With the Blessings and Presence of His Beatitude Patriarch Joseph Al-Absi
The Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East Holds an International Symposium
“The Melkite Greek Catholic Church: Union with Rome and New Horizons”
The Middle East Council of Churches Participates
You can find some photos at the end of the text.
With the blessings and presence of His Beatitude Patriarch Joseph Al-Absi, Greek Melkite Catholic Patriarch of Antioch and all the East, and Honorary President of the Middle East Council of Churches, the sessions of the international symposium organized by the Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarchate was launched under the title “The Melkite Greek Catholic Church: Union with Rome and New Horizons,” between 24 and 26 June 2024, at the “Liqaa” Center in Rabweh - Lebanon.
Attendees of the opening session were Bishops, Representatives of various Church Families, the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) Dr. Michel Abs who will attend other sessions of the symposium, the MECC Associate Secretary General Dr. Nicolas Bustros, who in turn will attend other sessions and will deliver an intervention entitled “Formation of the Melkite Clergy over three centuries: Historic and Future,” on Wednesday 26 June 2024. As well as attendees were, the Director of the MECC Theological and Ecumenical Department Father Dr. Antoine Al Ahmar, and the Dean of the Saint John of Damascus Institute at the University of Balamand in Lebanon, and the President of the Association of Theological Institutes in the Middle East (ATIME), Archimandrite Dr. Jack Khalil, with a delegation from the Institute.
The symposium started with an inaugural speech delivered by His Beatitude Patriarch Joseph Al-Absi under the title “The Jubilee Year and the Importance of Academic Thinking,” and was followed by an introduction by Father Rami Wakim, who moderated the interventions of the opening session and the discussions that took place during it.
The first intervention focused on “The Division of 1724 in its Local and Global Dimensions,” with Professor Bernard Heyberger (EHESS – EPHE, Paris), and Dr. Aurélien Girard (University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, Reims). The second intervention was entitled “Theological Confluences and Conflicts: Arabic Literature and Exchanges between the Latins and the Byzantines (1270 - 1770), with Father Ronney el Gemayel (CEDRAC - Saint Joseph University in Beirut).
It is worth mentioning that at the end of the symposium, His Beatitude Patriarch Joseph Al-Absi will award Professor Bernard Heyberger with the Order of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem.
