A letter of condolences to the Patriarch of Antioch was sent by Patriarch Irinej of Serbia after the explosion that left behind dozens of dead and many injured.
In his letter, as soon as he was informed of the massive explosion that took place in the Port of Beirut, the Patriarch of Serbia said, “We pray to our Lord Jesus Christ to heal the wounds of the injured, repose the souls of the dead, give comfort to the ones who stayed without their closest ones, and fortify and invigorate the spirit and health of all the ones who survived this tragedy.”
Read the full letter sent by Patriarch Irinej of Serbia:
To His Beatitude John X Patriarch of Antioch and All the East Damascus
Your Beatitude, Our dear brother and fellow servant in the Lord, We have received the sad news about the devastating explosion that took lives of many innocent people in Beirut, which We have recently visited, lovingly hosted by Your Beatitude and welcomed by many wonderful and cordial people. This horrible tragedy induced great sadness and pain in the heart of the Serbian people.
On behalf of the Serbian Orthodox Church and on my personal behalf, please receive along with the families of the afflicted ones and the entire fraternal population of Beirut the expressions of our prayerful condolences.
We pray to our Lord Jesus Christ to heal the wounds of the injured, repose the souls of the dead, give comfort to the ones who stayed without their closest ones, and fortify and invigorate the spirit and health of all the ones who survived this tragedy.
In addition, Your Beatitude, please convey the expressions of Our condolences and solidarity to the state authorities of our friendly country of Lebanon.
With love in Christ the Lord,
Serbian Patriarch Irinej