“And I will give you shepherds according to My
heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.” (Jeremiah 3:
15)
Born in
Tripoli the 6th of July 1923, archbishop of Byblos, Botris
& Mount Lebanon, Metropolitan George (Khodr) is one of the inspirers
of the renewal of the Orthodox Church in Lebanon & Syria, and one of
the most marking spiritual figures of Christianity in the Middle East.
George
Khodr lived his youth in Tripoli, Lebanon’s second city. He loved his
old Christian neighborhood (HARAT EL NASARAH), a true oasis of peace and
spirituality of which he keeps longing. In Tripoli, the 11th of
November 1943—a key date of his youth—he participated in an important
pacifist demonstration against the French colonial government which was
denouncing the Lebanese quest for independence; he saw how the tanks open
fire on unarmed people and kill eleven of his friends…
Desiring
to become an advocate, dreaming of a diplomatic carrier, he pursued his
studies in Beirut and graduated with a license in law in 1944 from the
Jesuit university of St. Joseph.
A
major date is to be marked however, the 16th of March 1942,
when together with fifteen other students from the faculties of Law and
Medicine, he founded the Orthodox Youth Movement (know as MJO—mouvement
de la jeunesse orthodoxe). When
talking about that period, metropolitan George’s eyes illuminate:
“…Full of Christ’s Spirit, burning with the Gospel, we invented a
new language… yes, in our Church the old were resuscitated through their
children.” MJO’s renewal was incarnated in a series of places and
activities: the rebirth of monasticism, the founding of biblical groups,
witnessing among the working class, opening of Christian hostels, living
the parish life, social work, etc… Today still, even if the context and
problems have changed, metropolitan George’s writings continue to
inspire a multitude of orthodox youth fully engaged in the world and in
the Church.
In
1952, he returned from Paris with a diploma in theology from l’Institut
de Theologie Orthodoxe Saint-Serge. He was ordained priest the 19th
of December 1954 and he served the parish of the port of Tripoli from 1955
until his election to the episcopate in the 15th of February
1970.
Since
then, his influence as a theologian, pastor and spiritual father has never
ceased from growing. As a sign of this radiation beyond the frontiers of
his diocese, was the title of doctor honoris causa he received from
the Saint Vladimir Institute of Orthodox Theology in New York, 1968
and that of the Faculté de Théologie Protestante de Paris in
1988.
He
worked in the education field as a professor of Arab Culture in the Lebanese
University and of Pastoral Theology in St. John of Damascus
Institute of Theology in the University of Balamand.
He
is very engaged in the ecumenical movement and in the dialogue with Islam;
he represented the Antiochian See in many pan-orthodox and ecumenical
meeting, his lectures and interventions in this domain are constantly
published in many languages.
In
addition to this, he remains a voice of regeneration in the Arab world
through his weekly articles in the Lebanese newspaper An Nahar.
His
articles, sermons, and conferences were collected and published in several
books and revues by An Nour (lit. “The light”—MJO’s
publisher), An Nahar publishing and the Archdiocese of Mount Lebanon. Some
of these books are: “The New Antioch”, “Sunday’s Word”, “Hope
in Wartime”, “Sunday’s Standpoints”, “Lebanese Issues”, “The
Movement as an enlightenment & a Calling”, “The Spirit & the
Bride”, “Places of Prostrations & The New Life”. But his main
book remains: “And If I Recounted the Paths of Childhood”, which was
translated to French: “Et si je disais les chemins de l’enfance”.
A
paragraph from his farewell sermon delivered to his parish in the Port of
Tripoli:
“…The priest is a man entrusted by God to gather His dispersed
people through Word & Sacraments; he is also commanded to edify
himself by the Gospel. Inasmuch the edification of the shepherd is
possible; inasmuch the edification of the flock on the ways of the Lord
becomes possible…
The Lord willed for me, through His grace, to depart for another place
in this country in order to also serve God’s People. I am still a novice
on the ways of righteousness. The culpability of your little brother is
shocking; I beg your forgiveness for my culpability and my sins…”
