Formal Reception in Honor of the Diplomatic Body in Syria

The reception was attended by their Excellencies: Mgr. Mario Zenari, Apostolic Nuncio in Damascus, Felipe Alvarez de Toledo (Argentina), Arshak Poladian (Armenia), Aleksandr Ponomarev (Belarus), Achille Zaluar (Brazil), Jan Ondrejka (Czech), Rogerio Manuel Santana Rodriguez (Cuba), Mohamed Sarwat Selim (Egypt), Man Mohan Bhanot (India), Djoko Harjanto (Indonesia), Ali Nour Ahmad (Iran), Riyadh Altai (Iraq), Syed Athar Hussain Bukhari (Pakistan), Eduard Preda (Romania), Alexander Kinshchak (Russia), Volodymyr Dzhydzhora (Ukraine) and Imad Saab (Venezuela).

His Holiness Patriarch Aphrem II welcomed their Excellencies and spoke about the current situation in Syria and expressed his confidence that terrorism and war cannot continue forever. He urged the international communities to support Syria and the Syrian people. His Excellency Dr. Hamed Hassan, Assistant of the Syrian Minister for Foreign Affairs, also participated and thanked His Holiness for this gesture. Their Excellencies then expressed their joy to be united at the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate and they felt this reception to truly reflect the image of the Syriac Orthodox Church and the Syrian hospitality. Their Eminences Mor Selwanos Boutros Al-Nehmeh, Archbishop of Homs, Hama and Environs, Mor Timotheos Matthew, Patriarchal Secretary for Indian Affairs and His Grace Mor Georges Kourieh, Dean of Mor Aphrem Theological Seminary in Maarat Saydnaya, also attended the reception.

Source: OCP