Balamand, Lebanon, March 18, 2024
Photo: antiochpatriarchate.org
The Holy Synod of the Antiochian Patriarchate calls upon its flock to offer increased prayers for the suffering Ukrainian Orthodox Church throughout Great Lent.
The Holy Synod met under the chairmanship of His Beatitude Patriarch John in Balamand, Lebanon, last week.
The relevant portion of the Synodal statement reads:
The Synod Fathers call their faithful children during this blessed period to intensify their prayers for the whole Orthodox Church and Her unity, and for the confessing Ukrainian Orthodox Church. This Church’s faithful are suffering from the cruel brunt of war, organized violence, and danger of extinction through unjust laws that aim at closing their parishes and transferring their churches’ ownership to other religious groups.
The Antiochian Synod has repeatedly expressed its prayerful support for the UOC under His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine, including last April and last October.
Met. Onuphry also blessed his Ukrainian flock to keep a special Lenten rule of prayer and Scriptural reading for forgiveness of sins and for peace.
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