Archbishop of Cyprus visits His Holiness the Patriarch at the Mor Aphrem Monastery, Damascus

May 4, 2009: On Monday the 4th of May, 2009, the Archbishop of Cyprus H.E. Chrysostomos II, who is currently on an official trip to Syria visited His Holiness the Patriarch Mor Ignatius Zakka-I Iwas at the Syrian Orthodox Monastery of St. Aphrem the Syrian, in Ma`arat Sayyidnaya near Damascus. The Archbishop was accompanied by a delegation of bishops from the Church of Cyprus as well as the Greek Orthodox bishops of Syria.

His Holiness the Patriarch welcomed the Archbishop Chrysostomos II on behalf of the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch & All the East and in particular the Monastery of St. Aphrem the Syrian. On the gracious occasion, His Holiness pointed to the depth of the relationship between the Orthodox church, and our Church, especially with the Antioch Patriarch Ignatius IV Hazim, as well as the relationship of Greek and Syriac churches, and scholarships provided by the church and the government in Greece. His Holiness also conveyed his aspirations to establish good and strong relationship with the Church of Cyprus.

The Archbishop in his reply speech recalled the role of His Holiness the Patriarch, the leadership provided by the holy father in the Ecumenical field during the second half of last century, the good relations which H.H. maintained with all the heads of the churches in the world and H.H’s contributions for the establishment of formal dialogue among all the Orthodox churches to reach out for the desired Christian unity.

The Archbishop Chrysostomos II was given a warm welcome by the Faculty of St. Aphrem Syriac Orthodox Theological seminary led by H.E. Mor Clemis Daniel Kourieh, Bishop of Beirut, and the priests and monks and students of theological college. The Archbishop thanked His Holiness the Patriarch for giving him a rousing reception in the monastery of Mor Aphrem the Syriac, in the presence of such a large number of monks, priests and students, and thanked God, who granted him the opportunity to visit the great edifice of civilization.

Source: