Delegated by President Assad, Jaafari Attended Late Bishop Saliba Funeral in New York
WASHINGTON,(ST)_ Delegated by President Bashar al- Assad, Syrian Permanent Representative to the UN Dr. Bashar Jaafari attended the funeral of Metropolitan Philip Saliba, Bishop of, Antioch Orthodox Church for North America and the Bishop of New York. The body of the late bishop was taken from Saint Nicholas church in Brooklyn in New York City to the Orthodox village in Pennsylvania where he was buried.
Jaafari commended positions taken by Metropolitan Saliba, his defense of Arab causes and challenging conspirators against Syria.
“The late Bishop was a man of religion, literature and history, thereby he is a big loss not only for the Orthodox Church and the Eastern Church, but all the Lebanese, Syrians, Palestinians Jordanians and Arabs, “ Jaafari said.
Jaafari stressed that Bishop Saliba was ” and will remain a great man,” adding that ” his demise is a big loss as he was a man of mission for bringing people together.”
Jaafari expressed the condolences of the Syrian leadership, government and people people for the Eastern Orthodox Church of Antioch and the family of the late Bishop. “
On March 20th, the Orthodox Church eulogized, Bishop Saliba, who was identified as one of the most personalities adherent to his Arab origin, although he spent most of his life traveling in foreign countries between Europe and North America since the 1950s.
Bishop Saliba who died at 83, rejected during the last three years of the aggression waged against Syria, all forms of foreign interference and in particular the US, aiming to fuel the crisis. He had always supported Syria ‘s position refusing projects targeting the region’s security and stability.
T. Fateh