Santa Fe, Texas, May 22, 2018
Photo: bbc.com The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and the Romanian Orthodox Metropolia of the Americas have released pastoral messages of compassion and prayer in response to the recent school shooting in Santa Fe, Texas that tragically left 10 dead and another 13 wounded.
The suspected shooter has been identified as Dimitrios Pagourtzis. The 17-year-old student of Santa Fe High School is from a Greek family that attends the local Greek Orthodox church, although Pagourtzis had identified himself as an atheist on his social media pages.
He is charged with the capital murder of eight students and two teachers and aggravated assault against a public servant and faces 40 years to life if convicted.
The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese released a statement yesterday, noting the extra pain of the shooter coming from an Orthodox family:
The mass school shooting at Santa Fe High School, in the small town of Santa Fe, Texas, last Friday May 18, 2018, has once again brought shock, sorrow and anger to the whole country and the world.
We, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, mourn the tragic loss of life of the 10 victims of this abominable murderous act, eight high-school students and two teachers and we share the deep pain and grief of their families and friends. Our fervent prayers and thoughts are with all of them, the victims, their families and their friends.
This time, the burden is heavier and the pain is sharper because the alleged seventeen-year old perpetrator of this crime has been identified as a Greek-Orthodox, and his family as members of one of our parishes. We pray for him and his family as well.
This unacceptable and totally unthinkable school massacre is yet another one in a series, it is an epidemic of violent crimes that has overtaken our society and country. It is the result of an explosive mix of the proliferation of the culture of violence, violent video games, bullying and victimization of our youth, desensitization to crime, devaluing of human life and easy access to readily available guns. The question arises and we have posed it last time and we now have to ask again, whether we have done all we can to stop this epidemic disease.
How many more victims, how many more school children, how many more teenagers and teachers should die before we act?
We turn to prayer of course, for Almighty God to intervene and avert any repetition of such heinous acts and events, but as we find ourselves, once again, in need of offering words of comfort and solace, words of solidarity and hope to those who were directly affected by the events in Santa Fe, Texas, we wholeheartedly plead with our elected officials for immediate and effective action.
May we all heal with the assistance of the God of mercy and wisdom and may we work to achieve positive results to restore hope to our society and the world.
His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae of the Romanian Orthodox Metropolia of the Americas has also released a short message, calling on all to offer prayers to Christ our Lord for the repose of the souls of the victims of the shooting:
Metropolia of the Americas express solidarity with the families of the victims of the tragic event in Santa Fe, Texas. It is totally incomprehensible how these tragedies are repeated in the US, as the victims are innocent children and young people.
We pray for the rest of the souls of those who have gone to the Lord in this tragic way and for their families affected by this tragedy. At these times, it is proper to pray to Christ the Lord, who has ascended to heaven to enlighten us with His Divine Light, to send peace and comfort to the souls of those who have suffered, to bring peace to those troubled and distant from His grace!
Students of the school also organized a candelight vigil in honor and support of the victims and those grieving for the victims of the May 18th attack.
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