At 1:14 p.m. on Thursday, August 25, Metropolitan Joseph’s administrative assistant, Mariline Abou Hamad, sent the following email on behalf of Father Thomas Zain, Vicar General of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese, to the clergy of the Archdiocese in response to Orthodoxy in Dialogue’s reporting over the preceding three days. For context see the Metropolitan Joseph: The Scandal section in our Archives 2020-22 linked at the top of this page.

Beloved Brothers in Christ:

As you may now be aware, there has been an accusation (of a violation of the Church canons) against His Eminence Metropolitan Joseph. The Antiochian Archdiocese takes all accusations against a clergyman very seriously and investigates them for the protection of all parties concerned. His Eminence denies the accusation against him and asks that you keep him in your prayers during this difficult time.

Please refrain from commenting on this subject or sharing anything you see about it in traditional and social media. Encourage others to do the same and direct them to this statement that appears at https://www.antiochian.org/regulararticle/1317. If you are contacted by a member of the news media for comment, please refer that person to Subdeacon Peter Samore, the director of our Department of Communications, at communications@antiochian.org.

Your Brother in Christ,

Archpriest Thomas Zain
Vicar General

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