Metropolitan PHILIP's address to the General Assembly

Your Beatitude, Your Eminences, Your Graces,

Esteemed Members of the Board of Trustees,

Beloved Clergy and Faithful of our God-protected Archdiocese,

First and foremost, I would like to extend a very warm and sincere welcome to our Father in Christ, His Beatitude, IGNATIUS IV, Patriarch of Antioch and all the East and his entourage, our beloved brother, His Eminence, Metropolitan Elias of Beirut, and my schooldays friend from Damascus, the brother of His Beatitude, Doctor Youssef Hazim.

I would also like to welcome my brother hierarchs from South America:

His Eminence, Metropolitan Sergios of Chile

His Eminence, Metropolitan Kirillos of Argentina

His Eminence, Metropolitan Damaskinos of Brazil

And a very warm welcome to a very dear friend from Moscow, His Grace, Bishop Niphon Saikaly.

The presence of His Beatitude with us adds to this convention a special Antiochian flavor. I have told you many times in the past that Antioch is not a nationality nor is it a race; Antioch is an idea, a school of spirituality with emphasis on incarnational theology which was best expressed by Saints Ignatius of Antioch, John Chrysostom and other confessors and martyrs.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

This convention is not only our last convention of this century; it is our last convention of this millennium. Two thousand years have elapsed since Jesus of Nazareth preached the "good news" to this fallen and broken world. We thank God that the Church which He established, with his precious blood and glorious resurrection, continues to be faithful to the truth which is the "same yesterday, today and forever." (Heb. 13:8) "The faith which once and for all was delivered to the saints." (Jude 3)

There has been so much excitement and speculation about the end of this millennium. One might ask, "Why do we make so much fuss about time?" If you compare one thousand years with the eternity of God or even with this cosmos which is billions of years old, you find that one thousand years pass like the twinkling of an eye or the fluttering of a wing. In Psalm 90, Verse 4, the Prophet David said: "For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night." I remember when I was a student at Holy Cross, Brookline, Massachusetts, I asked the great Father George Florovsky, "What is time?" He paused for a while and said: "I knew what time was until you asked me." God is timeless and does not follow our Julian or Gregorian calendars. This is precisely why we become frustrated and disappointed when some historical events do not happen according to our plans and expectations. There has been so much hype and so much excitement about the end of this millennium, to the extent that some Christian sects and cults speak with certainty about the second coming of Christ. Even one of our United States presidents was concerned about the imminent end of history.

In 1983, before I traveled to the Middle East, I paid a visit to President Ronald Reagan to discuss with him the explosive situation in that region. After some discussion, he suddenly changed the subject and out of the blue, he said: "Your Eminence, do you think that history is going to end soon?" Needless to say, I was puzzled by his question and said: "Mr. President, why did you ask me this question and what made you think that history will end soon?" He said, "Well, we have floods in Louisiana, earthquakes in California, wars and starvation in Africa, social upheaval in Latin America, tension in the Middle East and apprehension about the Soviet Union, etc. Are not these signs of the approaching end?" I said, "Mr. President, we do not know when history will end. We have always had floods in many parts of the world; we have always had earthquakes, wars, starvation, upheavals and social problems. We have had these phenomena since the beginning of history and the world did not end. We believe that some day history is going to end with the second coming of Christ. Every time we recite the Creed in the Orthodox Church, we say, 'and He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead whose kingdom shall have no end'."

