London – November 2005. The British and Irish Delegation will be hosting a Royal Gala Dinner in the presence of our Grand Prefect, His Royal Highness The Duke of Calabria and Her Roayl Highness The Duchess of Calabria in London on Monday 14 November 2005 at 1 Whitehall Place, London SW1. The guest of honour and guest speaker will be His Beatitude Patriarch Gregorios III of Antioch & all of the East of Alexandria and of Jerusalem.His Beatitude will be visiting London especially for the occasion and will deliver a speech entitled “The fate of the Christian communities in the Middle East”.
His Beatitude entered the Seminary of the Holy Savior of the Basilian Salvatorian Fathers in Shoof, Lebanon in 1943. He took simple religious vows in the Basilian Salvatorian Order in 1949 and his solemn religious vows in 1954. He received his religious and philosophy education at the Holy Savior Seminary. He continued his Theological studies in Rome where he obtained the Doctorate degree in Oriental Theology at the Pontifical Oriental Institute. He was superior of the Holy Savior Major Seminary in 1961-64.
In 1962, His Beatitude founded the magazine “Al-Wahdah”-Unity in the Faith, the first ecumenical magazine to be published in the Arabic language. In 1966, he founded the Providence Home, at Salhiyeh, near Saida, Lebanon, as an orphanage and a trade school.
In 1974, he was appointed Administrator of the Patriarchal Vicariate of Jerusalem. In 1976, in Jerusalem, he founded the “Student Fund” to help needy students and in 1978 the Family Assistance Fund to help needy families in the troubled areas of his Diocese. In 1967, he founded at the Patriarchate the Oriental Library to promulgate the knowledge of Eastern tradition. He initiated many social projects such as repairing churches, opening clinics and building popular housing.
In 1981, he was ordained Archbishop and continued his work as Patriarchal Vicar of Jerusalem as successor to Archbishop Hilarion Cappucci. He is well known throughout the Middle East and Europe as an Ecumenist and a Theologian.
As Secretary of the Ecumenical Commission of the Melkite Patriarchate, he has been very active in the Dialogue between the two Sister Churches, the Melkite Greek Catholic and the Greek (Antiochian) Orthodox Churches. He is also a member of the League of the Universities and Institutes of Religious Studies in the Middle East.
The installation of the New Patriarch took place on 29 November 2000, immediately after his election by 30 Bishops assembled in a special Synod for that purpose. The Patriarch also played host to Pope John Paul II on the occasion of his pastoral visit to the Syrian Arab Republic in 2001.
The dress code for the occasion will be white tie/black tie/national dress/papal uniform with decorations. Invitations cost £125 per person and include a drinks reception followed by a three-course dinner with wines. Invitations are still available through the Chancery.
For more information please contact the Chancery on +44 (0) 20 6594 0275; Fax: +44 (0) 20 6594 0275; e-mail info@constantinian.org.uk