FRATERNAL DELEGATES AT 15TH GENERAL CONGREGATION
Catholic.net
Rome’s Zenit News
Oct 15, 2008
CT
VATICAN CITY, OCT. 15, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Here are summaries of the
interventions given by the fraternal delegates Tuesday afternoon at
the 15th general congregation of the world Synod of Bishops, which is
under way in the Vatican through Oct. 26. The theme of the assembly
is on "The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church."
* * *
— Rev. Archibald Miller MILLOY, Secretary General of "United Bible
Societes" (GREAT BRITAIN)
The United Bible Societies (UBS) considers it a great honour to have
been invited to attend the Synod as a Special Guest. The United Bible
Societies traces theclose collaboration it enjoys with the Catholic
Church at parish, national and global level to the promulgation
of the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, Dei Verbum,
the fruit of the Second Vatican Council. Dei Verbum gave Catholic
Christians the explicit commission to work on Bible translations,
and to do so in collaboration with their sisters and brothers of
other denominations. Specifically, the call within Dei Verbum that
"Easy access to Sacred Scripture should be providedfor all the
Christian faithful" has seen the UBS complete 134 translations in
collaboration with the Catholic Church over these past 40 years. The
Instrumentum Laboris is surely right when it says such ‘easy access’
is a prerequisite for mission today. It is therefore to be regretted
that in only 438 of the world’s 7,000 languages is there a translation
of the complete Bible. The UBS is currently involved in 646 translation
projects world-wide.
During the Synod, the UBS will sign a new Joint Partnership with
the Catholic Biblical Federation to give testimony to the growing
collaboration that is enjoyed by the two organisations today. Indeed,
many, many Catholics are now active members of Bible Societies
across the world. The Synod was made aware of a new project, ‘May
They Be One’ -launched recently by the Episcopal Commission for the
Biblical Apostolate (ECBA) of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of
the Philippines and the Bible Society in that country.
[Original text: English]
— H. E. MARK [Sergej Golovkov], Bishop of Yegorievsk, Vice-President
of the Department for Foreign Ecclesiastical Relations of the
Patriarchate of Moscow (RUSSIAN FEDERATION)
As the representative of the Russian Orthodox Church I would like
to tell you about my historical experience tied to the theme of the
Sacred Scriptures.
>From the moment of its conversion to Christianity, in the 10th Century,
Russia has received the Holy Scriptures in its own language. Since
then, faith in Christ was indissolubly connected to the study of
the Bible. The first book printed in Russia was the "Apostle" —
a liturgical book containing the Book of Acts and the Letters of the
Holy Apostles. With the evolution of the spoken word, even the text
in the Slav translation was changed gradually. The Orthodox Church
believes that it is important for the Holy Scriptures to be available
to all. Reading the Bible in the Church during liturgical functions,
however, represents the most valid way of hearing it. Together with
the availability of Biblical texts, the main principle for their
understanding is achieving the tradition. Orthodox theology does not
deny new studies concerning the sacred texts. Despite this, we believe
that the interpretation of the Biblical texts is closely connected to
explanations left to us by the Fathers of the Church. Faithfulness
to tradition is the sure path that helps one from losing oneself in
the many opinions. Our Church does not exclude other paths for the
encounter between today’s man with the Book of Books. Especially,
during the last few years, recordings with readings from the Gospel
and from the Psalms have been produced. The same thing has happened
with materials for children: these are evangelical texts adapted to
children’s understanding and stories on the events in Sacred History.
[Original text: Italian]
— H. E. SILUAN [Ciprian Å~^pam], Archbishop of Orthodoxa Romena
Church of Italy (ITALY)
First of all we would like to express a warm greeting to all the
bishops and delegates present at the XII Assembly of the Synod of
Bishops of the Catholic Church, having arrived from all over the world,
united in these days in Rome.
The theme of this Synod is "The Word of God in the Life and Mission of
the Church". There is a common concern in our Churches to underline and
reassert the role that the Divine Word has in the missionary dynamics
at the beginning of the 21st century. In this sense, we would like
to let you know with joy, that our Romanian Orthodox Church, through
the unanimous voice of its bishops, has declared the year 2008 as the
"Jubilee Year of Holy Scripture and of Holy Liturgy". This underlines
the organic and inseparable connection between the Sacred Scripture and
the Holy Liturgy, between the Word of God and the Holy Eucharist. The
entire liturgical treasures of the Orthodox Church are deeply marked
by the words of the Holy Scriptures that penetrate prayer and the hymns
the faithful hear during the various celebrations they participate in.
