UOC Primate offers condolences over Beirut tragedy
His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kyiv and All Ukraine Onufry. Photo: news.church.ua
On August 6, 2020, the Primate of the UOC, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kyiv and All Ukraine, expressed his condolences to the Antiochian Orthodox Church in the wake of the tragedy in Beirut. This was reported by the Information and Education Department of the UOC.
The Primate sent a letter to Patriarch John X of Antioch and All East with words of sympathy and support on behalf of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
In his letter to the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Antioch, in the canonical territory of which the tragedy took place, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry expressed condolences and noted, "We invoke mercy of the All-Blessed God so that He may rest all the dead in His abodes, grant healing to all those who have suffered and console their relatives and friends."
“We sympathize with you, because, according to the Apostle Paul, ‘if one part suffers, every part suffers with it’ (1 Cor. 12:26), therefore this is pain for all of us,” the letter says.
As reported by the UOJ, on August 4 in the evening, in the port of the Lebanese capital of Beirut, a large explosion occurred, as a result of which dozens of people were killed and thousands were injured. The blast wave was so powerful that it knocked out windows in houses across the city. The death toll as a result of powerful explosions in the port area of Beirut (Lebanon) amounted to 78 people, almost 4 thousand people were injured. Lebanese Interior Minister Mohamed Fehmi said the explosion could be caused by a warehouse with a huge amount of explosive – ammonium nitrate.
Read also
18th-century gates of Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra presented in London
State art historians have identified masterpieces by Kyiv goldsmiths in London.
In mosque, OCU "bishop" and DESS experts dine at iftar during Ramadan
At an iftar in Kyiv, authors of expert assessments against the UOC were awarded Islamic orders in the presence of the deputy head of DESS and a "hierarch" of Dumenko's structure.
Shevchuk tells Budanov of UGCC’s “state-building role”
The head of the Uniates told the head of the Presidential Office that his Church was ready to partner with the state and presented him with a book on the work of special services in the Church.
Authorities decline to disclose Ukraine’s population size
The State Statistics Service acknowledged that it has up-to-date population estimates for the country, but has decided not to make them public.
Lithuanian govt vows to protect Orthodox Church from Russian intelligence
Lithuania’s Foreign Ministry has called for curbing the influence of Russian intelligence services on the Church, while an adviser to President Nausėda warned against labeling the entire structure a security threat.
During Ramadan, Patriarch Theodoros hosts Islamic iftar at his residence
Patriarch Theodoros of Alexandria hosted a meal for Muslim workers breaking their fast in the courtyard of the Patriarchate and thanked a sheikh for his “brotherhood.”