MELKITE - GREEK
CATHOLIC PATRIARCHATE

5th CONGRESS OF
THE MELKITE CATHOLIC BISHOPS OF
AMERICA & OCEANIA
In Montreal, June 12-18, 2006

By Bishop John A. Elya                       


The Melkite Catholic Bishops of America & Oceania held their 5th Congress in Montreal on June 12—18, 2006.

Presided over by His Beatitude Gregorios III, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, of Alexandria and Jerusalem, the Congress was hosted by Bishop Ibrahim Ibrahim, Eparch of Montreal and All Canada. The participants were hosted at Villa St. Martin, Cartier Ville, Montreal, where most of the meetings took place.

As in the past Congresses, participants of this Fifth Congress included the Melkite hierarchs of the countries of emigration where an official Melkite Catholic jurisdiction is established, namely:
Canada, Bishop Ibrahim Ibrahim, BSO, Melkite Eparch of Montreal and All Canada;
Australia, Bishop Issam John Darwish, BSO, Melkite Eparch of Australia and New Zealand, Executive Secretary of the Congress;
Brazil, Archbishop Fares Maakaroun, MSP, Melkite Eparch of Sao Paulo and All Brazil;
the United States of America, Archbishop Cyril Salim Bustros, MSP,  Eparch of Newton and All the United States; Bishop John Adel Elya, BSO, Eparch Emeritus of Newton, and Bishop Nicholas Samra, Titular Bishop of Gerash, former Auxiliary Bishop of Newton;
And Venezuela, Bishop George Kahhaleh Zouhairaty, BAO, Apostolic Eparch of Venezuela.
Archimandrite Gabriel Ghanoum, BSO, Patriarcal Administrator of the Melkite Community of Mexico attended as member.
Other participants as observers included Archimandrite Nicholas Antiba, BAO, accompanying His Beaitude and acting as recording Secretary; Father Robert Rabbat. Editor-in-Chief of Sophia Magazine, Archimandrite Paul Abdallah Sayegh, BSO, Vicar General of the Eparchy of Australia, accompanying Bishop Issam; and the local priests of the Parish of St. Sauveur: Fathers Antoine Saad, BSO, Dany Touma, BSO & Makarios Wehbeh, BSO.
Missing was a representative from Argentina, where the Apostolic Exarch had resigned and a new Eparch is awaited to be chosen by the Holy Father Pope Benedick XVI. A “Terna” (three candidates) was elected by the June, 2006 Melkie Synod and presented to the Pope..

On Sunday, June 11, 8:00 PM, as an introduction to the Congress, a Recital was offered by “La Chorale d’Antioche,” of the Parish of St. Sauveur, directed by Father Dany Touma, BSO, at the church of St. Viateur in Montreal.
 
Monday, June 12, 3:00 PM – First session of the Congress. Discussion and approval of the Schedule. A short discussion took place regarding the name of this bi-annual assembly. It was agreed to call it the Congress of the Bishops of America & Oceania, rather than the Bishops of Emigration or of the Diaspora.
 5:00 PM – Vesper Service with the priests of the Eparchy at Villa St. Martin.
 7:00 PM – Solemn Opening of the Congress by His Beatitude, at the “Melkite Center of Montreal, followed by Reception and Dinner.

Tuesday, June 13, 9:30 AM – 2nd Session of the Congress. “The Experience of the Married priesthood in the countries of Emigration.” Presented by Bishop John Issam Darwish, of Australia & New Zealand,
 11:00 AM – 3rd Session. “The Revival of Our Pastoral Work.” By Bishop John A. Elya, Eparch Emeritus of Newton,
 4:00 PM – 4th Session – “Difficulties in Our Pastoral Work.” By Archbishop Fares Maakaroun of Brazil.
 6:30 PM – Visit to the Urgel Bourgie Gardens (Cemetery), at the graves of Bishop Sleiman Hajjar, former Eparch of Montreal and Archimanadrite George Coriaty, BSO.. A short funeral service was offered for them and for other departed brothers  Archbishop Ignatius Raad of Saida, Lebanon, Archbishop Joseph Raya of Akka & Nazareth; Archimandrite Antoine Mouhanna of Mexico, and Archimandrite André  Karamé of Buenas Aires, Argentina and Archimandrite Fouad Nasr , BSO.
 8:00 PM – Reception and Dinner offered at the Lebanese Consulate by Mr/Mrs Khalil ElHabre, Consul General of Lebanon in Montreal.

