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His Beatitude Ieronymos II, the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece visits the Holy Father

MA`ARRET SAIDNAYA, SYRIA: On the evening of Tuesday January 25, 2011, His Beatitude Ieronymos II, the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece and the accompanying delegation were given a warm welcome at the St. Ephrem Syriac Orthodox Monastery in Ma’arrat Saidnaya, Damascus. His Holiness Mor Ignatius Zakka-I Iwas the Patriarch of Antioch & All the East and the supreme head of the Universal Syriac Church, along with the Metropolitans and clergy of the holy Church received the delegation at the Monastery hall.

Later the delegation was welcomed to the St. Peter & St. Paul’s Cathedral where a special meeting was convened in honor of the visiting Archbishop. His Excellency Dr. Mohammed Abdul-Sattar al-Sayyed, Minister of Awqaf (Religious Endowments) who arrived there on a special invitation from His Holiness was accompanied by a galaxy of Muslim scholars and directors of various institutions and colleges in Damascus. The Ambassador of Greece to Damascus, bishops and heads of Christian communities in Damascus, and some of the elders of the Syriac community in Damascus also participated in the meeting. Speaking on the occasion, the Minister H.E. Mohammad Abdul-Sattar al-Sayyed recalled the significant role of Syria in building the human civilization adding to its prosperity. The Minister highlighted the importance of spreading the culture of dialogue and exchange of ideas and strengthening the concept of religious fraternity and its role in spreading peace, security and stability in the world.

Welcoming the delegation His Holiness the Patriarch emphasized the importance of the visit of Archbishop Ieronymos II in activating warm relations between the churches in Syria and Greece. His Holiness requested for further cooperation between the Churches so that wider ecumenical forum can be formed. Archbishop Ieronymos II, in turn, agreed with Patriarch on the significance of enhancing dialogue and sharing ideas between the churches in the two countries in a spirit of amity to serve the interests of their friendly peoples. H.B. also recalled the historical relations between the two Churches and stressed the need for continuous interaction. Metropolitans Their Eminences Mor Osthatheos Matta Roham, Mor Silwanus Petrus, Mor Titus Yeldo, Mor Philexinos Mattias Nais, Mor Clemis Daniel Kourieh, Mor Dionysius Yuhnon Kawaq, Mor Iwanis Paulos, and Mor Dionysius Behnam Jajawi, and a large number of priests and monks and students of the Faculty of Theology were also present during the meeting.

The Western Archdiocese of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch, providing spiritual guidance and leadership to the Syriac Orthodox community, is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit, tax-exempt organization comprised of 10 churches and parishes in 17 western states. It was established in 1952 as the Archdiocese of the Syrian Orthodox Church encompassing the entire United States and Canada. In November 1995 by the Holy Synod, the Western Archdiocese was formed to exclusively serve the 17 states of the western half United States.

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