tradition.
The exercise of synodality, if it really is the path of all the baptized
and of all bishops as successors of the Apostles, can never be used to move
away from the riverbed of the Apostolic Tradition, of the faith transmitted to
us by the Apostles, which unites the Catholic Church and the ancient Churches
of the East. We share the same Depositum fidei received from the Apostles.
In many cases the synodal path is presented as a dialectical process
between different positions that seek to obtain a consensus to maintain or
change the position of the Church on an agenda of ecclesially and doctrinally
sensitive issues. With dynamics that resemble those of politics and
"parliamentarians".
MAR AWA III: Someone told me about this. Perhaps this risk can be run
when one passes from a centralized management in which everything is in the
hands of a single person to a synodal method of conducting ecclesial dynamics.
Yet the synodal model practiced in the Eastern Churches is not interesting
because it is closer to the modern management systems of power, but because it
is more suitable to manifesting consensus around the Depositum fidei, and to
guarding it together.
An authentic synodal dynamic arises precisely from the fact that the
bishops and all the baptized walk together in the same faith, and converge in
seeking together the most suitable forms and practices to bear witness to the
same faith in the present time. I imagine that most Catholic bishops also share
the desire and willingness to maintain traditional doctrine, even on issues
such as marriage.
If the synodal dynamics express the path of the whole Church in the
footsteps of the faith of the Apostles, they cannot be used to open divisions
among the members of the Church on questions of faith or morals. Rather, the
exercise of synodality also serves to maintain unity on the same path of
different sensitivities, including those who wish for greater adaptation to the
mentality of today's world.
Many Christians leave the Middle East. The Assyrian Patriarchate, on the
other hand, returned to Mesopotamia a few years ago, after eight decades of
"exile" first in Cyprus and then in the USA. You now reside in Erbil,
Iraqi Kurdistan. From your point of view in Iraq, what are the things really
necessary to preserve the presence of Christians in the Middle East?
MAR AWA III: It takes commitment at the level of political and military
authorities to guarantee security, and that one day, perhaps in a few years,
another "Islamic State" returns to spread fear and anguish among
Christians. It is also necessary to create job opportunities to guarantee a
minimum of economic security. Now, the situation appears difficult for
everyone, and it is even more so for the weakest and minority social groups.
And the widespread corruption in the country makes everything worse. But there
are places where good signs of hope can be seen, as is precisely the case in
Iraqi Kurdistan.
The Latin Patriarch Emeritus of Jerusalem Michel Sabbah said that the
future of Christians in the Middle East is not a matter of numbers, but of
faith.
MAR AWA III: If there is no bond of affection and gratitude with the
lands where one was born and where one received the gift of faith, then it is
easier for many people to prefer to leave for legitimate reasons. Not
everything can be explained only by the discrimination and mistreatment
suffered. Christians can remain only if the bond of affection with a land and a
history rich in faith is revived in them, as our ancient monasteries testify.
And even on this point the civil authorities can do something. I suggested to
Masrour Barzani, the Prime Minister of the Autonomous Region of Kurdistan, that
religious tourism and pilgrimages to ancient monasteries and places dear to the
memory of our Churches should be encouraged. Thus, even our emigrated people and
their descendants born in the diaspora can return to visit the ancient villages
of origin, with their churches, and rekindle the bond with the lands of their
fathers.
What reflection does Pope Francis' dialogue with authoritative exponents
of Islam, focused on the rediscovery of universal fraternity and inspired by
the Abu Dhabi Document, have on the condition of Christians in the Middle East?
MAR AWA III: Perhaps some may think that dialogue on fraternity
expresses an idealistic perspective with little possibility of generating
concrete consequences. I also spoke about this, in my meeting with Pope
Francis. I believe that these meetings and these dialogues are still useful,
even when they remain at the level of wishes and declarations of intent. In any
case, it is comforting to see that the Pope and the other Heads of Churches
have the fate of Christians in the Middle East at heart, and also for this
reason they weave fraternal relationships and dialogues with Muslim leaders.
Even fellow Muslims, when they see their leaders in dialogue with senior
representatives of the Churches, can free themselves from prejudices and
hostile feelings towards Christians. This does not magically solve all
problems, but it still helps a lot.
Between the Church of Rome and the Assyrian Church of the East there has
never been any direct break on dogmatic and theological questions. Important
results have been achieved in the theological dialogue between the two
Churches. Pope Francis, in his address to you, expressed the hope that the
Assyrian Church will become the first of the ancient Churches of the East with
which the Church of Rome can rediscover full sacramental communion.
MAR AWA III: There was no anathema between the ancient Assyrian Church
of the East and the Church of Rome. The separation began with the Council of
Ephesus in 431, but the Depositum fidei that we celebrate before Ephesus is
shared, and we are called to guard it together. In 2025 we will celebrate the
1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea. We started talking about the
possibility of having a meeting to celebrate that Council all together: the
Church of Rome, the Orthodox Churches, the ancient Churches of the East...
Nicaea unites us. Nicaea belongs to everyone. In all of our different liturgies
we recite the Nicene Creed, even if we are not in full communion.
At what stage is the path of ecumenical dialogue between the Assyrian
Church and the Church of Rome, after the fundamental common Christological
declaration signed by John Paul II and Patriarch Mar Dinkha IV?
MAR AWA III: In 2017 we signed a text in which Catholics and Assyrians
mutually recognize the validity of the sacraments celebrated and administered
in the Catholic Church and in the Assyrian Church of the East. So we can say
that the second stage of the path has ended successfully. We have now entered
the third phase of our dialogue, which deals with the Constitution of the
Church. And obviously in this phase the question of the primacy of the Bishop
of Rome and the question of communion and primacy at the local and even
universal level are also involved.
