The Voice of the Voiceless
Chev. Patrick M. Carney, GCTJ, GMTJ
Grand Prior XX, GPUSA
The Religious Patron of the Grand Priory of the United States and the Special Consul to OSMTH, His Eminence Archbishop Vicken Aykazian of the Armenian Orthodox Church, asked a plaintive question of the 40 Templar leaders assembled at The Mayflower Hotel in Washington DC on February 18: “When are we going to be the voice of the Voiceless?” Citing researchers who characterized Christianity as the most persecuted religion in the world in 2017, Archbishop Aykazian went on to say that Christians have the power to make a difference only if we use our wisdom and intelligence to convince leaders with secular power to DO something. He added, “If a government’s policy is to defend the Christians, there has to be dialogue with local Muslims. We cannot cut them off.”
Over two days, preeminent clerics and scholars came together in Washington under the leadership of Grand Master BG Patrick Rea. The purpose was to discuss and formulate a strategic direction for OSMTH in the Middle East – working toward a goal of improving the lives of the Christian minority in the region and helping preserve a Christian presence in the Holy Land. Archbishop Aykazian was the keynote presenter, and he gave a sobering picture of the challenges Christianity faces in the land walked by Jesus. His analysis included chilling statistics: only 500,000 Christians left in Syria, with great uncertainty about the future; only 20% of Lebanon still Christian, when there used to be a majority; perhaps 15 million Christians in Egypt but suffering heavy discrimination and lack of protection from the government; in Iraq, 25,000 houses of Christians who fled have been stolen in Baghdad, with mullahs preaching not to buy the houses, because they are already ours; and just a 1% presence of Christians in Israel, whereas the figure was  47% in 1948. He said, “And even that 1% will disappear. The US government is helping that. Jerusalem being made the capital is a disaster for the Christians. And now the administration says Jerusalem is off the table. If Jerusalem is not on the table, there is no table left!”
Archbishop Aykazian expressed his respect for the Knights Templar. “You have been in place for 1,000 years – me for 40 years.” Wrapping up his remarks, he expressed pessimism that Christianity can survive in Syria and also said Christians will not remain in Iraq unless there is a Christian region run by Christians. He took on Saudi Arabia, saying that in that country, the government supports 25,000 Islamic theological schools with 1,000 to 6,000 students each, teaching only the Koran and hatred for the West and Christianity. He closed by saying what he has maintained for 25 years, “If the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can be solved, everything else in the Middle East can be solved!”
Other key presenters at the conference were Prince Abdul Ali Seraj and Princess Salma. Prince Ali is President of the National Coalition for Dialogue with the Tribes of Afghanistan and a former candidate for President of that country, where his ancestors had ruled for centuries. Also at the table was Dame Juliana Taimoorazy, DCTJ, CMTJ, the founder of the Iraqi Christian Relief Council and a tireless advocate for her Assyrian countrymen to be able to return safely to their ancestral homeland on the Nineveh Plain of northern Iraq. She spoke with great passion of the massive displacement of these Christians within Iraq and Jordan, citing their disadvantage because the United Nations has not granted them refugee status. “Outside Iraq, Christians live in slums, “ she told the hushed room. “We must work to get supplies directly to the plains of Nineveh. The people need to feel safe as they return home.” She did express optimism and hope: “ I saw with my own eyes, amidst the destruction of ISIS, women sweeping their front stoops, and kids with backpacks walking to school.”
It was my privilege to also be a presenter at the conference, at the invitation of the Grand Master. Last fall at the OSMTH GMC meeting in Sweden, I became Chair of the Grand Priors Strategic Planning Committee. Together with the Grand Priors of NATO, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Serbia and Bulgaria, as well as the ex-officio participation of General Rea, Chancellor General Dale Starkes and Grand Commander Thomas Curtis, I have spent several months formulating strategic directives for OSMTH to pursue over the next several years. Here are the summary initiatives I presented in Washington and will advocate to the assembled Grand Priors in Athens in April:
- Focus OSMTH on the original mission of the Knights Templar: aiding Christians at Risk in the Holy Land, and keeping the Road to Jerusalem open to believers of all faiths.
- Expand the historical work of OSMTH in advocacy through support of missions at the UN, the World Council of Churches and the International Peace Bureau.
- Formulate a comprehensive approach to addressing the Evil of Terrorism, specifically terrorism directed at Christian minorities in the Middle East
- Support the Patriarchs in Jerusalem in a unified effort to aid their fundamental mission of preserving a Christian presence in the Holy Land.
- Support Faith-Based Reconciliation and bridge building between the Abrahamic faiths.
- Move forward on establishing an international Knight Templar museum and exhibition center in Tomar, Portugal.
My Brother and Sister Knights Templar, our work is perhaps as challenging as that undertaken by those nine original Knights nine centuries ago. The birthplace of Christianity is under great stress, and the followers of The Way suffer persecution in many quarters. We as Templars can rededicate ourselves to the original mission and be what the Religious Patron of GPUSA has challenged us to be: The voice of the Voiceless! May God bless you as you seek to discover your path of servitude.
With best fraternal regards; nnDnn
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