“I rejoice to see this faithful, God-loving people. I will convey to the faithful in our country this wonderful image that I have seen here. Our churches in Syria are as old as the time when Christ walked upon the earth. Our faith remains steadfast regardless of the wars and persecutions taking place there. Of course, there is great suffering, and many of our churches and monasteries have been burned and emptied. Yet we have great hope that God is with us and that you remember us in your prayers.

“In every prayer, in every Divine Liturgy, all the saints – both those who are alive and those who have fallen asleep in the Lord – are gathered together. Therefore, whoever prays with all their heart truly feels that all those whom they love are with them, even if they have passed into eternity.

“Just as the Romanian people are dispersed throughout the world, so too are we Antiochians, throughout Europe, Australia, America, Africa and the entire world. Yet we are not afraid of this distance, because when we pray to the Lord Christ, we all come together, even with those who have departed to the Lord,