Beirut, 11 February 2013
According
to ITAR-TASS, armed extremists in the north of Syria
have desecrated the Church of Saint Maron, a Syrian
hermit of the fourth century and the patron of the
Maronite Eastern Catholic Church. According to the
Al Watan news service the ancient monastery,
situated in Brad, 40 km to the north of Aleppo, was
attacked by gunmen, who damaged the interior
decoration of the Church, broke stained-glass windows
and desecrated the sanctuary. A statue of St Maron
was destroyed and Church utensils stolen. The attack
on the Church is an obvious provocation and took
place during the visit to Damascus of the Maronite
Patriarch Bechara Rahi. On Sunday the head of the
Maronite Church was present at the enthronement of
the Patriarch of Greater Antioch and all the East,
John X, which took place in the Orthodox Cathedral in
Damascus. The Patriarch of the Melkite Catholic
Church, Gregory III Laham, also took part in the
ceremony.
The local media attach historic importance to Patriarch
Bechara’s visit to Damascus. It was the first visit
here of the head of the Maronite Church for the last 70
years, which, in the view of the newspaper Al
Akhbar, indicates “the unity of Christians of
Syria and Lebanon in the face of common threats.”
The majority of Syrian Christians belong to the Antiochian
Orthodox Church; the Maronite community numbers about
60,000.
Pravoslavie.ru
Translation for OrthoChristian.com
12 февраля 2013 г.
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