The pain and suffering of Christians in Syria was at the heart of a meeting that Pope Francis had on Friday with Patriarch Youhanna X Yazigi, head of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch and All the East. On Sunday the Patriarch will attend Mass in St Peter’s Square, celebrated by the Pope to mark the Day of Catechists. He’s also due to meet with Italy’s foreign minister and attend the St Egidio international, interfaith conference which opens at the weekend.
In his encounter with the Holy Father, the Patriarch spoke about the difficulties facing the Christian community in Syria and the surrounding region. He also talked about the plight of his own brother who was kidnapped last April, together with the Syriac Orthodox Bishop of Aleppo. The two leaders also shared their hopes for progress on the journey towards full Christian unity.
In an interview with Vatican Radio, Patriarch Yazigi expressed his gratitude for the Holy Father’s concern for the people of Syria.
“I bear in my heart all the pain of our people in Syria, in Lebanon, in the Middle East, and we consider the attitude of His Holiness towards our people, our Church in the Middle East, in Syria and Lebanon especially to push, to find solutions, to establish a peace through dialogue, not in war,” he said.
“We talked about our progression towards unity, Christian unity as you know, dialogue between the Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church,” the Patriarch told Vatican Radio.
“We try, we want to do what we can do, all together - this is the desire of His Holiness, and our desire. And about this political situation, about the presence of Christians in the Middle East - it’s a very important issue now, because a lot of our people are leaving Syria or Lebanon for other countries, and we cannot accept the Middle East without the face of Christ.”
Speaking on a peaceful solution to the crisis, the Syrian prelate called on world governments, especially Russia, the U.S. and in Europe to help push for a solution in Syria through peaceful dialogue.
Concluding his interview, Patriarch Yazigi stated that although he does not fear for his safety, there are still areas where it is difficult to minister or hold liturgies in Syria, especially in Aleppo and Homs.
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