But when will this last judgment take place? No one knows. In Mark 13, Jesus tells Peter, James, John and Andrew. "Take heed that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name saying: 'I am He!' And they will lead many astray. And when you hear of wars and rumors of war, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places, there will be famine; this is but the beginning of the sufferings." (Mark 13: 5,6,8)

These "signs" are typical of this sinful and fallen world. The second coming may happen at any moment and it may not. Millennia may come and go and still no one can determine when "Christ will come again." Nevertheless, we must be always prepared for His second coming. In Luke, our Lord said: "Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when He comes. You must be ready; …. For the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect." (Luke 12:37-40)

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Sometime ago I wrote that history consists of many bright moments and many dark moments. The first Christian millennium was one of those long, bright moments. Despite the persecution endured during the first three Christian centuries, many saints, confessors, evangelists and martyrs witnessed to the eternal truth of Christ with their own blood. I believe that the greatest and most precious testimony is the testimony of blood. Another bright moment was the era of the great Ecumenical Councils which extended from 325 AD to 787, the last Ecumenical Council. Thus the Church of the first millennium was alive, dynamic and courageous in her response to the monumental challenges which she faced. Fortunately, most of the Byzantine emperors were faithful persons who believed in the Church and executed the decisions of the Councils.

In 1923, a semi-ecumenical Council convened in Constantinople and decided that the Gregorian calendar is more correct than the Julian calendar and we must follow the Gregorian calendar. This was not a dogmatic issue and yet a great misunderstanding occurred which resulted in some Orthodox celebrating the Feasts according to the Gregorian calendar and some according to the Old Calendar. Why? Because we do not have a central authority in the Orthodox Church, a referee, if you please, someone to whom canonical matters are referred for investigation and settlement.

A few years ago, my beloved children who have their spiritual roots in Palestine and Jordan, approached me and complained bitterly about the conditions of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, i.e. about church land (waqf) being sold or leased for ninety-nine years to the Israelis; about Orthodox children being lost to other Christian sects and about so much corruption in that Church. Needless to say, I was shocked and saddened because the Church is "one, holy Catholic and Apostolic," because the unity which binds us together as Orthodox, transcends jurisdictionalism. Thus I promised my spiritual children that I would write, on their behalf, to the Ecumenical Patriarch, who is supposed to be our traditional referee, which I did, five years ago; I am still waiting for an answer.

This millennium is coming to an end and we still do not have a viable mechanism through which we can solve our Pan-orthodox problems. A few years ago a jurisdictional dispute arose between the Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Patriarchate of Moscow over the Orthodox of Estonia. Finally, they agreed to solve the problem this way: let the parishes of Estonia choose between Moscow and Constantinople, so they did. The result was two jurisdictions over the same territory, which is typical of our uncanonical situation in the Americas. I am not advocating some kind of papacy here. If we need a pope, we know his address. I am simply asking for some kind of a mechanism to bring the Orthodox together in order to settle their differences. One of the few occasions the Orthodox meet is during the Assemblies of the World Council of Churches. Bringing the Orthodox together with a well planned agenda to put our Orthodox house in order must be one of our main priorities in the new millennium. It is inconceivable that in this age of jet travel, computers, fax machines, E-mail and excellent communication, we Orthodox do not meet annually or biennially on the patriarchal level, or on any level, to discuss problems which the Church is facing on the threshold of a new millennium.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The second Christian millennium has not been very kind to the Church. It began with the decline of the Byzantine Empire and ultimately to its fall in 1453. Constantinople was conquered by the Turks and thus ended one of the brightest chapters in world civilization. For political reasons, the Turkish Sultan put the Patriarch of Constantinople in charge of the rest of the Eastern Patriarchates and thus Antioch, Jerusalem and Alexandria became captive to foreign hierarchy. Fortunately, Antioch was liberated in 1898 and now this Patriarchate is experiencing an educational and spiritual renaissance under the leadership of His Beatitude, Patriarch Ignatius IV. In the meantime, Jerusalem, Alexandria and Constantinople are still in captivity. We know from reliable sources that the number of Orthodox faithful left in Istanbul is less than two thousand. We also know that the number of Orthodox left in the Patriarchates of Jerusalem and Alexandria is dwindling day by day and year by year. We are called, especially as the new millennium dawns on us, to help the spiritual leaders of these patriarchates realize that we are living in a post Byzantine era and that the emperor is not returning in the foreseeable future to liberate Constantinople.

