Communiqué from the Patriarchate of Antioch on Violence in Syria and the Killing of Fr. Basilios Nassar

The Arabic original  can be found here. This English translation is unofficial.

Communiqué from the Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch

As the Orthodox Church of Antioch looks at what is occurring in Syria, she regrets that the language of violence is overcoming the language of love and brotherhood, which we have long believed in on the basis of our deep eastern roots which bear the message of love, brotherhood, and interconnectedness.

At the very heart of Orthodoxy there is a yearning to build a single humanity united by faith in the one God, without making any distinction within God's creation, regardless of color, race, or religion. Orthodoxy has practiced this faith in her relations with the members of the single national family.

As we stand shocked at the killing of innocents and the increase in bloodshed, this is because every drop of blood which falls on the soil of this nation from which we come and to which we belong pains and sorrows us. Here we refer to the killing of one of the priests of our Church in Hama, the Reverend Father Basilios Nassar who offered himself as a martyr on the altar of service, imitating the Lord who said, "The Good Shepherd lays down his life the sake of the sheep."

Also, we condemn any attack on holy places and religious symbols such as the Monastery of Saydnaya, as they are holy and inviolable.

We are a community that is conscious of its faith and of the fact that its children belong to their various nations where they work with their brothers in citizenship, trusting and hoping to establish peace and stability.

Beloved, let us stand firm in our faith, lifting up prayer to God with fervor so that He will inspire all to what is right and to proceed with a message of love and brotherhood.

Damascus, January 31, 2012

Office of the Patriarch