Damascus-SANA
President Bashar al-Assad congratulated the members of the Christian denominations on the occasion of Christmas, the birth of Christ, the Messenger of love and peace. He extended congratulations to the heads of the Christian denominations on behalf of His Excellency Mansour Azzam, Minister of Presidential Affairs.
Minister Azzam conveyed President al-Assad’s congratulations to the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and all the East, His Beatitude Patriarch John X, to His Holiness the Patriarch of Antioch and all the East, the Supreme Head of the Syriac Orthodox Church in the world, Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, to the Melkite Catholic Patriarch of Antioch and all the East, Patriarch Youssef al-Absi, and to the Archbishop of Damascus To the Syriac Catholic Archbishop Mar Yohanna Jihad Battah, to the Archbishop of Damascus, to the Armenian Catholic Archbishop Youssef Arnaouti, and to the members of their honorable denominations.
Minister Azzam also conveyed President al-Assad's congratulations to the President of the Evangelical Synod in Syria and Lebanon and the spiritual head of the National Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Damascus, Reverend Boutros Zaour, Archbishop of the Maronite Archdiocese of Damascus, Archbishop Samir Nassar, to the head of the Latin community in Damascus, Father Anton Luxe, and to the Chaldean Church's pastor in Damascus, Father Malik Mallos, and to the sons of their noble sects.
In turn, the patriarchs, bishops and fathers carried Minister Azzam messages of thanks and appreciation to President al-Assad for his generous gesture and his congratulations to them and to the members of their sects on the glorious Christmas and his constant care for the sons of the country, praying to God Almighty to preserve Syria, its people and its army and to have mercy on its martyrs and to give the Syrians the ability to face the unjust economic siege that has imposed on them. It is supported by the states sponsoring terrorism, and for President al-Assad to reconcile and crown his efforts by defeating terrorism and restoring Syria’s stability and security.
