His Beatitude Patriarch John X in the…

 

 

Upon the invitation of His Eminence, Metropolitan Ghattas Hazim (Baghdad, Kuwait and Dependencies), His Beatitude Patriarch John X, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, started his pastoral visit to the parish of Muscat in the Sultanate of Oman.

 

His Beatitude started the first day with a thanksgiving prayer at Saint Arethas of Najran Church -Muscat, with the participation of a number of eminent Metropolitans, Fathers of the Holy Antiochian Synod, and a group of priests and deacons, in the presence of the representative of the Minister of Awqaf, Mr. Ahmad Al Bahri - Director of the Ministry of Religious affairs and the ambassadors in the Sultanate: Idris Mia (Syria), Albert Samaha (Lebanon), Ilya Morgonov (Russia), Dr. Tayseer Ali Farhat (Palestine), Amjad Al-Qahawi (Jordan), Andreas Nikolayes (Cyprus), Elias Nikolakopoulos (Greece), representative of the World Health Organization Professor Jean Jabbour, the pastors of the churches in Muscat, a large number of the parishioners of the Antiochian patriarchate from Muscat, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, and Syria, along with other invitees.

After the thanksgiving prayer, Lara Issa welcomed His Beatitude and the participating delegations: "Our payer today is a meeting on God’s love”.

 

His Eminence, Metropolitan Ghattas (Hazim) then delivered his speech:

 

“This is the day the Lord has made. He is the one who blessed this place, this is the resurrection in hope and the fulfillment of dreams, it is true that the joy today wouldn’t have been complete without the presence and blessings of His Beatitude, and the presence of the believers, this church was not built for God Unity, but for the extension of the real establishment that is reflected in the hearts of parishioners".

 

He added: "Your Beatitude, you are in the Sultanate of Oman, the country of love, peace and human fraternity, we are all God’s children, these are the principles of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said bin Taimur, God rest his soul, who donated a plot to build this church, and this path was followed by His Majesty Haitham bin Tariq so this church became cross-sectarian and represents the Parish’s unity.”

 

Metropolitan Hazim concluded: “I would like to thank everyone who worked hard and contributed to the completion of this church, including Archimandrite Dimitri Mansour, the Lebanese engineer Simon Karam, as well as donors and friends, whose efforts resulted in establishing a church that we celebrate today in a heavenly joy.”

 

In his speech, the representative of the Minister of Awqaf, Mr. Ahmad Al Bahri expressed the Sultanate's pride and joy in this event held under the patronage of His Beatitude Patriarch John X, thanking the church officials for their efforts in establishing this church, as a symbol of love and peace.

 

His Beatitude thanked Mr. Al-Bahri: “My joy today is great to be among you, and I thank God for being in the Sultanate of Oman, praying among our people and loved ones. I greet in you the authenticity of faith wherever you are, I revive in you the seed of faith that the fathers have placed in your hearts and you place it in the hearts of your children as a testimony to the Lord of Resurrection”.

 

We, in this Levant, are on the same path with our Muslim brothers seeking God’s blessings. The Sultanate of Oman brought us together in this holy place, just as the holy martyr Saint Arethas of Najran gathered us, who affirmed that Christianity was never stranger to the Arabian Peninsula, and our presence here and our dedication to this Holy church is evidence of the great hospitality of the Sultanate of Oman that embraces the parishioners with love, harmony and human fraternity.”

 

Finally, His Beatitude presented to Metropolitan Ghattas a liturgical vestment, and a Tabernacles for the Church. His Beatitude also offered Archimandrite Dimitri Mansour a Holy Cross in appreciation of his contributions.

In turn, Archimandrite Dmitri Mansour presented to His Beatitude, in the name of the parishioners, a pastoral staff.

 

His Beatitude also awarded Mrs. Evelyn Karam, on behalf of her father, engineer Simon Karam, the Order of Saints Peter and Paul, and He presented to the donors as well shields of honor with the icon of Saint Arethas of Najran.

 

A documentary was screened about the establishing stages of the church until its completion, and the dream that came true in bringing together everyone in the grace of God in the house of God.