Patriarchal Letter to His Majesty Willem-Alexander on the Recent Malaysia Airlines Tragedy
July 2014
Your Majesty,
It is with great pain and sorrow that we have learned of the tragic crash of the Malaysian airliner in Ukraine, and the tragic loss of so many lives, citizens mostly from your country, men and women, young and old. On behalf of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, we wish to convey our deepest condolences to Your Majesty and through You, to the leaders and people of the Netherlands, most especially to the families of the victims.
We hope and pray that the facts and causes of this disaster will be established as quickly as possible, and we raise our hearts and hands to God in the highest, fervently praying to Him to send upon each and every afflicted soul His infinite mercy, comforting the mourners for the loss of their relatives. May God accept the repentance of humankind and not allow any similar tragedy from happening anywhere in the world.
At the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the eighteenth of July, 2014
Prayerfully yours,
+ BARTHOLOMEW
Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome
and Ecumenical Patriarch
