May 12, 2010
by Michael C. Gabriele

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ – Extending a hand of friendship and expressing a desire to open doors to ecumenical dialogue, Metropolitan Mor Cyril Aphrem Karim, the leader of the Archdiocese of the Syrian Orthodox Church for the Eastern United States, addressed an attentive gathering at the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception at Seton Hall University (SHU) on April 26.

Archbishop Karim's presentation, "The History and Mission of the Syrian Orthodox Church," outlined the current challenges facing the Syrian Orthodox Church in the United States along with a review of the church's heritage.

Based at Saint Mark's Cathedral in Teaneck, Archbishop Karim stressed that ecumenism is a spiritual priority, underlining the common thread of faith between the Catholic Church and the Syrian Orthodox Church. "People will believe in Christianity because of our unity, " he declared. "We have differences in culture and terminology, but we have the same faith."

For the Syrian Orthodox Church, the imperative for ecumenical unity, which has the goal of an eventual full and visible communion with the Catholic Church and other Christians, is spurred by a long and difficult history. Archbishop Karim said his church has suffered through centuries of division, oppression and persecution. "We have lived as a religious and ethnic minority for hundreds of years," he said. "This experience compels us to work with other Christians in order to survive."

As for important figures in the quest for ecumenical unity, Archbishop Karim reflected on the recent passing of Pope Shenouda III, the leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church, who died in Cairo, Egypt, on March 17 (see The Catholic Advocate, April 4). "I was his student," Archbishop Karim recalled.

"He was a great man and he will be missed. He had the ability to connect with diverse people.

He brought people together through the message of the Gospel."

Archbishop Karim outlined current challenges for his church in the United States, a list that included cultural and language barriers, a lack of priestly vocations, and a shortage of Englishlanguage books and education resources on the Syrian Orthodox faith. "We want to assimilate and become part of the culture here in the United States, but we also need to maintain our faith identity," he said.

The current missionary priority for the Syrian Orthodox Church focuses on " inward" support for the faithful in the Middle East, India and North America. Today there are many refugees from the war-torn regions of Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria coming to join the Syrian Orthodox Church in the United States. Archbishop Karim said his church welcomes these refugees and understands their plight; however he also is concerned about the dwindling presence of Christians in the Holy Land.

The family of Oriental Orthodox churches (the Syrian Orthodox Church; the Coptic Orthodox Church; the Armenian Apostolic Church; the Ethiopian Orthodox Church; Eritrean Orthodox Church; and the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church) separated from the Catholic Church in the wake of the Council of Chalcedon in the year 451. The source of the separation involved differences in Christology – that is, the theological interpretations of Christ's being and his spiritual work on earth.

Though it's a separation that still exists, Archbishop Karim joyfully acknowledged significant progress towards unity in recent years. He cited the decrees of Vatican II in the 1960s and the landmark " Common Christological" declaration in 1984 between Pope John Paul II and Patriarch Mor Zakka I Iwas.

The Commission on Christian Unity of the Archdiocese of Newark, in cooperation with SHU's School of Theology, the Department of Religion of the College of Arts and Sciences, and the Center for Catholic Studies, sponsored Archbishop Karim's presentation. Rev. Msgr. John A. Radano said the invitation to Archbishop Karim was intended to cultivate dialogue between the Archdiocese of Newark and its neighbors in the Oriental churches, which had not been undertaken in recent years. Msgr. Radano, who served on the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity for more than 20 years before returning to SHU in 2008, said the Vatican maintains a dialogue with Oriental Orthodox churches.

Born in Syria in 1965, Archbishop Karim was consecrated there in January 1996 as Metropolitan and Patriarchal Vicar to the Archdiocese of the Syrian Orthodox Church for the Eastern United States by His Holiness Patriarch Moran Mor Zakka I Iwas to serve as patriarchal vicar of the newly created Archdiocese of the Syrian Orthodox Church for the Eastern United States. He arrived in America on March 2, 1996 and was installed at Saint Mark's Cathedral.

Over the years he has represented his church on both the executive and central committees of the World Council of Churches, on the executive and governing boards of the National Council of Churches in the United States and as vice chairman of the standing conference of the Oriental Orthodox Churches in America. He has contributed to the establishment of a new ecumenical body: Christian Churches Together in the USA.

Order of Corporate Reunion