Patriarch Lahham: Releasing Ma’loua Nuns to Pave Way for Freeing Kidnapped Aleppo Archbishops
BEIRUT, (ST)-Patriarch Gregorios III Laham of Antioch and All East for Melkite Greek Catholic has said that the release of Ma’loula’s St. Tecla Monastery nuns will pave the way for releasing abducted Aleppo archbishops Yohanna Ibrahim and Boulos Yazigi as well as all the kidnapped in Syria.
Interviewed by the Lebanese “al-Joumhureyya” newspaper, Patriarch Lahham stressed that “the release of the nuns wasn’t only the result of blessed efforts and initiatives, but the result of strong faith also. It wasn’t done to satisfy a specific category or sect rather it was the fruit of values which are closely connected to our Arab Mashreq heritage.”
The patriarch urged unifying efforts to restore security and stability to the region.
The nuns, who were abducted before by armed terrorist groups from the St. Tecla Monastery in Ma’loula, were released on Sunday amid a popular, religious and official reception ceremony.
H. Mustafa