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Join Syrian Christians in prayer for the situation in Syria

Patriarchate News--The Council of Bishops of the Christian Churches of Damascus, Syria, met on Thursday 16 June 2011 at the Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East to discuss the current sad situation which is sweeping over Syria—the country of civilizations and the cradle of heavenly religions. The Council of Bishops condemned the foreign interference in Syria, and asked the Syrian citizens to be united. They asked Almighty God to enlighten the minds of the people, feed love in their hearts, and spread security and peace all over the country. The Bishops continued their statement by saying:

Today and more than ever before, we refer to prayer and fasting for the sake of the safety of Syria, the country of tolerance and coexistence. Our hope is that Syria will overcome this crisis to find itself in a better shape which may protect it from any danger that might threaten its existence, or divide it, or lead its citizens to seek refuge into other countries. Every drop of blood that is shed from any Syrian citizen, it is shed from the entire Syrian body. St. Paul refers to the body of Christ our Savior when saying: “If one part of the body suffers, all the other parts suffer with it” [1 Cor. 12:26a].

At a time when our beloved country Syria is living in vigorous days, the Holy Church is living the time of "Pentecost", which is the time of the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles, and the time of the foundation of the Church and launching the process of evangelization all over the universe in a spirit of love, peace, tolerance and acceptance of other. These spiritual and ethical values are an integral part of human principles. The event of Pentecost is not a historical moment of the past, rather it is a renewed occurrence. From it we acquire our strength and faith, and in it we live, move, and exist.

Therefore, we call on all Christians in Syria and all other Syrian citizens who wish to join us, for a "day of fasting" on Thursday 23 June 2011, where we will gather at 6:30 pm on that day at the Holy Cross Church in Kassa' area, Damascus, to pray for peace which is a human, religious, and national responsibility. By this we deserve the blessing of being peacemakers which Our Lord Jesus Christ gave us in His saying: “Blessed are those who work for peace, God will call them his children” (Matt. 5:9).

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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