The Patriarch of Antioch and Patriarch of Romania at Cotroceni Palace
December 2014
On 28 November 2014, His Beatitude John X, Patriarch of Antioch and All Orient and His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of Romania were received by the President of Romania, Mr. Traian Basescu, at Cotroceni Palace.
During the meeting, Mr President Traian Basescu underlined Romania’s concern for the hard situation of Syria, where a large number of civil persons and Christians lost their lives as a result of the violence and religious persecution, as we learn from a communiqué released by the Presidential Administration and published in www.presidency.ro.
The leader of the state expressed his solidarity with the families of the victims, also showing the importance of the cooperation between State and Church in view of finding solutions to provide peace and dialogue between the communities belonging to different cultures and religions, in the spirit of tolerance, knowledge and respect.
The Patriarch of Antioch and All Orient, His Beatitude John X thanked, in his turn, for the warm reception and for the constant support that Romania showed for the situation of Syria. His Beatitude has also expressed his gratitude for the involvement of the Romanian Orthodox Church and of the Romanians who helped the Christian families of Syria through material donations.
In this context, the Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church underlined the need to strengthen the relationship with the community of the Christians of Syria, encouraging the academic exchanges and the mutual assistance.
To end with, Mr President Traian Basescu and His Beatitude John X underlined the fact that the continuation of the efforts to find solutions for re-establishing peace and political stability in Syria and in Middle East is a must in the present international context.
