The services took place at a church with special historical significance.
His Beatitude Patriarch John X of Antioch and All the East conducted a solemn prayer service at the Mar Elias Church in Damascus’ Dweila neighborhood yesterday, where a devastating terrorist attack claimed at least 22 lives during Sunday services.
After months of intense preparation, hundreds of pilgrims descended upon the tiny remote Alaskan village of Kwethluk where St. Olga’s husband was once the priest and where she was buried after her repose in 1979.
The attacker entered the Mar Elias Church in Damascus’ Dweila neighborhood, opened fire on congregants, and then detonated an explosive device strapped to his body.
St. Sophrony, a spiritual child of the great St. Silouan the Athonite, founded the monastery in 1959 and served as abbot for many decades.