Intervention of Mons. Krikor-Okosdinos COUSSA, Bishop of Alexandria of the Armenians (EGYPT)

Prayer
“It is through him, by faith, that we have been admitted into God's favor in which we are living, and look forward exultantly to God's glory. Not only that; let us exult, too, in our hardships, understanding that hardship develops perseverance, and perseverance develops a tested character, something that gives us hope, and a hope which will not let us down, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given to us” (Rom 5:2/5).
Most Holy Father ,
Beatitudes and Eminences,
Brother priests, monks, sisters and lay persons,
in my intervention I deal with numbers 120-123 that speak about hope.
“Be joyful in hope (your hope), persevere in hardship; keep praying regularly” (cf Rom 12:12).
In the joy of hope, perseverance in hardship and regular prayer, we share the experiences and the reflection on our commitment within our Churches on the patrimonial, cultural, historical, theological, liturgical and spiritual levels in a distinct way, a commitment that derives from our liturgical traditions because we are asked to make of this variety a means to enrich our different societies and to strengthen the unity of the Church of Christ and to witness faith, hope and salvation.
Abraham walked in this region of the world, our father in faith, and with him all his descendants. It is in Abraham that all Christians are called to answer God’s plea and abandon themselves to him to target true life. In this land God achieved the plan of His love, He sent His only Son, Jesus the Nazarene, to save the world and to gather the dispersed.
In Christ all the divine promises were realized, achieving victory over death and confirming hope in us.
Therefore it is from the Orient that the light of the Gospel has risen.
From the Orient the renaissance of evangelization and the mission sprung forth.
This is why this mission showed us how to build our churches and convents, our homes, our schools and our institutions on men and the sun and the wind.

We do not live in isolated caves or tunnels so that all men, whatever their religion or culture, can clearly see what we are doing. Our windows are large and made of transparent glass, “and light shines in darkness” (Jn 1:5).
Our witness and our communion are realized through this task in the land where divine providence wanted us to live and achieve our vocation, our faith and our mission.
This reason is subjected to the strongest and the greatest dangers. She wavers therefore between war and peace and in her also we can look for a new form of international relationships that is more respectful of the rights of man, of peoples and of their freedom.
Cohabitation wins over all disputes for the encounter of each with the other, with the Muslims and with the Jews as well.
Sometimes we feel threatened by fear, by despair and by persecution, and we forget that our Christian presence is linked to the dimension of our faith and its depth. The fundamental challenge for us is to realize ourselves as witnesses of the Redemptoris hominis in our lives, through our words and our actions in front of our non-Christian brothers.
From there we ask ourselves: what meaning does this Orient have if we are absent? My intervention is a message of hope addressed to the Christians so that they may see in the East the source of the hope of Christ who was born, crucified and rose again there.
The weapon of Christianity is not built in factories and does not come out of the earth taking on a form, a shape or any sort of color.
The weapon of Christianity is charity. This consists in raising bridges between man and his fellow man, so that there is neither near nor far. And if man can discover this weapon, he discovers himself and thereby knows his position. And when he knows, he loves, when he loves, he gives, and when he gives, he is reassured, and when he is reassured, he is stabilized, and when he is stabilized, he is exempt of all vice and pestilence.
Our hope is to live in peace. Let us therefore hold out our hands to Muslims and to Jews with a Christian hope and new life. Let us say to the Jews: stop killing the innocents and do not forget what you are told in the Talmud: in each man I see God.
Let us hold our hands out to our Muslim brothers in the hope for a cohabitation that allows the building of one nation, one society held up by charity, fraternity, understanding and dialogue.
The Church announces charity and fights against iniquity and fanaticism. She spreads education and does not work for herself but rather for the glory of God the supreme and confirmed hope.
We expect from this Synod that we manage to achieve the wish which is to continue our work in favor of that longed-for hope despite the trials and tribulations that surround us, so that witness and communion can only mature in the calamities and vicissitudes whose fruit is charity.

[00167-02.01] [IN107] [Original text: Arabic]