Vatican News: Pope confirms election of new Archbishop of Homs in Syria

Coat of Arms of the Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarchate
of Antioch and All the East
of Alexandria and of Jerusalem

VATICAN CITY (News.va) - The Holy Father has given his consent to the election of Archbishop Abdo Arbach, BC, to the Greek Melkite Metropolitan Archdiocese Archdiocese of Homs, Hama, andYabroud in Syria.

Archbishop Arbach was born in Yabroud on June 28, 1952. He made his final vows in the Basilian Chouerite Order of Saint John the Baptist in 1977, and was ordained to the priesthood in 1980.

On October 17, 2006, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him Apostolic Exarch for the Greek Melkite faithful residing in Argentina.

Archbishop Arbach’s election happened at the Greek Melkite Catholic Synod of the Church, which is led by Greek Melkite Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, Gregory III Laham.

At the opening of the Synod on June 18, Patriarch Laham expressed his solidarity with the Syrian people, calling them “tenacious in their quest for life, dignity and unity of their country”

He also called for the reform of the country, which he said must happen "in all fields of the political, social, cultural and administrative reality, through the efforts of all the Syrians: the government, political parties, intellectuals, constructive opposition".