What does consensus on the validity of the sacraments entail?
MAR AWA III: We have not yet reached the full and unconditional
possibility of receiving the sacraments administered by priests and bishops of
the other Church. But since 2001, with an agreement that came into effect at
the time of Pope John Paul II and Mar Dinkha IV, a special "sacramental
hospitality" can be practiced between the two Churches, for pastoral
reasons of necessity. This remains. And in addition, the recognition that the
Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church agree in sacramental doctrine and
theology was added. However, reaching full communion is a long-term journey and
would be a path to be shared with all the other non-Catholic Churches, a path
guided by intense prayer and by the Holy Spirit itself.
Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako, as Patriarch of the Chaldean Church - which
shares the same liturgical and theological patrimony with the Assyrian Church -
proposed to start a process of reunification between the two Churches, both
"heirs" of the Ancient Church of the East...
MAR AWA III: With the Chaldeans, who are certainly our brothers, we are
always ready to talk about unity and reunification in a single Church of the
East. However, we totally reject uniatism, which was at the origins of the
schism of 1552. I believe this is Patriarch Sako's proposal: the two
Patriarchs, the Chaldean and the Assyrian, resign from their offices, and the
Assyrian and Chaldean bishops elect together with another Patriarch of the
Eastern Church, but then that Patriarch must be in hierarchical communion with
the Pope. And this procedure does not seem feasible to me. The way is to
rediscover the roots of the Eastern Church, go back to before 1552, see what was
the shared ecclesiology at the moment of separation.
Also in the meeting between you and Pope Francis the question of finding
a common date to celebrate Holy Easter was touched upon. Do you think this is
really a future possibility?
MAR AWA: In the Synod of 2019, under my predecessor Mar Gewargis III, we
accepted the idea of finding a fixed common date with the other Churches to
celebrate Easter. As far as I know, the Copts and Syrian Orthodox also agree on
this possibility. Pope Francis is very helpful on this. And lately Bartholomew
I, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, has also expressed openness.
Perhaps we could first try to find an agreement on the common date for the
celebration of Easter between the Catholic Church, the Assyrian Church and the
other ancient Eastern Churches. The Orthodox could then progressively join, if
from time to time the consensus matures in each individual Orthodox Church.
Before coming to Rome and meeting Pope Francis, you met Kirill, the
Patriarch of Moscow.
MAR AWA III: Yes, the week before I went to Russia, to meet our
community in that country, and I also met Patriarch Kirill in Moscow. We talked
at length about the current condition of Christians in the Middle East. He also
told me to convey his sincere greetings to Pope Francis, which I did a few days
later.
Patriarch Kirill is attacked as an accomplice and almost co-responsible
for the war in Ukraine. According to you, how is he? And what do you think of
the measures taken against him and against the Russian Orthodox Church?
MAR AWA III: Patriarch Kirill seemed very sincere to me. And in any
case, any demonization of the Russian Church or of Kirill himself is not right.
He is the head of a Church, he does not lead the Country's politics. And it is
clear that he is in a very difficult position. This must also be taken into
account. Even the decision of the European Union to impose ad personam
sanctions against him is an inopportune thing, it creates a serious precedent
and contradicts all calls to distinguish the ecclesial sphere from the
political sphere, the Church and secular government. If this path is taken, the
same can happen to other leaders and ecclesial exponents who are subject to
negative evaluations by some political apparatus.
The war in Ukraine is also a great Christian tragedy. Did you talk to
Kirill about it?
MAR AWA III: I expressed the wish that a ceasefire be reached soon, and
a solution be reached to end the suffering of the people. Ukrainians and
Russians share the same baptism, draw from the same spiritual source. And I
also did not find the pressure exerted to marginalize the Russian Orthodox in
ecumenical meetings right, as was attempted to do in the Assembly of the World
Council of Churches (WCC) hosted between August and September in Karlsruhe,
Germany. We must always leave the doors open to dialogue. While if certain
reasoning is followed, for the sake of consistency it would be necessary to
eliminate all military chaplains, who bless soldiers sent to war, on one side
or the other.
The theology and spirituality of the Assyrian Church strongly emphasize
the human nature of Christ. Couldn't this spiritual perspective be more valued
for the Christian proclamation in the times we are living in?
MAR AWA III: In the classic manuals of theology, it is written that the
Assyrian Church strongly emphasizes the humanity of Christ. But first we need
to clarify that we confess the unity of divinity and humanity in the single
person of Christ. As Scripture shows and as various common Fathers of the Church
also affirm, we recognize that we come to contemplate the mystery of Christ's
divinity through the concrete gestures of his humanity. This is part of the
daily experience of Christians when they pray, when they go to Mass and receive
the Eucharist.
Proclaiming the Gospel with this accent, the ancient Assyrian Church of
the East experienced one of the most impressive missionary progression
adventures in history. What can that experience of the first centuries of
Christianity suggest to today's missionaries?
MAR AWA III: In 1904 in Turfan, in the present Chinese province of
Xinjiang, they found a prayer book in which the formulas were in Syriac and the
rubrics were given in the local language. Remains of churches and monasteries
that belonged to that Christianity continue to be found in present-day Mongolia
and throughout the Arabian Peninsula. The missionaries of the ancient Church of
the East were an "army" of a spiritual kind. They were above all
monks and nuns, and they went to contexts shaped by other thoughts, by ancient
cultures and religious mentalities. They captivated people's hearts with
sweetness, and not for the dynamics of conquest. And then they helped the local
populations to find the graphic signs to put their languages and their spoken words
into written form. And every urgency, every concrete problem of life became an
opportunity to do good, becoming friends and brothers with everyone.
|