Patriarch John X of Antioch and All the East, during a meeting with a Russian parliamentary delegation in Damascus on Thursday, blessed the Russian Federation and its people for the cause of "protecting truth, peace and good for all mankind."
A joint meeting of the Russian and Syrian interdepartmental coordination headquarters for the return of refugees to their places of permanent residence was held in Damascus on Thursday. The meeting was held via videoconference between Moscow and Damascus and was attended by representatives of the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross and other humanitarian organizations which carry out tasks in Syria. After the meeting, the Russian parliamentary delegation met with John X.
"I want you to convey to the people of the Russian Federation that what you are doing now is a great cause for the protection of truth, peace and good for all mankind. And may God bless you, the members of the delegation, may God bless all the Russian people, the Russian Orthodox Church, and all Orthodox people throughout the world. In our history books in Arabic, we often refer to Russia as the great Russia. And we support in every way that the Russian Federation should play such a role at the international level, at all international platforms, such as the UN Security Council, that Russia should contribute to the triumph of truth there," the patriarch said.
He noted that the Antiochian and Russian Orthodox Churches constantly interact in matters of church life and support each other in matters aimed at the life of Orthodox Christians around the world. At the same time, he said, Orthodox Christians and Muslims in Syria feel that they are one people and reject attempts to divide themselves along religious lines.
After the meeting, the sides exchanged gifts. On behalf of the Russian parliamentarians the head of the delegation, coordinator of the Duma group on relations with the Syrian parliament Dmitry Sablin presented the patriarch with a traditional-style icon of Christ the Savior, which, according to John X, will enrich the considerable collection of Russian icons in the main orthodox temple in Damascus. In response, John X gave a handmade image of the famous bell tower in Syria, to the construction of which Russian craftsmen had a hand in the 19th century.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Creative Commons
Based on materials from TASS