Another dark moment of this century was the Communist Revolution of 1917 and the Stalinist persecution of the Russian and Slavic churches which lasted for seventy years. Thousands, if not millions, of faithful clergy and laity received the honor of martyrdom, refusing to compromise the Holy Orthodox Faith. I am happy to tell you that two years ago, when I revisited Russia, I noticed that a spiritual renaissance was taking place, under the very able leadership of His Holiness, Patriarch Aleksy II and that thousands of churches and monasteries are being rebuilt and reopened. This confirms the biblical saying: "I will build my church, and the powers of hell shall not prevail against it." (Matt. 16:18)

Beloved in Christ,

Perhaps the brightest moment during the last quarter of this millennium was the planting of the seeds of Holy Orthodoxy in this fertile North American soil. Driven by poverty, social injustice and economic deprivation, thousands of Orthodox arrived to these blessed shores from the Middle East, Turkey, Cyprus, Greece, Eastern Europe and Russia. Next to survival in this new environment, their first and foremost concern was building churches to perpetuate their Orthodox heritage. Prior to the Bolshevik Revolution, however, there was a semblance of canonical order in the North American Church. After the revolution in Russia, ethnicism became the norm and thus Orthodoxy in North America became divided into various jurisdictions according to ethnic background.

I believe that the most difficult challenge which the Church will be facing in the new millennium is Orthodox unity in this hemisphere. I would like to state for history's sake that Antioch was never a stumbling block to Orthodox unity. Two of our illustrious and venerable patriarchs of this century have made crystal clear statements on behalf of Orthodox unity in North America.

In 1977, the late Patriarch Elias IV, in an interview published in "A Man of Love," was asked: "What do you foresee for the future of Orthodoxy in the Diaspora, particularly in North America?"

His Beatitude answered: "In preparation for the upcoming Great Council, the Antiochian Holy Synod has studied in depth the situation of Orthodoxy in the Diaspora. Our position is clear. There must be established independent churches in Eastern Europe, North America, etc. The possibility for such an autocephalous church is greatest in North America. However, the decision to create such a church must be done with the blessings of all Mother Churches which have dioceses on this continent.

We are all well aware of the canons of the Church which, among other things, say that there cannot be many bishops in one city. The Antiochian See is ready to do her part to rectify this unfortunate situation of Orthodoxy in North America. We affirm that in North America there should be an autocephalous church with its own Patriarch and Holy Synod. However, all Mother Churches must agree on this point, and more importantly, the faithful in North America must do their part to make independence and unity a reality and not just a written Tomos."

In 1985, the position of Antioch was again stated on the pages of the WORD Magazine by our beloved Patriarch Ignatius. In anticipation of the Great and Holy Synod, His Beatitude said:

"1. The Orthodox Diaspora has reached such a maturity that it is necessary to consider it from a new viewpoint in such a way that leads to resolution.

2. We must see it as the vocation of the Orthodox Diaspora, not only to preserve the present, but to become a dynamic and creative element in its own environment.

3. It is desirable that the Council should recognize all the Orthodox Churches in the Diaspora provided there is no serious cause not to do so.

4. It is desirable that local synods should be created comprising the bishops of the Orthodox Churches of the area in question and their members. This should be realized especially in Western Europe, America, Australia and also elsewhere as far as necessary.

5. Autocephaly should be granted to all the churches of the countries mentioned above. The local synods of the autocephalous Mother Churches should decide on it and determine its boundaries.

6. The traditional Apostolic and Catholic regulations of the Orthodox Church should be followed so that in each city there would be only one bishop and in each province, there would be one Metropolitan.

7. The relationship between the Mother Churches and the Diaspora Churches are to be kept brotherly and cordial, as is natural to the orthodox spirit and to the extent that all is for one and one is for all.

8. Within the churches, there should be preserved the cultural, linguistic and other national elements, in so far as they do not disrupt the unity of the local church or the wholeness of the local diocese."

