His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II Launches

The Initiative “Warm Christmas 2023”

His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and Supreme Head of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church, launched the “Warm Christmas 2023” Initiative, hoping to help poor families in Syria and Lebanon.

Below is the letter addressed to their Eminences the Archbishops, and the Faithful Members and Friends of our Syriac Orthodox Church.

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” (Matthew 25: 35-36)

May the peace and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Last year, we launched the initiative “Warm Christmas” to support Syriac Orthodox families in Syria and Lebanon in buying Diesel for heating, during the harsh winter, due to the hard economic conditions. Our initiative was widely welcomed among members of our church in the West and many responded positively by showing solidarity with their brothers and sisters in need, following the words of St. Paul: “If one member suffers, every member suffers with it; if one member is honored, every member rejoices with it.” (I Corinthians 12: 26).

The response was supportive; the faithful and friends of our Syriac Orthodox Church generously donated to help their brothers and sisters who were suffering in Syria and Lebanon because of the economic crisis which constrained their ability to provide the basic needs for life. We were thus able to distribute financial support over three phases for the families in need in Syria and Lebanon.

Since the situation did not get better, we write to you once more and we encourage you to support our initiative. We hope that, this year too, you will support the “Warm Christmas 2023” initiative and send your donations in support of our spiritual children to enable them to buy Diesel for heating during this winter.

While we highly appreciate your zeal and generosity, we thank all those who contributed and continue to support this initiative and help us bring warmth to the houses and hearts of the families.

This text was originally published on Facebook Page of His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II.