His Beatitude Patriarch John X Visits the Sultan Mosque, the Roman Amphitheater, the Center for the Department of Ecumenical Relations and Development, and the Cultural Center in Jableh

He Stresses: "Syria is one family and nothing can separate it"

Latakia, May 28, 2024

Within the context of his Pastoral visit to the Greek Orthodox Diocese of Latakia and its Dependencies, and at the invitation of the Archdiocesan Shepherd, His Eminence Metropolitan Athanasios (Fahd), His Beatitude Patriarch John X, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, and President of the Middle East Council of Churches, visited some religious and archaeological monuments in Jableh, such as the Sultan Mosque.

His Beatitude was accompanied by the Shepherd of the Archdiocese, Bishop Athanasios (Fahd), Archbishops, bishops, priests, and deacons.

The officials who attended the visit were: the Governor of Latakia, Engineer Amer Ismail Hilal; the Secretary of the Party Branch, Comrade Haitham Ismail, represented by the Deputy Head of the Branch, Dr. Nicholas Martisho; the Chairman of the Provincial Council, Engineer Tayseer Habib; the Chairman of the City Council, Engineer Hussein Zengerli; the Member of the People's Assembly, Iskandar Haddad; the chief officers of security branches; security and military leaders, the members of branch, governorate, and city councils; the Mayor of Jableh, Eng. Ahmed Kanadil and members of the municipality council.

His Beatitude Patriarch John X and the accompanying delegation were received by the Director of the Jableh Waqfs, His Eminence Sheikh Hussein Bsais, and a group of eminent sheiks and Mullahs and they all explored the mosque.

Then His Beatitude visited the Roman amphitheater, which was severely damaged by the earthquake in 2023 and is currently being restored. His was received together with the accompanying delegation by the Director of Antiquities of Latakia, Engineer Ibrahim Khair Beik.

His Beatitude also inspected the Latakia Branch Department of Ecumenical Relations and Development in Jableh, where he was received by the Director of the Latakia Branch, Haitham Ibrahim, and the young men and women of the Department.

Haitham Ibrahim gave a brief speech in which he spoke about the work of the department in Latakia, reviewing the services provided by the social care center in cooperation with the High Commission.

In turn, His Beatitude affirmed that the Department of Ecumenical Relations and Development of the Patriarchate works across the geography of Syria without discrimination.

After that, a solemn open reception was held for His Beatitude at the Cultural Center - Jableh.

After the welcome speech delivered by Protopresbyter Fr. Elian Khoury, the mayor of Jableh, engineer Ahmed Kanadil, spoke as follows: "Jableh is the civilization, antiquity, and guidance. It is a source of intellectual and cultural radiance and the birthplace of heroes and leaders. Therefore, laying the foundation stone for the construction of St. Catherine's Church will be another house of God."

Then, the Director of the Waqfs of the city of Latakia, His Eminence Sheikh Dr. Muhammad Aliu, delivered a speech in which he called to preserve what His Beatitude has entrusted, which was represented by laying the foundation stone for the construction of the Church of Saint Catherine in Jableh, stressing that Christians and Muslims are one family.

As for His Beatitude, he responded with a word of thanks and said:

"Long live the people of Jableh, and let the world learn lessons today about love and coexistence. Indeed, the people of Jableh and all Syrians cannot be divided by anything, neither religion nor anything else, which indicates that Syria has always been one cohesive family."

He also thanked His Beatitude, the Archdiocesan Pastor, Bishop Athanasios, and all the clergy, officials, security staff, and the faithful who have worked hard and toiled hard to make this historic visit a success.

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This news was originally publsihed on the Facebook Page of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East.