New Middle East Central Synod Meets in Amman
Episcopal News Service. January 16, 1976 [76006]
AMMAN, Jordan -- The new Central Synod of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, which was inaugurated in historic ceremonies on January 6, 1976, held in the Collegiate Cathedral Church of St. George the Martyr in (East) Jerusalem, moved to Amman the following day for its legislative and business sessions. This was followed by three days of partnership-in-mission consultation with representatives of the Anglican Communion from England, Canada, and the United States.
The first session of the Central Synod was presided over by the Rt. Rev. and Rt. Hon. Robert Stopford, outgoing Vicar-General of the Archbishop of Canterbury in Jerusalem. The Synod proceeded to meet in secret session to elect the President Bishop of the Synod, elected from the four diocesan bishops in the Synod. Each of the four dioceses is entitled to four votes in the following orders: one each by the diocesan bishop and a priest elected by the diocesan convention and two votes by two lay persons elected by the diocesan convention. The Synod, which can meet and vote either in the three separate orders of bishops, priests, and laity, or in a joint session, decided to meet in joint session and by a majority vote elected the Rt. Rev. Hassan Dehqani Tafti, the Bishop of Iran, the President Bishop.
Bishop Dehqani-Tafti was consecrated Bishop of Iran on April 25, 1961, at the Collegiate Cathedral Church of St. George the Martyr in (East) Jerusalem. A graduate of the University of Tehran, he studied at Ridley Hall, Cambridge, and was priested in Iran in 1950. He is the oldest bishop in date of consecration in the Synod. Upon his election as President Bishop, he then presided over the Synod deliberations and Bishop Stopford returned to Jerusalem on his way back to England.
The term of office of the President Bishop will be five years and he can be re-elected for another term in five years.
The Rev. Samir Kafity, the vicar of All Saints Church in Beirut, Lebanon, Diocese of Jerusalem, was elected secretary and Mr. Wakkid, a layman from the Diocese of Egypt, was elected the honorary treasurer. The Standing Committee of the Synod is composed of these elective officers and the four diocesan bishops of the province -- The Rt. Rev. Faik Haddad, Diocese of Jerusalem; the Rt. Rev. Hassan Dehqani Tafti, Diocese of Iran; the Rt. Rev. Ishaq Musaad, Diocese of Egypt; and the Rt. Rev. Leonard Ashton, Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf.
A budget for the Synod was also adopted at the same meeting as well as several procedural policies.
Following the legislative and business sessions of the Synod, the partnership-in-mission consultation was held. Representing the United States was the Rt. Rev. Furman Charles Stough, D.D., the Bishop of Alabama and the House of Bishops' chairman of the overseas committee, and the Rev. Samuel Van Culin, the Executive Council's World Secretary in the office of National and World Mission.
On the first day, each of the four Middle Eastern diocesans gave presentations on his respective diocese, followed by questions and discussion. On the second day the representatives from the three participating Anglican provinces gave presentations of their respective provinces. This was followed by small group discussions marked by openness and a readiness for cooperative response to the many needs of the four dioceses. The fourth day the group met as a while and developed overall strategies and policies for the province.
The sessions of the consultations were open to guests and observers. The Rev. Samir J. Habiby, rector of St. Anselm's Parish, Garden Grove, Calif., attended the sessions as a special guest and consultant for Bishop Haddad.
The Diocese of Jerusalem served as the host for the Synod and the consultation. The Parish of the Redeemer in Amman hosted several receptions and dinners for all participants.
Bishop Dehqani-Tafti arrived in the United States in mid-January for a visit. Bishop Haddad expects to come to the United States later in the year.