I believe that these two explicit statements of our venerable patriarchs speak for themselves. My predecessor, Metropolitan Antony Bashir, was a staunch advocate of Orthodox unity in North America, and has made many statements in this regard. In 1976, speaking in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on the Sunday of Orthodoxy, I said: "We Orthodox have a tendency to glorify the past and feel proud of ourselves. There is no doubt that the Church of the Ecumenical Councils was glorious and courageous in responding to the challenges of her time. Have we responded to the challenges of our time? As individual jurisdictions, I believe we have succeeded in building beautiful churches, in educating young priests and organizing good choirs and church schools, etc. but collectively, we have done absolutely nothing."

The tragedy of Kosovo clearly revealed our nakedness and ineffectiveness as Orthodox in this country. We have no clout in Washington, D.C. whatsoever, because we are still speaking to the State Department and the White House as Greeks, Russians, Antiochians, Serbians, etc. instead of speaking to Washington with one voice. Even Madeline Albright refused to talk to us during the dark days of that unfortunate war.

In Worcester, Massachusetts, and again on the Sunday of Orthodoxy, 1984, I said: "Despite our rootedness in the American soil, our Church in America is still divided into more than fourteen jurisdictions, contrary to our Orthodox ecclesiology and canon law which forbids the multiplicity of jurisdictions over the same territory ….. We cannot be agents of change in full obedience to the truth unless we transcend ethnicism and establish a new Orthodox reality in North America. I am not asking you to deny your own history and your own culture. What I am asking is to blend your old and new cultures into some kind of integrated reality."

You see, my friends: Antioch is not the problem. The problem lies elsewhere. A few years ago, we in North America experienced a moment of transfiguration when thirty Orthodox bishops gathered at the Antiochian Village to know each other, pray together, and discuss common Orthodox problems. I delivered at that time a paper on "Mission and Evangelism," and Metropolitan Maximos of Pittsburgh, delivered a paper on "Orthodox Unity in North America." That was all. The news of this brotherly, long anticipated and unprecedented meeting caused an earthquake in certain Orthodox quarters, which sent shock waves all the way to North America. How dare we meet and say, we are here in America to stay and we are not in Diaspora.

Finally, I firmly believe that Orthodox unity in North America is inevitable and such unity will strengthen the Mother Churches, spiritually and otherwise. No one can stop the wheels of history and no one can reverse the course of a mighty river.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let us now reflect for a moment on the state of our Archdiocese. In 1998, we experienced some deep sadness and disappointment because of the tragedy of Ben Lomond. I do not intend to go into details because you know this whole painful story. I would like however, to take this opportunity to thank our brilliant chancellor, Charles Ajalat for the countless hours which he spent defending the integrity of our Archdiocese. If we had to pay him for his services, it would have been in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. During this tragedy, a former Evangelical priest, asked me, "Are you not sorry for accepting us in the Antiochian Archdiocese?" I said: "No, and if I have to say 'Welcome Home' again, I will say it a million times." The overwhelming majority of the former Evangelicals are faithful Orthodox and I am proud of them. I would like to thank the Very Reverend Gordon Walker and the Very Reverend David Barr for picking up the pieces and rebuilding the parish of Saints Peter and Paul. We have received hundreds and hundreds of letters supporting the position of the Archdiocese vis-à-vis the dissidents of Ben Lomond. If they ever repent and decide to return home, we will receive them with open arms.

