Thursday, January 9, 2025

*** This is a rough transcript of today’s show ***

It is the 9th of January 2025. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

I’ll admit, even to the historically attuned ear, you might hear something like, “You know, the Melkite Greek Catholic Archbishop Elias Zoghby,” and that’s enough for you to hit skip, pause, or at least have your head spinning until the final word.

But I’m telling you- let’s celebrate the birthday of Melkite Greek Catholic Archbishop Elias Zoghby- but I’m going to break all that down and tell you a story of some Christians that might be foreign to you, but a surprise move towards church unity in the 20th century that bears his name.

So, “Melkite”? M-E-L-K-I-T-E from the Hebrew “Melk,” meaning “kingly”- so, these are “for the royalty.” Our context is the Middle East, and so in the early church, the “royalty” would be the Byzantine emperor.

Our context is the Christians from Antioch- one of the main centers of the early church in Antioch in modern Turkey.  Those who rejected the Council of Chalcedon in 451 (the “Oriental Orthodox”) called those who stayed “The Melkites” or “Royalists”. We could consider them “Eastern Orthodox,” so you have two main church bodies in Antioch, one Oriental Orthodox and the other- the “Melkites,” the Eastern Orthodox.

Of course, as we’ve seen lately, not only did the Council of Chalcedon in 451 cause a schism but there was a schism between the East and West in 1054- the big one!

But schisms are rarely as easy as the geographical name might suggest for there were churches in the East that sided with Rome in the West and churches in the West that sided with the Byzantine Emperor and Patriarchs in Constantinople in the East. You know, because people move and migrate- it’s the same reason I see Yankees hats on folk here on the West Coast- it can be annoying, but I suppose people are free to travel or change their minds based on convictions rather than a compass.

So- there were those at the schism of 1054 who wanted what they considered the best of both worlds- the liturgy of their homeland but the church leader of their choosing. It was in the 1700s that the church in Antioch split again- this time with the “Melkites” now pledging allegiance to the Pope in Rome.  

So, Eastern Orthodox in liturgy and a good bit of theology are part of the Roman Catholic Church. These “Melkites” would be part of what we call the “Eastern Catholic” churches.

Elias Zoghby was born into this church- the Melkite church on the 9th of January in 1912 in Cairo, Egypt. His ascent up the ranks in the Melkite church from ordination in 1936 to his role as Archbishop in 1968 is interesting enough- but you need to know he was a popular and charismatic (if not sometimes outspoken) church leader in the Middle East just coming out of the Ottoman Empire and into the geopolitical quagmire that it is today.

It might not surprise you that someone “in the middle,” as it were a Melkite with Eastern liturgy and Western authority, might be a champion of ecumenical dialogue (that is, unification talk).

He was invited to the Second Vatican Council by the Pope to help advance the case of East and West theological rapprochement it only enraged those who opposed dialogue and possible reunification without winning every point.

While Zogbhy was heard at Vatican II he was not fully convinced the Roman Catholic Church was making sure to allow those in the East who recognized their authority to nonetheless hold differences in some liturgy and practice.

Zoghby’s work emphasized that as the church grew and spread into different cultures there would be a necessary diversity of practice and belief insofar as these things will be blended with indigenous cultures. He not only sought unity between East and West but between his Melkite churches and others in the East- his Zoghby Initiative proposed the proposition that one might confess:

"I believe everything which Eastern Orthodoxy teaches."

"I am in communion with the Bishop of Rome as the first among the bishops, according to the limits recognized by the Holy Fathers of the East during the first millennium, before the separation.” 

Zoghby would officially retire in 1988 but remained an active participant in the church and in his call for church unity from his home in Lebanon until his death in 2008- born on this day in 1912, he was 95 years old.

  

The last word for today is from the daily lectionary and 1 Corinthians 1.

18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written:

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
    the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”

20 Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. 22 Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

 

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 9th of January 2025, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man who was sure that Zogbhy’s was an overly gimmicky chicken restaurant in the South.. he is  Christopher Gillespie.coffee.

The show is written and read by a man who Acknowledges Popeye’s as the OTC of fast food Chicken Sandwiches- I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.