GREAT COMPLINE IN THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY CROSS WITH THE ARCHBISHOP OF ATHENS AND THE ACCOMPANYING DELEGATION

 

Antioch Patriarchate بطريركية أنطاكية وسائر المشرق للروم الأرثوذكس‎ έ

Great Compline in the Church of the Holy Cross with the Archbishop of Athens and the Accompanying Delegation.

Damascus, March 21, 2023.

Their Beatitudes, the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, Ieronymos II, and the Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, John X, held the service of the Great Compline in the Church of the Holy Cross in Damascus. The prayer was attended from the Greek side by His Eminence Symeon, Metropolitan of Fthiotida, Archdeacon John, Mr. Kostas Themitsas, Director of the "Apostoli" organization, and the media team. From the Antiochian side, Their Eminences Metropolitan Saba Esber (New York and North America), Metropolitan Basilios Mansour (Akkar), Metropolitan Ephrem Maalouli (Aleppo), and Bishops Moussa Al-Khoury, Youhanna Batach, and Moses al-Khosi attended the prayer.

At the end of the prayer, His Beatitude welcomed the guests in a city that historically gave many saints, such as Saint John of Damascus, the Theologian. His Beatitude also thanked the Archbishop for his presence and the accompanying delegation for this manifestation of love and appreciated the efforts made to reach the aid during the coming days and distribute it to the families affected by the earthquake, and His Beatitude conveyed all the love and respect to our brethren in Greece.

For his part, the Archbishop expressed his feeling of a new birth, as he is currently in a land that is the origin of many saints. He emphasized that the great ordeal caused by the earthquake and the great loss of life and property made the Greek people express their impact on this tangible action; hence, they sent aid. He also insisted that the love of the archpriests, the priests, the faithful, and the Greek government is what made him present today with the accompanying delegation, to convey the love of everyone in a tangible and concrete way.

 

He mentioned that aid was sent directly to Turkey, but the Greek Holy Synod wanted them to come to us today and be with us. He concluded that the atmosphere of brotherhood witnessed by this visit contributed to the revival of faith in man because, as mentioned in the Book of Proverbs, a brother that is helped by his brother is like a strong city.