Patriarch John X Leads Trisagion for the New Martyrs of Deadly Attack in Syria

Screenshot from the Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East's Trisagion prayer service livestream. Photo: Antioch Patriarchate/Facebook

DAMASCUS — On June 23, His Beatitude Patriarch John X of Antioch and All the East led Trisagion prayers for the new martyrs of the June 22 suicide bombing at the Greek Orthodox Church of the Prophet Elias in Dweilaa, Damascus.

The Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East live streamed the prayer service on Facebook.

The attack, which killed 25 people as of the most recent update from local sources and wounded 63 more of the 350 Christians total who were praying at the church, was carried out by two men, with one detonating the bomb near the church’s entrance. The terrorist has been identified by Syria’s Interior Ministry as a member of the Islamic State.

As Metropolitan Saba of the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of North America is currently on pilgrimage to the area with several clergyman and seminarians, the archdiocese shared on June 22 that the group was a great distance from the violence and was praying for all those impacted by the attack.

The morning of June 23, the archdiocese shared that His Eminence and the pilgrimage group said prayers on their prayer ropes for the new martyrs and Christians of Syria. It was also shared that the new martyrs were Metropolitan Saba’s parishioners in his former Archdiocese of Bosra and Hauran, Syria, where he served from 1999-2023 before being elected as Metropolitan of North America.

His Eminence Metropolitan Saba, along with clergy and seminarians on pilgrimage to Lebanon from the U.S., said prayers following the attack. Photo: antiochian.org

“Their sacrifice on the Sunday of All Saints of Antioch is the latest reminder of how their blood waters our spiritual homeland, constantly producing new saints,” a release from the archdiocese states.

Previously, UOJ reported that His Beatitude Theophilos III, Patriarch of Jerusalem, had issued a statement condemning the devastating suicide bombing.

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