Springfield, Virginia, September 11, 2026
abc7.ny
His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon, primate of the Orthodox Church in America, has released an encyclical marking 25 years since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, calling on the faithful to remember the victims in prayer and to resist letting old wounds turn into bitterness or hatred.
In the letter, addressed to the clergy, monastics, and faithful of the OCA, Metropolitan Tikhon says the anniversary calls to mind “the nearly three thousand men, women, and children who lost their lives at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and aboard United Airlines Flight 93,” along with the many others whose lives were changed by that day.
He notes that a quarter century has passed since the attacks, and that a whole generation has grown up with no personal memory of the event. For those who lost loved ones, survived, or served as first responders, though, he says the years haven’t erased the pain, and that some are still dying from illnesses tied to the wreckage they breathed in.
Metropolitan Tikhon notes that remembrance in the Church goes beyond simply recalling the past. Through prayer, he says, the faithful commend the departed to God’s mercy while also acknowledging their own wounds before “the Great Physician of souls and bodies,” so that past tragedies never harden hearts or weaken love of neighbor.
Turning to the wider state of the world, he points to ongoing wars, violence, and division, and to the suffering of the innocent. He acknowledges the temptation to respond with fear, anger, or despair, but points instead to Christ’s words in the Gospel of John: “Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me.”
Metropolitan Tikhon also draws a connection between the anniversary and the approaching feast of the Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross, observing that Christ’s own wounds remained visible after His resurrection, shown to His disciples as signs “of His victory, His mercy, and His boundless love for mankind.”
In the same way, he says, personal and national wounds don’t have to become sources of hatred, but can instead be offered to God and transformed into occasions for compassion and forgiveness through the power of the Cross.
His Beatitude closes by asking the faithful to pray for the victims of September 11, their families, survivors, first responders, and all who still carry the effects of that day, as well as for peace throughout the world. “May the memory of those who lost their lives be eternal,” he says, “and may the God of all consolation grant healing, peace, and hope to all.”
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