His Beatitude Ignatius IV, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East is currently visiting the United States. His Beatitude arrived in New Jersey on Tuesday October 16th, 2012, and will reside at the Archdiocese Headquarters in Englewood, New Jersey while he is here. On Thursday October 18th, His Beatitude will preside over a meeting of the executive staffs of the St. John of Damascus Institute of Theology of the University of Balamand, and the Antiochian House of Studies. The goal is to finalize a plan by which a cooperative effort will offer the opportunity for students to earn advanced theological degrees. On Friday October 19th, 2012, His Beatitude will attend a ceremony in New York where he will bestow the honor of the Order of Saints Peter and Paul upon His Excellency Issam Fares, the former Deputy Prime Minister of Lebanon. This is the highest award granted by the Patriarchate of Antioch. He will preside over the Liturgy at St. Nicholas Cathedral in Brooklyn, New York on Sunday October 21.
