Patriarch Yazigi: No room for extremism and terrorism in Syria
DAMASCUS,(ST)_ Marking the Easter, a huge mass was held yesterday at the Cathedral of Mary for the Greek Orthodox in Damascus Easter chaired by Patriarch John X Yazigi, of Antioch and All the East for Greek Catholics, who was assisted by a number of bishops and priests.
In the Easter’s sermon, Patriarch Yazigi called on the Syrian expatriates to support their brothers at home at the time of distress, appealing to the God Almighty ” that everyone understands that violence bill is much more expensive than that of peace and that Syria, who invented the alphabet is worthy to remain the bride of the alphabet not a hotbed of extremism and terrorism.”
On the two bishops, kidnapped by armed terrorist groups in rural Aleppo, John Abraham and Paul Yazigi, Patriarch Yazigi, said that only the sin committed by Bishops John and Paul is that they are the messengers of peace,, adding “ we are all doomed to be the messengers of peace and to coexist, Muslims and Christians.”
He regretted that freedom which for others means destroying crosses of churches and monasteries, burning of houses and mosques and undermining coexistence we have been sharing with our Muslim brothers,, noting “ our freedom, and Spring are based on coexistence to carry the burdens of our wounded home land.
“From Maloula which speaks the language of Jesus Christ, we extend his resurrection to every place in Syria: Damascus, Aleppo, Homs Horan and its mountain, Latakia and Tartous and Idlib, Hama, and Raqqa, the bride Euphrates.” The bishop added.
He renewed the call of peace for all the Syrian people, Muslims and Christians calling God to preserve Syria‘s President Bashar al- Assad.
Noteworthy that Easter celebrations for this year were limited to prayers and masses in churches and houses of worship, in view of the current conditions experienced by Syria, in honor of the lives of the martyrs who sacrificed their blood and themselves for the sake of their homeland and as an expression of the unity and national solidarity of the Syrian people.
T. Fateh