RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH DELEGATION VISITS SYRIA

On January 20-23, the Russian Orthodox Church delegation headed by the Chairman of the Department of External Church Relations (DECR) the Metropolitan of Volokolamsk Anthony visited Syria.

On January 21, after visiting the Cathedral of the Dormition in Damascus the delegation met with His Beatitude Patriarch John X Patriarch of Great Antioch and All the East.

On the same day, at the Representation of the Russian Orthodox Church in Damascus a prayer service was held in honor of the hieromartyr St. Ignatius the God-Bearer. After the ceremony His Beatitude Patriarch John X and the DECR Chairman Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, accompanied by the Ambassador of Russia to Syria Alexander Efimov and the Commander of the Group of Forces of the Russian Armed Forces in Syria Colonel-General Andrey Serdyukov, examined the activities of the Center for Pediatric Prosthetics and Rehabilitation functioning under the auspices of the Representation. During the visit, an agreement on the extension of cooperation, which envisages among other things free-of-charge use of medical equipment, was signed between the Center and the Russian Orthodox Church.

On January 22, Patriarch John X and Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk consecrated the Church of Great Martyr George the Conqueror in Arbin and the Church of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos in Az-Zabadani restored after the clashes with terrorists. The restoration was carried out at the expense of the Russian Federation and with the support of the Russian Orthodox Church.

On the same day, Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk met in Damascus with the Syrian Minister of Awqaf Muhammad Abd al-Sattar al-Sayyid. During the meeting the Minister expressed his gratitude to the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and the Russian Armed Forces "for everything that Russia has done for Syria, standing side by side with Syrian people in the fight against international terrorism."