Even the readings done during the different offices go back to a
considerable number of words inspired by God through the mouths of
the prophets and the Apostles, as well as the books of Wisdom and
the Psalms. In the first place, among the books of Holy Scripture
most used by our traditional worship, the pericope taken from the
letters of Saint Paul the Apostle can be found. We believe that
the missionary zeal of Saint Paul can inspire us in today’s European
secularized context and prayer will be of great help in our missionary
activities. In conclusion, congratulating you for having chosen to
debate on such an inspired theme, we would like to express our wish
that the works of the XII Assembly of the Synod of Bishops bear
abundant spiritual and pastoral fruits for all those participating.
[Original text: Italian]
— H. E. ARMASH [Hagop Nalbandian], First Bishop of Damascus (SYRIA)
The Word of God in Armenia had already been proclaimed in the First
Century by the Apostles Thaddeus and Bartholomew, who after their
missionary action died as martyrs. The proclamation of the Word of
God in the following three centuries bore fruit, to the extent that,
in 301, Armenia proclaimed Christianity as its state religion, the
first nation in the world to do so.
Over the centuries, Sacred Scripture and the exegesis of the Word
characterized the doctrine and the theology of the Armenian Church. The
Word of God has become, in fact, the true content of the lives of
Armenians, accompanying them during the persecutions. I would like to
mention just one example of the more recent past. How could we have
survived the genocide if we did not believe in the force of the Word,
giver of life? Faith in the Word made flesh, in his Crucifixion and
above all in his Resurrection, giver of life, gave us the strength to
overcome the genocide. The Armenian people, through its martyrdom,
bore a witness which today still forges the Christian identity of
each Armenian. The Word of God has been and is the source of hope
and survival.
What is the situation of the proclamation of the Word of God in
Armenia today?
Armenia is a post-Soviet country. What the situation during the
Soviet era was is well-known. After the fall of the Soviet Union,
today in Armenia, there is a spiritual awakening and a deep interest in
listening to the Word of God. The number of Bible groups and persons
who attend Church are increasing. This new attraction of listening
more to the Word can, according to me, be explained in three points:
1. Learning and knowing the Bible and participating in the Eucharist
and in prayer, one can find one’s roots. It is our ancestors’ faith,
the faith of our grandparents and parents.
2. Professing Christianity, one feels part of the wider world,
a member of the greater community of the Church of Christ.
3. The desire to read the Bible, understand it, study it… Because for
70 years, we were lied to and now we wish to finally learn the truth.
The daily situation leads us to hearing the Word. The possibility to
listen to the Word comes in many forms and types. The Word of God can
be experienced and listened to even outside of Mass. The Proclamation
of the Word must be aimed, so as to enter into the heart and the
soul of the persons. The Word must have a ,meaning that guides the
Christian. The situations in life help us look for the Word, then as
servants of the Church and proclaimers of the Word we must turn to the
listeners and the faithful, to learn to know about their situations and
experiences of life. Their situations of life and their expectations
must supply the key to open their hearts. The message of salvation
must be an answer to their needs and afflictions.
This, today, is the invitation to hear the Word of God.
[Original text: German]
— H. E. Rev. Nicholas Thomas WRIGHT, Bishop of Durham, Anglican Church
(GREAT BRITAIN)
1. We face the same challenges as you: not only secularism and
relativism, but also postmodernity. Uncertainy here breeds anxiety:
(a) the Bible might tell us unwelcome things; (b) its message might
be stifled.
2. A fourfold reading of scripture as the love of God: heart (Lectio
Divina, liturgical reading); mind (historical/critical study); soul
(church life, tradition, teaching) and strength (mission, kingdom of
God). These must be balanced.
3. In particular, we need fresh mission-oriented engagement with our
own culture. Paragraph 57 of the Instrumentum Laboris implies that
Paul’s engagement merely purifies and elevates what is there in the
culture. But Paul also confronts pagan idolatry, and so must we. In
particular, we must engage critically with the tools and methods of
historical/critical scholarship themselves.
4. The climax of the Canon is Jesus Christ, especially his cross
and resurrection. These events are not only salvific. They provide a
hermeneutical principle, related to the Jewish tradition of ‘critique
from within’.
5. Mary as model: Fiat (mind); Magnificat (strength); Conservabat
(heart) – but also Stabat, waiting patiently in the soul, the tradition
and expectation of the church, for the new, unexpected and perhaps
unwelcome, but yet saving, revelation.
–Boundary_(ID_NrrxqjbMIkNcgWkebHaOQQ )–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
