Moscow, February 6, 2017
Photo: Antiochian Patriarchate - Facebook
Patriarch John entered the church in Jaramana, five miles southeast of Damascus in southwestern Syria, to the music of the Scouts of St. Anthony the Great and accompanied by a number of bishops, priests, and deacons. The glorious rite of consecration was celebrated accompanied by Byzantine chants and clouds of incense.
During the service, the patriarch exhorted the joyful gathered: “Man, you are the temple of the living God … so you must make your heart an altar to the true God, and your life an offering upon that altar.” Such an altar and such a sacrifice is evident in the life of St. Paisios the Athonite, canonized in 2015.
The various pictures and videos available on the patriarchate’s page show a great host of joyful faithful gathered for the consecration of the church which will be home to 4,500 Orthodox families, loudly proclaiming their gratitude to God.
The new parish's first Liturgy. Photo: Antiochian Patriarchate - Facebook
His Beatitude served the new parish’s first Liturgy the following day, the nave filled to overflowing with faithful clergy, monastics, and laity.
