President Ahmad al-Sharaa met yesterday, August 16, with Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, John X Yazigi, at the People’s Palace in Damascus. The Presidency said in a statement that discussions between the two highlighted the Church’s “national role in consolidating and strengthening the bonds of citizenship and national unity,” stressing its contribution to preserving civil peace on the basis of brotherhood and shared identity. The meeting comes less than two months after a deadly attack targeted the Greek Orthodox community in the capital.
Condolences Following Mar Elias Attack
The meeting followed an August 13 meeting by Maher al-Sharaa, Secretary-General of the Presidency, who led a delegation to the Patriarchate of Antioch to offer condolences on behalf of the President to the victims of the June bombing at Mar Elias Church in Damascus’ Douweila neighborhood.
“We convey to you the condolences of the President of the Republic for the martyrs of St. Elias Church in Dweileh, and we affirm our solidarity and our standing as one to build the future of Syria,” Maher al-Sharaa said, according to a statement from the Patriarchate.
Patriarch Yazigi welcomed the delegation and expressed appreciation for the President’s condolences. He emphasized “the authenticity of the Christian role in Syria and the East,” adding that the Patriarchate “has striven and continues to strive, throughout all stages of its history, with all its strength to stand by the people of this nation, regardless of the logic of majority and minority.”
Church and State Stress Coexistence
Both the Presidency and the Patriarchate framed the meetings as part of a broader effort to affirm national unity in the face of violence. The Presidency’s statement emphasized that civil peace in Syria rests on “solid foundations of understanding and brotherhood,” while Patriarch Yazigi described the Church as integral to Syria’s social fabric.
Yesterday’s meeting, the first between President al-Sharaa and Patriarch Yazigi since the Mar Elias attack, underscored the government’s message of solidarity with Christian communities and its calls to preserve coexistence among Syria’s diverse religious groups.