Wednesday, June 14, 9:30 PM – 5th Session. “Our Relations with the Latin (Roman Catholic) Churches in the Diaspoa.” By Bishop George Kahhale Zouhaitaty of Venezuela, and Archimandrite Gabriel Ghanoum about Mexico.
 11:00 PM – 6th Session. “Our Relations with the Eastern Churches
in the Diaspora.” By Archbishop Cyril Bustros of Newton, USA.
And a Report on the coming “Encounter of the Eastern Catholic Churches of Canada and the United States of America.” By Bishop Nicholas Samra, Director of the Encounter.
 In the afternoon, the Fathers of the Congress traveled  to Ottawa. They met with the parishioners of Saints Peter and Paul Melkite Church and their priests Archimandrite Habib Kwaiter, BSO aand Francois Beirouti; and they stayed overnight in Ottawa. They celebrated with them the Vespers of the Feast of Corpus Christi, followed by a Reception in the Church Hall.

On Thursday, June 15, after celebrating the Divine Liturgy of the Feast of Corpus Christi, at the Church of Sts. Peter and Paul, the Fathers visited the Parliament and the Senate of Canada where they were received by Senator Pierre DeBané.
 At 10:30 AM, a lecture was offered by Senator Pierre DeBané, “A View of our Melkite Church in the world.” The Senator spoke about the role of the laity in the Church and his experience regarding “The Melkite International Foundation, - A Project to Deepen Solidarity among the Melkites of the World.” This project was approved by the Melkite Synod in October, 1990.
 During the visit to the Parliament Building, His Beatitude Patriarch Gregorios accompanied by Bishop Ibrahim had a 25 minute meeting with His Excellency Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada. The main topic was about the Melkite Church in Canada and in the East.
 At 12:00 PM, the Fathers went for a Reception and Dinner at the Apostolic Nunciature of Canada at the invitation of the Papal Nuncio Archbishop Luigi Ventura. After dinner, they returned to Montreal.
  In the evening, a Reception was given in honor of His Beatitude at the house of His Excellency Fares El Attar, Honorary Consul of Syria.

Friday, June 16, 9:30 AM – 7th Session. “The Translation of Liturgical Texts in English and Spanish.” Presented by His Beatitude the Patriarch.
 11:00 AM – 8th Session. “The Melkite International Association.” (Internet). By Bishop Issam John Darwish of Australia & New Zealand.
 3:00 PM – “Future Vision of our Melkite Church in the Countries of Emigration.” By Bishop Ibrahim Ibrahim of Canada.
6:30 PM – Ground Breaking of the new Cathedral of the St. Sauveur in Montreal. Followed by Reception in the Melkite Center of Montreal (Same grounds).

Saturday, June 17, 9:30 AM – Final Session. Recommendations and decisions. The Final Report.
 6:30 PM – Reception and Dinner in the house of the Chairman of the Eparchial Pastoral Council of the St. Sauveur Parish and General Director of the Construction Project, Joseph Chalhoub and his wife Sandie.

On Sunday, June 18, at 12:00 noon, the 5th Congress of the Bishops of America and Oceania was concluded with the Patriarchal Divine Liturgy at Our Lady of the Angels Church in Montreal.

RESOLUTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The following (20) resolutions and recommendations taken by the 5th Congress of bishops of America and Oceania were read by Bishop Ibrahim Ibrahim during the Divine Liturgy at the Conclusion of the Congress:
MARRIED PRIESTS

1 – The Fathers praise the work of the priests, celibate, married or religious and of the deacons in their Eparchies. They appreciate their sacrifices and bless their efforts and their pastoral work.

