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The Dividing of the Syriac Orthodox
Church!
April 12, 06
Background
After the mysterious death of bishop Isa Cicek, the organization
of the Syriac Orthodox Church has been lined with scandals. There
is a stormy atmosphere within the organization and the development
points towards a division. Bishop Isa Gürbüz, who was
the head of the organization in Germany, has been chased away
from there. Behind this expulsion lie strong spheres of interest.
This has in turn brought Bishop Isa Gürbüz under coup-like
circumstances, and to the parish members' big surprise, to take
the see as bishop of Austria and Switzerland.
The sudden reorganization depends on the following:
1. Bishop Cicek was a zealous opponent to ordain monks from Syria
to bishops. The reason for that being that monks from Syria have
a lack of independence and from a historical point of view tend
to run errands for the state of Syria within the Church's organization.
2. Bishop Gürbüz' relation to the Assyrian fraction
has with time become conciliatory and lenient. This bothered
the Aramean wing.
With bishop Ciceks decease, two spheres of interests, namely
the Aramean and the Anti-Cicekanian, have been united and have
chased away bishop Isa Gürbüz.They have done this in
order to ordain new bishops, which most likely will be from Syria,
with all the implications that it will have for the Church and
the people.
The Divided organization
As it looks now, the division of the organization is an unavoidable
fact. The question is, what will happen after the division? The
organization in Germany should, in order to avoid a division,
study the Swedish case and learn from it, so that they don't
do the same mistakes that led to the division of the Church in
Sweden.
The Syriac Orthodox Church in Sweden is approximately ten years
ahead the rest of Europe when it comes to the division. In Sweden
there are two Episcopal sees. The distance between the two seats
is not longer than a stone's throw. It doesn't require much from
a person's intelligence to figure out that these Episcopal sees
are there for different spheres of interest. They lead only to
division.
In the Gospel according to St Matthew he tells the parish members,
regarding false prophets, to "Watch out for false prophets,
who come to you in sheep's clothes but who on the inside are
voracious wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Grapes
are not gathered from thorns or figs from thistles, are they?"
Matthew 7:15-16.
Bishop Benjamin Atas with seat in Sodertalje visited
the new pope Benedictus XVI in Rom on the 30th of May, 2005.
He conveyed his longing for a unified Christianity. Yet he doesn't
relinquish from being ordained to Bishop and taking a big step
towards a division in his own Church in Sweden,
when there already was a Bishop in Sweden.
Bishop Abdulahad Shabo uses to give long sermons in crowded church
service premises. He preaches often about our language's holiness,
but gives the sermon in Arabic Islam's holy language
in front of Syriac speaking Church service visitors.
As a logical thinking person you might wonder if our language,
that Jesus spoke, is not holy enough for the bishop? Why does
this bishop have such a grudge against our holy language?
Our people and organization in Germany is at the present facing
a difficult choice, to choose the Swedish model or not. It's
about choosing division or unity!
In the history of the Syriac Orthodox Church there is a dark
period of division that lasted for 475 years (1364-1839).
During this period of almost 500 years, 41 patriarchs were wrongfully
ordained, according to the church, for the area of Turabdin.
The division was ended only after Maferyono Ablahad dBeth
Kande relinquished from being promoted to patriarch. He wanted
to unify the church and stop the disintegration. This occurred
in the year 1839, five years before Maferyono Kande was murdered
by a Kurd.
He was a real and genuine Christian and followed the principles
of Christianity.
Most of the priests and bishops will go to history in one way
or another. Yet the question is how history will look at them.
Experience has showed that there are two kinds of priests;
Those who put the wellbeing of the church and the people before
their own interests, as Maferyono Kande did, or those who do
the opposite, like the bishops in Sweden,
and act according to the motto; "After me the Flood!"
Stockholm, 2006-04-10
Dikran Ego
Editor-in-Chief
© EasternStar News Agency
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