President al-Assad delegates Azzam to congratulate Patriarch Yazigi

DAMASCUS, (ST)_ President Bashar al-Assad delegated on Thursday Presidency Affairs Minister, Mansour Azzam, to congratulate Youhana Yazigi on his  election  him as Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and all the East.

At the Mariamete Cathedral in Damascus, the minister expressed wishes of success for Patriarch Yazigi in serving the Patriarchate, SANA reported.

Patriarch Youhana Yazigi headed thanksgiving prayer at the Patriarchal Monument at the Cathedral.

Youhanna, 57, hails from Latakia in Syria, where he pursued studies in civil engineering. Throughout his studies, John had a pivotal role in establishing several spiritual programmes and trained choirs in Byzantine music. In 1978, Youhanna earned a bachelor’s degree in theology from the Institute of St John Damascus Faculty of Theology at the University of Balamand. Then, he earned a doctorate in theology in 1983 from the University of Thessaloniki in Greece. Youhanna became a deacon in 1979 and a priest in 1983. In 1981, he took up teaching liturgy at the St John Damascus Faculty of Theology at Balamand University where he had previously studied, assuming the position of dean of the faculty from 1988-1991 and 2001-2005. He became the superior of the Balamand Monastery from 2001 to 2005. In 2008, he became the Antiochian Metropolitan of Western and Central Europe.

B.Qaddour