Source: Notes on Arab Orthodoxy
December 2, 2015
On the evening of November 27, a young man threw a grenade into the yard at St. Andrew's Church in Lattakia, Syria, killing one child and injuring many more. Amidst a flurry of reports, the priests of the diocese posted to the diocesan Facebook page:
To our beloved children in the God-protected Archdiocese of Lattakia
To prevent any confusion resulting from the circulation of details about the incident that happened at the Church of Saint Andrew and so that we may not come under judgment, we the priests of the Archdiocese saw fit to explain the incident as it happened on Friday, November 27, 2015:
At 5:45 in the evening, a young man in his twenties entered the courtyard of the church, where a special celebration was being held for the feast of church's patron, and started a verbal altercation with a group of the church's young people who were in the courtyard. Following this, one of the church's priests was called to break up the dispute and he removed the young man in a calm and tactful manner. About an hour later, around 6:45, the young man returned and entered the courtyard of the church with a knife and hand grenade, running into one of the church's pastors. When the priest tried to calm him, he shouted even more, threatening him and attacking him with the knife he was carrying. When the youth of the church, who gathered around the priest, attempted to push him away in order to protect the priest, he threw the grenade he had with him and it detonated. After this, the crowd was able to overpower him and take away the second grenade that he was about to throw. After that, he was handed over to the relevant security authorities. This incident resulted in the death of a child and various injuries to over 35 people. The priests of the diocese flocked to the scene of the incident to see what happened and to visit the wounded in the public and private hospitals in the city of Lattakia. A team from the Department of Ecumenical Relations and Development of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch visited the patients and covered their costs at the public and private hospitals, in addition to the Red Crescent's gracious presence to rescue the wounded at the scene of the incident.
We, the priests of the Chuch first of all condemn this criminal act and express our heartfelt sorrow and condolences to the family of the departed child, asking the Lord Jesus to have mercy on him and to anoint the wounds of the souls of his parents and all his relatives with His divine grace. We also ask the Lord to quickly heal all those who were injured.
We also express our gratitude to the medical teams at the public and private hospitals for their speedy response in offering all types of aid. We likewise thank the security officials who have been performing their duties to the fullest since the moment of the incident.
Last but not least, we ask our faithful brethren to pray to ward off every danger and harm and danger from the children of our flock and all our people. We request that all the faithful brethren assist the security officials if they know of weapons in the possession of individuals that have been committing crime and causing harm to all.
May the blessing and mercy of the Lord be with all of you.
