The Unity of our Diverse Community

HIS GRACE
THE MOST REVEREND
ISSAM JOHN DARWISH
BSO DD

MELKITE GREEK-CATHOLIC EPARCH OF AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND

The Acts of the Apostles tells us, in one brief sentence that, "It was at Antioch where they were first called ‘Christians’.”  We can be certain that the sacred author makes this observation not simply by way of commending the linguistic inventiveness of the Antiochians but as an observation of their liking for nicknames and their delight in a quick turn of phrase. In the ancient world it was accepted as a truism that the inhabitants of Syrian Antioch on the road to Daphne were not only sharp of wit but were possessed of even sharper tongues! However, at the same time their intellectual agility indicated a deep interest in matters academic, especially philosophy – an interest, which in the Christian era gave rise to one of the great schools of theology in the Byzantine Empire.

If ever the earliest circumstances of a people were to foreshadow their historical journey and vocation, it must surely be those of the Christian Communities of Antioch – and, of course, from my own perspective, the Melkite Greek-Catholic Church. From the outset, the Church at Antioch was never ethnically or culturally monolithic – and of this I shall say something later.

Although a Greek City, the Hellenism of Antioch had been imposed upon the Syrian landscape – Antioch became and remained a multicultural centre – at the hub of trans-imperial activities, absorbing new ideas and reworking old theories, but doing so in a harmony of civic and religious life uncommon in the ancient world.

Amongst the many noted scholars produced by Antioch, perhaps none is more famous than John, called by his contemporaries "Chrysostom”, the Golden Mouth, the foremost preacher, writer and theologian of his time – whose text for the celebration of the Holy Eucharist is still the most commonly used throughout the Byzantine Tradition, which, of course, includes the Melkite Catholic Church.

It was Chrysostom who wrote that Man is an icon of God formed by the Holy Spirit yet only to the extent that the image is not deformed by rancour and disunity.

Following the Arab conquest, the Antiochian communities, especially the Byzantine, adapted rapidly to the new geo-political realities adopting Arabic cultural references to produce an extraordinary mix of Greco-Byzantine, Arab and Syriac elements. The Sacred Scriptures, theological texts and commentaries, the writings of the Fathers and the ancient liturgies, not to mention large sections of the vast deposit of classical material, were translated into Arabic.

Often overlooked by scholars outside Byzantine studies was the establishment by the Byzantine Christians of Asia Minor of a certain co-operation with their new Arabic Islamic masters. The Roum became indispensable to the administration of imperial Islam. One of the best known examples of a Syrian Christian clan in the service of an Islamic caliphate is that of John ibn Mansour – our St John of Damascus. Here we have an extraordinary example of the symbiosis that existed at the level of the educated ruling classes between Muslims and Christians. St John served as finance minister to the Caliph whilst writing his definitive work, "On the Sacred Images.” Thus, from the old Roman province of the Orient, there arises one of the brightest theological lights in the Christian Church – under the patronage of the Muslim Caliph of Damascus!

Whilst, shall we say, maintaining a prudent position during the crusades, the Antiochian communities inevitably established ever closer ties with the Christian West. Indeed, it was the Roum peoples who, throughout the European Middle Ages and the Renaissance, served as the contact point between the Latin Occident and the Islamic Orient – and, it should be noted, that throughout the Muslim hegemony in the East there was rarely anything like a unified Islamic political reality. The Muslim world was just as "multicultural” as any of the empires which had preceded it.

The fall of Constantinople in 1453 and the subsequent incursions of Islam into Eastern Europe led to the establishment of what were to become considerable and important Byzantine diasporas. During the eighteenth century we find scholars of Antiochian origin studying abroad at such centres as Paris, Rome and Venice. At the same time Antiochian bishops welcomed western preachers, confessors and missionaries into their territories with scant regard to what we now call the East-West schism.

It is clear that the western clergy permitted to function within the territories of the eastern Churches regarded the resident eastern bishops as the legitimate hierarchy with full and complete authority to govern their respective churches.

The pro-western tendencies of Antioch were so obvious that the Patriarch of Constantinople issued an encyclical warning the Churches of the East against Antioch’s dangerous dalliance with western heretics!

It is during the eighteenth century that the Antiochian relationship with the West took a dramatic turn - the repercussions of which are very much still with us. In 1724, convinced that the fullness of the Catholica – that is, the unity of the Christian Church – required union with the Patriarchate of Rome, several monks left the Antiochian Patriarchal Monastery of Balamand near Tripoli and headed south – a journey which was to end in the establishment of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church. From that point, Antiochian Byzantine Christianity is expressed in terms of two Patriarchates – one Catholic and one Orthodox.