Despite some insignificant distractions, our Archdiocese continues to flourish spiritually and otherwise. Here are some statistics; we now have 320 priests, 144 deacons, 18 seminarians and 220 parishes and missions. You can see we have come a long way since 1966. Most of our missions receive some financial assistance from the Archdiocese and our seminarians are the envy of all seminarians from other jurisdictions. We have full time directors for the departments of Youth Ministry, Christian Education, Missions and Evangelism and a full time director for the Heritage and Learning Center. Our camping program, since its inception in 1979, has hosted thousands and thousands of young people and impacted their lives. Thank God for the Antiochian Village! The other departments of the Archdiocese have either volunteers or part-time directors. However, at this time, I want to take a moment to thank the Reverend Father Duane Pederson for the past ten years of full time service which he has given to the Department of Prison Ministry, and in this respect, we would like to thank the Farah Foundation for their financial contribution to the Department of Prison Ministry; and we welcome the new Chairman of this Department, the Reverend Father David Ogan and wish him success as he succeeds Father Duane in this important ministry.

I am very happy to inform you that the Antiochian House of Studies, combined with St. Stephen's Course of Studies in Orthodox Theology, is at the cutting edge of contemporary theological education. This combined program seeks to apply Orthodox theology to the practice of the priestly ministry. Indeed, this is the program for which we are currently seeking accreditation to offer a Master's Degree in "Applied Orthodox Theology." We are beginning this process of accreditation in the states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Very Reverend Joseph Allen and all faculty members of the Antiochian House of Studies and St. Stephen's Course.

I am grateful to the chairpersons of our departments for their splendid efforts. Four years ago, we set a goal for the Order of St. Ignatius of Antioch. The goal was two thousand members by the year 2000. I am happy to tell you that, under the outstanding leadership of Robert Koory, we have exceeded our goal one year ahead of time; 2000 by 2000 is no longer a dream, but a reality.

The Fellowship of St. John the Divine, under the dynamic leadership of Kathy Abraham, has made tremendous progress and I want to thank Kathy for her good work.

I am very grateful to the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Women of this Archdiocese who continue to dedicate their efforts to charity. Last year, under the brilliant leadership of Joanne Abdalah, the Antiochian Women raised $90,000 for orphans in Latin America and the Middle East.

And speaking about charity, I am most thankful to Robin Nicholas and you, the faithful of this Archdiocese, for your genuine concern with the plight of the poor and needy of this world. During the past thirty-three years, between Food for Hungry People and other charitable drives which we conducted on behalf of victims of earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, civil wars, social upheavals, hospitals and universities, especially in the Middle East, we have raised millions of dollars to alleviate some of the suffering of our brothers and sisters in humanity, regardless of race, religion or political affiliation.

It has come to my attention that when you receive a letter from the Archdiocese, you spontaneously say, "What does the bishop now want, money again?" Please understand that the bishop does not want money for himself. Whatever he has belongs to the Archdiocese. You are already benefiting from Metropolitan Philip's Endowment Fund of more than a million dollars for the Antiochian Village. Thus, when I appeal to you on behalf of institutions such as the Antiochian Village or the Balamand University or the poor of this world, do not moan and groan and say, "the Bishop wants more money." Read the financial report of the Archdiocese and you will see what we do with your money. Therefore, do not give grudgingly, but cheerfully, "for God loves a cheerful giver." (II Cor. 9:7)

The Lebanese poet, Gibran said, "some people give with joy and joy is their reward, and some people give with pain, and pain is their reward." From the beginning, the Church was rooted in charity and the scripture testifies to this fact. If the Church does not care for the poor and the needy, then what is the purpose of the Church? In his Epistle, St. James the Apostle said: "Faith without works is dead." (James 2:17) And I say to you, the Church without charity is dead.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

