As is known, His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia was invited to be the keynote speaker on the occasion of the 50th anniversary since the establishment of the St John of Damascus Institute of Theology at the University of Balamand, Lebanon. The theme that he discussed over the internet concerned contemporary issues in Bioethics.
His Eminence warmly thanked, primarily, His Beatitude Patriarch John of Antioch for the invitation and wholeheartedly congratulated the new and worthy Dean of the Theological College, Archimandrite Jacob Halil, as well as the professors and all the staff for the work they perform. He naturally praised the work and contribution of the Theological Institute of Balamand to the Orthodox world but, at the same time, he did not fail to express his bitterness for the fact that in a year, it will be half a century since the closure of a large and historic Theological School – that of Halki. “Unfortunately, it is almost 50 years since the Turkish government closed the Theological College in Halki. Fifty years of silence, injustice and bitterness”, he said in his closing remarks and added: “But at the same time we are optimistic. We never lose hope. We are waiting for God’s time to come.”