In the nineteenth century, during the patriarchate of the remarkable Maximus III Mazlum, the previous arrangement whereby the Melkite patriarch cared for the Byzantine Catholics of Alexandria and Jerusalem was formalised. From that time to the present day, the Melkite Patriarchate has embraced three of the cities most important in the history of the Christian Church. In every sense the Patriarchate is truly international maintaining an exemplary and harmonious balance of peoples, cultures and traditions.

THE NINETEENTH CENTURY DIASPORA-
Australia

As best we can determine, Antiochian migration to Australia began in the middle of the nineteenth century. The three communities – Melkite, Maronite and Orthodox – were sufficiently established here as to have recognised congregations by the end of the century. The two Catholic communities – Melkite and Maronite – quickly integrated with the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney, whilst the Orthodox gravitated towards Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Cleveland Street not far from the old St Michael’s Church and the present St Maroun’s Cathedral in inner Sydney.

The closeness of the three communities is indicated by the regular intermarriage that took place. Being strangers in a strange land became the defining factor in communal identity rather then the confessional differences that would otherwise have been indicated by religious persuasion. I might note that the Melkites have always been particularly tolerant of mixed marriages within the Arabic Christian Community.

I would note that the Melkite Catholic Church in its daily life and practice in the homeland, and even abroad, lived a type of ecumenism, considered in its day radical, if not dangerous, but now obviously predictive of the course taken by the Second Vatican Council. This can simply be explained by the day to day existence of the Church in the Levant (Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Jordan) and Egypt. There the Melkites lived side by side with many ecclesial communities, representatives of ancient and venerable churches with every claim to apostolic legitimacy.

The bitterness and tragedy of the Christian fratricide found in Northern Ireland or in some parts of the Balkans was simply unknown to them. Their main concern had been to live, survive and prosper in societies where the combined Christian community, of all denominations, was still a minority, and technically a disadvantaged minority at that.

I note that the early official documentation lists most of the new Antiochian migrants as "Syrians.” This is not a reference to the modern state of the same name but to the old practice of naming all the Middle East as Syria – the ancient Roman province of the Orient. I make this observation because it is a testimony – I grant, accidental – to the fact that these early settlers had no real concern with national or ethnic divisions. Be they from Damascus, Beirut, Cairo or Alexandria, Constantinople, Jerusalem, or Haifa by the Sea, they were first and foremost Byzantine Christians. Any other distinctions were well and truly considered of little importance. And I would suggest that it was this consciousness, this self awareness, arising from their common religious heritage that held the community together, that enabled it to grow, prosper, entering eventually the highest echelons of social, academic, political and economic life in this country.

Whilst the Antiochian Communities have many shared similarities of history and development with other migrant communities in Australia, it is this sense of cohesiveness that is so much a distinctive feature of settlers from Asia Minor, and, I would suggest, the Melkites in particular. Although the Melkite Catholics could not help but be aware of such things as their differences of accent and varied social customs, there was never that fragmentation found in other ethnic groups.

One of the more colourful aspects of migrant settlement in this country has been the formation of almost countless brotherhoods, societies and associations based on quite minor regional differences – and sometimes, shall we say, somewhat vigorous rivalries. And, I might note, these "colourful aspects” of early migrant history were not confined to groups from the "excitable” peoples of the Mediterranean, but were to be found amongst the Anglo-Celtic population, and, on occasion, even disturbing the peace of the local Roman Catholic Church.

It was precisely the centuries of experience as the community of a multicultural patriarchate that enabled the Melkite faithful to work together for the good of their community rather than seek more narrow regional or ethnic interests. Very few migrant communities could have had a better preparation for survival and success than did that small group of pioneers who look out at us from some of the early photographs taken outside the old St Michael’s Church in Sydney.

In the old countries whence our people came, it was not necessary to travel great distances to attend church. As the early community began to leave the original suburbs of their migrant settlement, many travelled to the outskirts of Sydney at many kilometres from the one Melkite church in the entire metropolis. And yet, Sunday after Sunday, they travelled across Sydney to attend their beloved Liturgy, to celebrate the sacraments, to consult with their pastor and simply to be together. In those days one could hear Arabic spoken with almost every accent of the Arabic world – and yet, all regarded themselves as simply Melkite Catholics, each with the same responsibilities and privileges within the Community.