This Archdiocese has not been a one-man show. The progress which we made during the past thirty-three years is the result of team efforts. All of you have contributed to our success according to your means, and I am thankful to you. I would like, however, to single out two persons: first, a member of the Board of Trustees who chose to retire from the board after twenty-five years of service as a board member and twenty years of service as vice-chairman of the Board of Trustees. He worked with me on all matters pertaining to the Archdiocese and I want you to know we never had one single disagreement. I am letting him retire, but reluctantly and with much sadness. He accompanied me many times to the Middle East and Europe on Archdiocesan business and represented the laity of this Archdiocese with much integrity and dignity. He devoted his life to all aspects of the Archdiocese, but perhaps the dearest project to his heart was and still is, the Antiochian Village with its camping facilities and the Heritage and Learning Center. I organized the Village Council in 1979 and appointed Ernie its Chairman in order to make the Antiochian Village "a little piece of heaven" and a haven for our young people whom we dearly love. Ernie made countless trips and spent countless hours serving the Village. He supervised the construction of both Phase I and Phase II of the Heritage and Learning Center. He contributed generously, cheerfully and consistently of his money and time to every project of this Archdiocese. St. Paul admonishes us to be thankful always for all things. Today, I want to present to you, Ernie, on my behalf and on behalf of this Archdiocese, this plaque as a token of our deep gratitude and appreciation for a job very well done. I am also appointing you Vice-chairman Emeritus and a Life Member of the Board of Trustees of the Archdiocese.

The second person I would like to thank is a wonderful lady who has already devoted 30 years of her life serving our Archdiocese. In a summer day of July 1969, Kathy Meyer and her dog Larry, left the glamorous San Francisco and came to work for us in Brooklyn, NY. For a few days I was not sure whether she would stay or go back, due to the working conditions in our old headquarters in Brooklyn. Thank God she stayed and helped us organize our Archdiocese office.

We have 320 priests in the Archdiocese. Kathy knows them all from their voices. Our working hours are from 9 am to 5:30 pm. Many evenings, when I come down from my quarters at 7:30 to eat dinner, I find Kathy still working. She refuses to go home before she finishes her work.

The only crisis Kathy had during the past 30 years was when Larry died and she told Bishop ELIA that she had put Larry to sleep. Bishop ELIA, being from the old country, and not familiar with the American expression "putting a dog to sleep", laughed sarcastically and asked Kathy, "How long is he going to sleep?". Needless to say, Kathy was furious and refused to talk to Bishop ELIA for a whole month!

Kathy plans all our social events when we entertain Presidents, Patriarchs, Archbishops, the Board of Trustees, etc. You cannot buy or sell loyalty. Loyalty is born with you and loyalty is born with Kathy Meyer. For 30 years of loyalty to this Archdiocese it gives me great pleasure to present to Kathy this plaque.

Where would this Archdiocese have been without the Ernie Saykalys, the Bob Lahams, the Charles Ajalats, the Bob Koorys, the John Dalacks, the Naseeb Salibas, the Kathy Meyers, the Robin Nicholas', the George Farhas and others too numerous to mention.

And speaking about dedication and commitment, I would like to take this opportunity to thank my brother hierarchs who continue to work with me and travel tirelessly visiting our flock, namely:

His Grace, Bishop Antoun

His Grace, Bishop Joseph

His Grace, Bishop Basil

and His Grace, Bishop Demetri.

I would also like to thank our clergy for their dedication to the eternal values which our church represents. I would like to thank our esteemed members of the Board of Trustees for their time and generosity to the Archdiocese. I would like to thank the Order of St. Ignatius of Antioch, the Antiochian Women, the Fellowship of St. John the Divine, and Teen SOYO for remaining faithful to the Church in these troubled times. I would like to thank our parish councils and all parochial organizations for their faith and work.

I would be remiss if I do not thank the rest of our Archdiocesan staff who are always ready to serve you and respond to your needs; namely, our assistant comptroller, Mr. Peter Dacales, the administrator of the Order of St. Ignatius of Antioch, Mrs. Arlene Assile, and our registrar, Miss Bonnie Bleam.

Last, but not least, I want to thank a gentleman who has been chasing planes with me for the past twenty-two years and managing our Book Department, Archdeacon Hans El-Hayek.

Finally, as this century and this millennium draws to an end, I would like to remind you of the following biblical admonitions:

"Do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day."
(2 Peter 3:8)

"Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." (Phil. 4:6-7)