Divine Liturgy with the Participation of the…

2024-01-28

 

His Beatitude Patriarch John X held the Divine Liturgy at the Church of Saint Ignatius of Antioch in Al-Malikiyah, with the participation of Metropolitan of Volokolamsk, the Most Reverend Metropolitan Anthony, Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate representing His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, Archpriest Nicolay Balashov, Archimandrite Philip representing the Russian Patriarch to the Patriarch of Antioch, and bishops Romanos (Al-Hannat), Moussa (Al-Khoury), and Ioannis (Batach), along with many priests and deacons.

The Ambassador of the Russian Federation in Syria, His Excellency Alexander Yefimov, also attended the Liturgy.

At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, His Beatitude welcomed the participating delegation and emphasized the depth of the historical relations between the Antiochian and Russian Churches.

In turn, Metropolitan Antonios expressed warmth in this meeting and conveyed the prayers and blessings of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill to His Beatitude and the Antiochian people. He thanked His Beatitude for the loving hospitality.

Then His Beatitude met with the Russian delegation and some of the Russian community in Syria residing in Damascus and Lattakia.