The Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, His Beatitude John X, on Sunday inaugurated and re-dedicated the rebuilt Church of St. George, located in the previously war-ravaged Syrian town of Arbin, in the countryside of Damascus, the Mideast country’s capital.
His Beatitude was joined by the visiting Metropolitan of Volokolamsk, His Eminence Anthony, who is the head of the Russian Orthodox Church’s Department of External Relations.
Arbin ha been abandoned by Christians during the Syrian civil war, as Islamist extremists had overwhelmed the town, destroying the Church of St. George, the only Christian place of worship there.
The cathedral was rebuilt through the efforts of the Patriarchate of Antioch and with the support of the Russian Church.
Patriarch John X thanked the Russian Orthodox Church, people and government for the support.
On his part, Metropolitan Anthony, who arrived in the strife-plagued country on Friday with the blessing of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, His Holiness Kirill, stressed the importance of the participation of the Moscow Patriarchate in reopening of such churches in Syria, which were destroyed by terrorists.
