Damascus, December 13, 2024
Photo: orthodoxianewsagency.gr
For the time being, the people of the Antiochian Patriarchate are safe, say Church hierarchs.
In a phone conversation yesterday, His Beatitude Patriarch John of Antioch informed Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens about the current situation in Syria, reporting that at present the clergy and people of the ancient Patriarchate are safe, reports the Orthodoxia News Agency.
Pat. John requested prayers from the sister Church of Greece, and Abp. Ieronymos assured that the Church of Greece will, as always, stand by the Church of Antioch.
Many Orthodox primates and hierarchs have expressed their support, via letter or phone call, for the Patriarchate of Antioch and its people during this time of upheaval, as Islamist rebels have taken over the country.
His Eminence Metropolitan Ephraim, hierarch over the historically Christian city of Aleppo, has also reported that calm prevails there, with people moving about normally.
As he reports, the previous days were very difficult, as the residents of Aleppo, fearing what would happen when the rebels entered the city, left hurriedly, though now residents have begun to return”
We’re well and the flock is well. People started returning to Aleppo because they had left in the first days, in the first moments they were afraid of the situation. We too were worried and didn’t know what would happen when the rebels came in and took control of the city, what would become of us Christians. Now all these things have been clarified and we are no longer worried. Of course we’re waiting to see what will happen but we’re not worried at all because they reassured us and told us that they won’t harm us and won’t harm anyone.
However, though Aleppo is peaceful for the time being, “in other cities there is great unrest,” the hierarch added.
“We don’t know what will happen, they are stealing, killing, many things are happening especially in Damascus,” Met. Ephraim said earlier this week.
The biggest problem today in Aleppo, as His Eminence Metropolitan Ephraim says, is the lack of cash due to banks not operating and the increase in prices.
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