2 – The Fathers continue their endeavors to confirm our Eastern tradition to have married priests in the Eparchies of Emigration as is the case in the Patriarchal Regions.

THE BOOK OF THE DIVINE LITURGY

3 - The Fathers decided to form a Liturgical Commission working to unify the text of the Divine Liturgy in the common languages of the Countries of Emigration; namely the English, the French and the Spanish.

REGARDING PASTORAL WORK

4 - The Fathers are seeking to establish congregations of men and women to the service of our dedicated to the service of our children in the Diaspora.

5 – The Fathers decided to adopt the project of “the Melkite International Association” aiming to build communication between the faithful of our Church who are spread throughout the world, through an electronic net containing social, cultural and spiritual programs. They appointed the Most Reverend Issam John Darwish to pursue this project.

6 – The Fathers decided to adopt the project of “the International Melkite Foundation” exposed to them by Senator Pierre De Bané, Member of the Senate of Canada, and to revive it in the Eparchies of Emigration. They appointed the Most Reverend Ibrahim to pursue this subject.

7 – His Beatitude the Patriarch is the Patron of this new Institution.

8 – The Fathers decided to support the project of “the Melkite Solidarity” presented by His Beatitude the Patriarch, through which each bishop will collect the names of those who wish to participate in this project.

9 – The Fathers welcome in their churches all the faithful from the different churches and groups. They will make them participate in our astern heritage through the Liturgy and other activities.  

WAYS TO REVIVE THE PASTORAL WORK

10 – The Fathers will endeavor to find new and attractive ways to revive the pastoral work and to spread the Good News.

11 – The Fathers insist on the role of the liturgical prayer in the life of the priest and of the groups in the parishes. They will work to establish prayer groups.

RELATIONS WITH THE EASTERN CHURCHES

12 – The Fathers will work toward a greater rapprochement among the Eastern Churches, considering that this is a fundamental part of their historic mission.

13 – The Fathers will work, in their respective Eparchies, to coordinate with the other Eastern Church regarding the subjects common among them.

RELATIONS WITH THE LATIN CHURCHES

14 – The Fathers highly appreciate the support that the Latin Curches offer to our churches.

15 – The Fathers will work toward cooperation with the local Latin priests in responding to the needs of the faithful.

VISION FOR THE FUTURE OF OUR CHURCH IN THE DIASPORA

16 – The Fathers will work toward fostering the role of the laity in all the domains in the life of the Church, especially regarding the role of the various Eparchial and parish councils.

17 – The Fathers recommend to encourage the establishment of a special budget to secure the expenses needed for evangelization in the parishes as for religious education books, parochial bulletins, religious publications, Internet pages, liturgical music, liturgical books and other various didactic programs.

18 – The Fathers recommend to perform the liturgical and pastoral services in the local languages while keeping the Arabic language.

19 – The Fathers value the responsibilities assumed by the young people in their parishes. They invite them for more dedication to their church and more commitment to its mission.

20 – His Beatitude the Patriarch blesses the work of the Congress of the Melkite Greek Catholic Bishops in America and Oceania for the important role that it has for the prosperity and progress of our Eparchies.
 
On the consensus of all the participants, the 5th Congress of the Bishops 0f America & Oceania has been very successful, very well organized and also very enjoyable. It was decided that the 6th Congress will take place in Brazil in 2008.

Here is a list of the four preceding Congresses.

First Congress held at Sao Paulo, Brazil, on April 28-May 4, 1997. hosted and preside by Bishop Boutros Mouallem, MSP, Eparch of Sao Paolo.

Second Congress held at Caracas, Venezuela on April 27-May 3, 1998, hosted and presided by Bishop George Kahale Zuhairaty, BAO, Eparch of aracas and All Venezuela.

Third Congress held in Sydney & Melbourne, Australia,  on July 8-16, 2000, hosted and presided by Bishop Issam John Darwish, Eparch of Australia and New Zeeland.

The Fourth Congress on May 11-20, 2001, held in Boston, Detroit and Cleveland, USA, presided over by His Beatitude Patriarch Gregorios III, Sponsored by Bishop John A. Elya, Eparch of Newton.