ACNS 4244 | MIDDLE EAST | 09 FEBRUARY 2007
A statement from the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East
Members of the Central Synod of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East met in Cyprus on 5th February, 2007 and unanimously agreed the following statement:
We rejoice that the four Dioceses of the Province were fully represented at the meeting. We were glad to welcome Bishop Suheil Dawani, Co-Adjutor Bishop in Jerusalem, as an observer. Bishop Kenneth Cragg led us in a challenging meditation. We were greatly encouraged by the good spirit that marked the meeting.
We express our great appreciation for the leadership of the Most Reverend Clive Handford as President Bishop during the past five years, and for his many years of faithful service in the Province.
We affirm our gratitude for the devoted ministry of the Right Reverend Riah Abu El-Assal in the Diocese of Jerusalem and assure him of our prayers as he approaches retirement.
We were conscious that our meeting was taking place only days before the meeting of the Primates of the Communion in Tanzania. We send to the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Primates the assurance of our prayers at this crucial juncture in the life of the Communion.
We represent a Province which spans many countries and differing cultures. From the diverse backgrounds and knowing that questions of human sexuality will be part of the agenda of the Primates' Meeting, we wish to affirm the Lambeth 1998 Resolution No. 1.10 as expressing the current mind of the Communion. We see the Windsor Report, as interpreted by the Primates at Dromantine, as the way forward for a united and effectively witnessing Communion. We commit ourselves to the ongoing Listening Process.
We agreed to the request of the Diocese of Egypt for the creation of a new Episcopal Area in the Horn of Africa.
We received a request from the Diocese of Iran for the appointment of Bishop Azad Marshall, currently Episcopal Vicar General, as the Diocesan Bishop and were happy to endorse this proposal.
Officers elected for the next five-year term are:-
President Bishop: The Right Reverend Mouneer Hanna Anis Provincial Secretary: The Reverend Hanna Mansour Provincial Treasurer: The Reverend Canon William Schwartz Other appointments were of the Right Reverend Azad Marshall as Anglican Consultative Council Representative and The Right Reverend Suheil Dawani as Provincial Liaison Bishop for the Mission to Seafarers.
Bishop Mouneer will be affirmed as Primate in a ceremony in All Saints Cathedral in Cairo on 18th April, 2007.
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