Metropolitan Tikhon welcomes Antiochian Patriarch John X
On Monday evening, July 27, 2015, His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon, Primate of the Orthodox Church in America and President of Saint Vladimir’s Seminary [SVOTS] here; Archpriest Dr. John Behr, Dean; and Archpriest Dr. Chad Hatfield, seminary Chancellor, welcomed His Beatitude, Patriarch John X of Antioch and All the East during his visit to the seminary campus, where he was awarded an honorary doctorate at an academic convocation. [See related story.]
Currently, Patriarch John is in the United States to attend the 52nd Convention of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America in Boston, MA.
Metropolitan Tikhon greeted Patriarch John in the seminary’s Three Hierarchs Chapel, where they venerated the relics of Saint Vladimir and the Holy Hierarchs Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom. In his welcoming remarks, Metropolitan Tikhon informed Patriarch John of the Resolution in Support of the Suffering in the Middle East adopted at the recent 18th All-American Council of the Orthodox Church in America and the spontaneous floor drive that followed, through which AAC delegates and observers raised what since then has grown to over $13,000.00 to assist International Orthodox Christian Charities in its ongoing ministry in the in the embattled region.
Patriarch John, Metropolitan Tikhon and the many hierarchs, clergy, members of the seminary faculty and Board of Trustees, and faithful in attendance then proceeded to the Metropolitan Philip Auditorium of the John G. Rangos Family Building, where Metropolitan Tikhon formally opened the convocation.
Father Hatfield vested Patriarch John with the doctoral hood. On behalf of the seminary’s Board of Trustees and Faculty Council, Professor Paul Meyendorff then read the text of the Doctor Honoris Causa, which Father Hatfield then conferred on the Patriarch, after which Metropolitan Tikhon presented the doctoral pectoral cross.
“I am grateful today to stand in this august gathering and receive this honorary doctorate from your esteemed seminary,” said Patriarch John in reflecting on the seminary’s legacy. “Saint Vladimir’s is known throughout the world by its professors who are theologians in the Orthodox sense of the word: they live what they preach, and their life is built on spiritual struggle and prayers.
“Great men of the 20th century taught at Saint Vladimir’s and illumined our contemporary theological education: teachers such as the late Fathers Georges Florovsky, Thomas Hopko, John Meyendorff and Alexander Schmemann of blessed memory,” Patriarch John continued. “I see this as a precious legacy, and I earnestly pray that you preserve this legacy and make it flourish.”
Patriarch John then fielded numerous questions related to current events in Syria and the Middle East.
“We [Christians and Muslims in the Middle East] both seek peace, we both love safety and security,” Patriarch John said, noting that this is not well understood in the west. “Nothing separates us. Mosques as well as churches are being destroyed. But the superpowers do not want to see this. We must not isolate Christians from Muslims, as if Christians are the only ones suffering. When a church is attacked, Muslims see this attack as on them. And when a mosque is destroyed, Christians feel the same. How can I live peacefully if my neighbor is suffering? We need peace, not protection. The people want to live together. Let the superpowers leave us in peace and we will take care of our own needs.”
Patriarch John emphasized the need for encouragement and assistance so “our people [can] remain steadfast in their homes in the Middle East,” recalling that it was in Antioch “the disciples were first called Christians.” He added that the suffering of so many underscores the dire need for “every possible form of humanitarian aid.” This, he said, is especially crucial in light of the destruction of 6,200 schools in Syria. He also cited the need for clothing, medicine, school supplies, and safe places for refugees.
“Again, we need peaceful solutions. We need dialogue. As Saint Macarius said, ‘heaven is seeing the other, no matter who they are, not having our back to them,’ the Patriarch concluded.
In his closing response, Metropolitan Tikhon said, “Your Beatitude, we thank you for your words of peace and for providing all of us with the joy of both hearing from you of the struggles in your Church and the joy of bestowing upon you an honorary doctorate.
“Our life as Christians is full of both joy and sorrow, and we carry both at the same time, so we are truly grateful that Your Beatitude has taken the time to give us this joy even in the midst of your struggles.
“I would like to simply add one more way that we in North America, who perhaps do not understand fully the complexities of life in the Middle East and the struggles there. In America, we are sometimes simple minded. We see things in black and white. One of the ways we often think of religion, and this is said in many areas in our North American context, is that all the conflicts in all of history were caused by religion. And I believe we here in North America need to speak very clearly and to show by our own lives that this is not true.
“All the conflicts in the world, including the conflicts today, are caused by the passions of human beings. And so, we as Christians need to live our life—a life of peace, a life of prayer, a life of repentance—that shows people that we are overcoming our own passions so that we can speak to the governments, speak to those in civil authorities, and remind them that the answer is not to provide protection, but rather to allow peace to grow in the hearts of those who truly desire that peace which comes from on high.
“So I would ask all of those gathered here, and all those in our Orthodox Churches in North America, to remember that to help the suffering Christians and all people in the Middle East, we must certainly offer our prayers and speak to those in authority, but to do all of these things as part of our ongoing life as Christians—not at one moment, when we think of it, but every single moment because, as His Beatitude has just shared with us, the struggles are ongoing. We must show our support through our ceaseless prayer for them, but also in our ceaseless struggle to live the Christian life and to share that Christian life with those around us. We must also not be swayed by political opinion and the media, but we must endeavor to seek truth and then to live our lives according to the truth, which is the love of Jesus Christ.
“We thank you. We assure you of our prayers and love. We ask you to continue to pray for us as well, knowing that from that struggle and pain you and your faithful endure deep prayer will emerge and inspire all of us to seek the way of peace and salvation.”
Among those who accompanied Patriarch John were His Eminence, Metropolitan Saba of Houran and Bosra; His Eminence, Metropolitan Ephraim of Tripoli; His Eminence, Metropolitan Joseph of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America [AOCA]; His Grace, Bishop John of the AOCA’s Diocese of Worcester and New England; Archimandrite Parthenios, Secretary to the Patriarch; Archpriest Thomas Zain, AOCA Vicar General; Archpriest George Kevorkian, AOCA Hierarchical Assistant; Archpriest Joseph Antypas; and Patriarchal Archdeacon Gerasimos.
Also in attendance were His Eminence, Archbishop Benjamin of San Francisco and the West [OCA]; His Grace, Bishop Maxim of the Serbian Orthodox Archdiocese in America, who also serves as a seminary trustee; and His Grace, Bishop John of Naro-Fominsk, Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA. Representing His Eminence, Archbishop Demetrios of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, was Archimandrite Dr. Nathanael Symeonides of the Office of Inter-Orthodox, Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations. Archpriest John Jillions, OCA Chancellor, accompanied Metropolitan Tikhon.
Among the members of the seminary’s Board of Trustees present were Anne Mackoul, Greg Abdalah and James Perry.
In related news, Metropolitan Tikhon and Father Jillions will be among the invited guests at a dinner in Patriarch John’s honor at the headquarters of the Antiochian Archdiocese, Englewood, NY on Tuesday evening, July 28.