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IN THE NAME OF THE SELF-EXISTENT ETERNAL, OMNIPOTENT AND ALMIGHTY
GOD
H.H. IGNATIUS ZAKKA I IWAS
PATRIARCH OF THE APOSTOLIC SEE OF ANTIOCH AND ALL THE EAST,
SUPREME HEAD OF THE UNIVERSAL SYRIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH
 We
extend our apostolic benediction, benevolent prayers, and greetings to our
brethren, His Beatitude Mor Baselius Thomas I, Catholicos of India, and
their Eminence the Metropolitans; our spiritual children the venerable priests,
monks, nuns, deacons and deaconesses, and our blessed Syrian Orthodox people
all over the world. May the divine providence embrace them through the intercession
of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, and St. Peter, the chief of the apostles,
and the rest of the Martyrs and Saints. Amen.
Our beloved: In response to the call by the Holy Bible
institutions of the world, our Holy Antiochian Syrian Orthodox Holy Synod
presided over by us and held 9-12 September 2003, had decided that this
year, 2004, to be considered the year of the Holy Bible. The reason is to
urge the faithful to have faith that the Holy Bible in our hands in its
original languages, is the exact same written by the prophets and apostles,
and delivered to our ancestors who delivered it to us without any addition
or omission. All Christians, regardless of their denominations, language,
or civilization, have agreed that God inspires the Holy Bible, that is,
it is the living word of God. In that regard, the apostle Paul says, “All
scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine,
for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the
man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2
Timothy 3:16-17). The meaning of “by inspiration of God”, is that the Almighty
guided the minds of true prophets and Jesus apostles in a special way, and
gave them His Holy instruction, and religious doctrines they should believe
in. And they relayed His will to all mankind. He also commanded them to
write down these facts in a book to be a beacon, not only to their generation,
but also to all generations, and forever. No one disputes what all churches
agreed upon, that the center of gravity in the Holy Bible is the Lord Jesus
Christ, the Saviour of the world. And the ultimate goal for writing down
the Holy inspiration is to inform the world about true faith that should
be believed in, commandments that should be followed and practiced, and
Christian virtues that should be adopted in order to obtain salvation
through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The apostle John explained in his
Gospel, saying, “But these are written that you may have life in His name”
(John 20:31).
The Holy Bible has indeed a special high rank in our Syriac church because
it is the word of the Living God and the first and most important source
to our doctrine of faith and heavenly laws. The Holy Bible testifies to
that in some of its verses. Jeremiah said, “The Lord saying: Write in a
book for yourself all the words that I have spoken to you” (Jeremiah 30:2).
St. Paul the apostle said, “But I make known to you, brethren, that the
gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received
it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of
Jesus Christ” (Galatians 1:11-12). St. Peter the apostle said, “For prophecy
never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved
by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21). By his words, St. Peter aimed to say
that God Almighty has chosen pious men, God declared His promise to send
His Only Begotten Son to the world. They announced it and wrote down their
true prophecies in the books of the Holy Bible. That promise was completely
fulfilled, verbatim, through Christ in all steps of His mission of salvation.
In this regard, St. Paul said, “God, who at various times and in various
ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last
days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things,
through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory
and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word
of His power. When He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right
hand of the Majesty on high” (Hebrew 1:1-3).
The Holy Bible being the source of all facts of faith has total authority
in faith matters. Faithful should submit themselves to its Holy teachings
and keep the commandments of faith and good conduct in tact.
Yes indeed, our sainted fathers, through all their teachings did rely on
the holy inspiration written in the Holy Bible. They dipped down in the
depths of the Holy Bible and picked precious jewels that prove the rightness
of our doctrine of faith. From its words they also obtained innumerable
number of books they authored. For example, it was said that, “If we assume
an impossible assumption that the Holy Bible written in Syriac, somehow
was to be lost or missing, we could find it in the writings of St. Ephraim
the Syriac, compiled and collected from the Holy Bible in the forth century”.
