Mar Nasrallah Peter Cardinal Sfeir is the legitimate successor of Patriarch Cyril VI who was duly elected in 1724. The Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, Ignatius IV, is the successor of Sylvester of Antioch, a Greek monk who was imposed upon Antioch by the Patriarch Jeremias III of Constantinople who declared Ignatius’ election invalid. Of course we must ask by what right did the Patriarch of Constantinople have in interfering with the autocephalous church of Antioch?
“Mar Nasrallah Peter Cardinal Sfeir is the legitimate successor of Patriarch Cyril VI who was duly elected in 1724.”
Um, no. Pat. Cyril VI is the predecessor of the Melkite Patriarch, not the Maronite cardinal. Cyril VI was excommunicated by the EP for being a supporter of the Pope and his claims of universal jurisdiction. In this act the EP was supported by the rest of the Orthodox patriarchs and a new patriarch was appointed who was accepted by the Orthodox Patriarchs. You should try to get your patriarchs straight, P.
BTW, I had dinner just the other night with the niece of the great and holy +Maximos V, of blessed memory. She is a charming lady, who, like many in the late Patriarch’s family, has almost nothing good to say about Rome. Her son is one of my best friends.