ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE

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The Ecumenical Patriarchate expresses its delight over two highly symbolical executive orders of the new US President

The Ecumenical Patriarchate congratulates the new President of the United States, the Hon. Joseph Biden on assuming his duties, and expresses its delight regarding two highly symbolical executive orders signed immediately after his inauguration.

1. The decision to lift the travel bans imposed on 13 nations with predominantly Muslim populations.

It should be remembered that the Ecumenical Patriarchate has for several decades initiated a formal academic dialogue with Islam and hitherto organized some 15 joint conferences to discuss issues faced by all humanity in order to promote greater understanding and mutual respect between the two monotheistic religions, while also establishing peace and solidarity throughout the world.

In the framework of this inter-religious dialogue, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has – in the 30 years of his patriarchal tenure – officially visited numerous Muslim countries, including Iran, Bahrain, Qatar, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Libya, Egypt, Morocco, and others, where he has developed fraternal relations and firm communication with religious of Islam as well as leading academic personalities.

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This article appeared earlier today on the Dayton Daily News website under the headline Priest with Ties to Area Parish Suspended after Urging, Joining U.S. Capitol Protest.

An Orthodox priest affiliated with a Dayton-area parish has been suspended after he went to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 intending to “stop the steal” of the U.S. election and prevent Joseph R. Biden Jr. from becoming the 46th president of the United States.

The Rev. Mark Hodges, an archpriest attached to St. Paul the Apostle Orthodox Church in Greene County’s Sugarcreek Twp., was “suspended from all priestly functions” effective Jan 12, according to a short notation on the Orthodox Church in America’s Diocese of the Midwest website.

“I disagree. I think it’s an unjust suspension,” Hodges told the Dayton Daily News this week.

Hodges, a Lima resident, said a three-month suspension was the direct result of his participation in the rally that saw the Capitol overrun by rioters attempting to halt a joint session of Congress from formally count Electoral College votes.

“My beloved bishop had questioned the wisdom of a priest attending,” he said. “I think part of the problem is I viewed that Stop the Steal rally as expressing extreme concern over voter fraud allegations in the 2020 election.”

Hodges said the call notifying him of the suspension came directly from Archbishop Paul Gassios, who leads the Diocese of the Midwest that includes 21 parishes in Ohio. Hodges said the archbishop could after three months extend the suspension, lift it or remove him from the priesthood.

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Orthodoxy in Dialogue is pleased to publish the present essay as part of our Academic Papers series. Check our Call for Academic Papers if you would like to participate in our ongoing project to give both new and more established scholars a wider Orthodox audience for their work.

Introduction

This paper will examine St John Damascene’s famous critique of Islam, The Heresy of the Ishmaelites (hereinafter The Ishmaelites), which is found in his most voluminous work, The Fount of Knowledge. John, who lived c. 675-750 CE, composed his treatise against Islam during the latter half of his life, while living as a monk in the Monastery of St Sabbas in Palestine. Moreover, it is with this work that John became the first Christian theologian in history to explicitly discuss Islam. So in this sense, The Ishmaelites is truly an unprecedented piece.  

It is clear that John wrote The Ishmaelites with the intention of disproving the ‘heresy’ of Islam. However, even though The Ishmaelites is at times somewhat hampered by an overly polemical approach to the Muslim faith, its merits still outweigh its flaws. As this paper will attempt to demonstrate, despite his bias, John’s critique of Islam displays a deep knowledge of the faith. In fact, his work at times offers a stunning view into what appears to be nascent Islamic beliefs and practices. Further, while my paper will not deal with each and every line of The Ishmaelites, it will take an in-depth look at the more prominent and controversial elements of John’s work.

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