Official Statement of Antiochian Patriarchate About Jerusalem Patriarchate: It only pretends to tell the truth!
August 10, 2015 (Source: http://antiochpatriarchate.org/en)
The Patriarchate of Jerusalem recently issued a statement claiming that it pretends to «tell the truth with honesty,» regarding its aggression toward the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Antioch and regarding establishing an Archdiocese in Qatar under its jurisdiction. The Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East asserts first of all that it keeps itself above public media debates. However, the Patriarchate now considers itself obliged to clarify certain points regarding the above-mentioned statement in order “to tell the truth with honesty.”
1-Partictial conditions did not allow the Church of Antioch to be present in Qatar during the period of time in question. This does not mean that the Church of Antioch is a newly established Church in “Arabia.” Suffice it to note that the Church of Antioch has been ministering to the Christians in that region since the dawn of Christianity. In the modern era, the actual presence of Antioch was gradually strengthened in that region. On 1953, the church of Antioch had an Archdiocese there. The Church of Antioch historically and in the present time has an Archdiocese which encompasses the entire region, and is led by a Metropolitan who lives in its midst, and ministers to the Orthodox Christian people of various nationalities. A number of successive Metropolitans have been ministering to this Archdiocese up to this day. Thus, the question must be asked: Why didn’t the Patriarchate of Jerusalem ever object to the presence of Antioch, if it believes that it has ecclesiastical jurisdiction over Qatar?