The church history testifies that our fathers were the first to study, explain
and translate the Holy Bible to many languages. Our monasteries and churches
were filled with copies written by monks, priests, and others in our holy
Syriac language. The oldest and most important copy found today in the museums
of the world is in this language. Not only that, but our fathers also carried
the torch of the Holy Gospel to many areas of the world. They depicted special
chapters from the books of the Holy Bible to be recited during Sundays and
church feasts at the beginning of the Holy Mass Service. They also authored
special prayers to be read before reading from the Gospel and during their
spiritual mediations. These are all supplications to God to enlighten their
minds to understand the meanings of the words of life, because, as we mentioned
earlier, they Holy Bible has the high tank in our holy church. According
to our Syriac tradition and in every church, a small wooden podium is set
in the center of the middle alter on which the Holy Gospel is laid. The
outside cover of the gospel is gold or silver-plated, and a drawing of the
four apostles and a cross are carved on it. It is for the faithful to kiss
and be blessed when they enter the church at the beginning of the service,
and when they leave at the end of the service. Thus honoring the word of
God the Holy Bible – and get the blessings and grace of Jesus Christ who
is the Word of God, who was in the beginning, “And the Word became flesh
and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the Only Begotten
of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). The church also singled
out a special prayer to be recited by a deacon in whom he calls on the faithful
to stand up and listen with fear and wisdom to the word of salvation while
the fragrance of incense fills up the air. According to our Syriac tradition,
the reader of the holy gospel is the one performing the Holy Eucharist,
whether he is a Patriarch or a Biskop, or a Priest.
Yes, indeed, our Holy Church urges the clergy and the faithful
in general to study the Holy Bible and read it during individual and collective
prayers. They should learn a lesson from Psalm 1 in which the author gives
the beatitude to the righteous man who walks in Gods law and utters continually
its words day and night (Psalm 1-2). And in Psalm 119, “Your word is a lamp
to my feet and a light to my path. I have sworn and confirmed that I will
keep Your righteous judgments” (Psalm 119: 105-106).
My beloved: It is a golden opportunity that we now have in the upcoming
great Lent, and we shouldn’t waste it. We should come closer to Jesus Christ,
in strong faith and good works, setting His life and mission on earth in
flesh, as an example, carrying His Holy Cross and following Him. Let us
learn from Him about fasting and prayers, for He fasted forty days and forty
nights on our behalf and allowed Himself to be tempted by Satan. He repeated
the words of the Holy Bible and defeated the devil. And He revealed to us
the secret of how to defeat Satan by saying, “However, this kind does not
go out except by prayer and fasting” (Matthew 17:21). Therefore we should
keep praying and abide by the law of fasting, and give charity to the needy
especially during days of the Holy Great Lent. The church teaches and commands
us to keep ourselves in the company of the books of the Holy Bible, making
it the subject of our meditations especially during the quietness of the
night. If we, through prayer, beseech and thank God for all His gifts, we
should also participate with angels in glorifying and worshiping Him. We
should listen intently, with faith, hope and love, to His holy words written
by prophets, apostles, and sainted fathers. The Almighty, after speaking
to the fathers through prophets, spoke to us through His Only Begotten Son
who is His Holy Word… “and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and
we beheld His glory, the glory as of the Only Begotten of the Father, full
of grace and truth” (John 1:1&14). We should have faith in Him and obey
Him as instructed by the Heavenly Father through His voice from heaven during
the transfiguration of the Lord on the Mount, saying, “This is My beloved
Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him” (Matthew 17:5).
So let us listen to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God
who commanded us to fast, pray, and have mercy on our fellow needy man in
order to be worthy to inherit the heavenly kingdom with him.
God bless you, my beloved, and may He make you worthy to renew your spiritual
relation with Him. Continue to listen to His holy voice, and know His will
through the study of the Holy Bible, in which the Lord addresses and enlightens
us. He is the lamp to our feet, which prevents us from falling. May God
accept your fasting and prayers, and make you worthy to celebrate His resurrection
with purity, holiness, and joy, and may the grace of our Lord be with you.
Amen.
Issued at our Patriarchate in Damascus, Syria
on the 30th day of January, in the year Two thousand and four
which is the 24th year of our Patriarchate.
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