Although it is impossible to determine the direction that the Melkite community, ”bishop-less,” would have followed in Australia, it cannot be denied that the most significant event since the arrival of our people in this country was the establishment of the Holy Eparchy 26 March 1987. For the first time the internal loyalty that bound the community together found public expression in our very own diocese. The importance of this for the life of the Catholic Church in this country is to be seen in the unstinting assistance the Catholic Bishops have given us – both individually and through the Bishops Conference. The Catholic Church in Australia had long valued the Melkite Community as a stable, devout and positive influence in both church and society.

Since I began my ministry as second eparch in 1996, I have found so many occasions to rejoice in the unity of the Eparchy. The many meetings I attend always remind me, as I listen to the accents, the points of reference, the anecdotes and the remembered examples, that I am the bishop of a truly multiethnic and multinational church which, with God’s help, is free of unhealthy rivalry, racism and bitterness. Just in case any of you think that the Melkite Church could only exist in the Garden of Eden, let me tell you that we are human! – we do have our differences, or disagreements and our disputes – however, our past, our rich history, has taught us that to survive, to be productive in the service of the Lord and to be useful citizens of our societies, we must be slow to anger and quick to forgive!

In the design for the arms of the Eparchy, I chose the motto "In harmony with Him.” At the very heart of the Melkite experience in this country there has been a profound sense of harmony. Our community has been remarkably free of dramatic disagreements. It is a painful observation that I make when I say that Eastern Churches have a tendency to fragment and fracture along ethnic, cultural or regional lines. I am not saying anything unheard before. The various media often carry stories of such unfortunate disharmony.

One of the interesting features of life in the Melkite diaspora has been the opportunity for us to engage in a fraternal dialogue with our Muslim brothers and sisters in an environment free of the difficulties we have sometimes faced in the homelands. My own experience of this encounter has been most encouraging, and, I am especially gratified by the positive contribution that the Melkite Church has been able to make to this development in the religious and cultural life of this nation. As I see our mutual respect grow and as our desire for harmony ever increases, I become ever more sure that the diaspora experience, often so painful in the beginning, is indeed part of God’s plan for the children of Abraham.

It need hardly be said that the most important investment a community can make in its future is the appropriate formation of its children and young people both in their education in the faith and, also, their preparation for leadership roles as we, of the older generation pass into the history of the same community! To this end, the Eparchy undertook the establishment of a primary school at Greenacre in Sydney. As far as I can determine this is the only full time day school in the Melkite diaspora, and, it is my hope that it will be best remembered as the first of many Melkite Catholic schools and educational institutions in this country and in New Zealand.

It should be noted that Holy Saviour School is totally inclusive – there are no ethnic, cultural or religious tests applied to prospective students. When seeking a motto for the school, I chose, "Unity in Diversity.” This phrase is evocative of the famous dictum St Augustine, who, in the fourth century, resolved a problem in his diocese with the admonition, "Unity in essentials, diversity in non-essentials, charity in all things.”

As I review my time, thus far, as Eparch in Australia, I can suggest no better description of life in our Melkite Greek-Catholic Church here and in New Zealand, than the advice of the blessed bishop of Hippo.

The Melkite Catholic Church tracing, as it does, its origins to the Faith Community as Antioch, presided over by the blessed apostles, Peter and Paul, has a history that is almost as long as that of the Christian Church. Now in a land not even known to their world, we preserve that "faith once delivered to the saints.” As they look down upon us from the Heavenly Kingdom, I am sure that the countless Antiochian saints, scholars, martyrs, and the myriad of the faithful, are not displeased with our efforts. I am sure that they rejoice that, in us, "Their voice has gone out to the ends of the earth and their teaching to the farthest parts of the world.”

For our part we must never forget that each generation stands on the shoulders of the one that went before. If we are proud of our achievements, both in the broader history of our Church, and more specifically, here in Australia and New Zealand, we must always remember, and be thankful for, the contributions of those who have gone before us.

Having lived amongst you for the past 8 years, and having learned a little of the story of our Australian Melkite Catholic community, I can say with total confidence that  rarely in any country have migrants displayed the same cooperation, the same sense of continuity and the same determination to be both integrated into the adopted community and yet at the same time preserve all that is good and precious in their religious and cultural heritage.

May God bless each of you and keep you in His grace and Peace especially as we continue our Lenten preparation for Holy and Glorious Easter.